#stormwrack

[thecollectibles]

Runara of Stormwrack Isle by Lin Chang

[dailycharacteroption]

Class Feature Friday: Phoenix Bloodline (Sorcerer Bloodline)

(art by AgusZanetti on DeviantArt)

Ah, the phoenix. Is there any symbol of life, death, and rebirth more wondrous and inspiring? Oftentimes, including in Pathfinder, phoenixes are also associated with manipulating fire beyond self-combustion, making them especially awesome as well.

It would only make sense that there would be those who want to emulate that power, and today’s bloodline seeks to do just that!

While it is unlikely that they have any direct relation by blood, sometimes a mortal or their descendants are infused with the power of a phoenix, perhaps by directly witnesses their fiery rebirth, or having been healed from near death by their magic, or maybe experiments involving phoenix blood. Either way, there are those that channel the magics of fire and healing through their blood, making them one of the very few sorcerers that can heal.

Physically speaking, this bloodline might manifest vibrant hair colors, feathers growing from the head or body, or other signs of the immortal bird’s influence.

Given their generally benevolent nature, I can imagine that most phoenix-blooded sorcerers share a similar disposition, but just as there can be corrupted phoenixes, I imagine there are exceptions among these mages too.

As we’ll soon see, this archetype is equal parts healer and blaster.

The spells granted by this bloodline include those that unleash a multitude of colors, namely a weak stun and barriers of deadly rainbow magic, piercing invisibility, fire magic in the form of barriers, runes of flames on allies, and transforming oneself into living flame, as well as breaking enchantments and creating safe pathways using hurricane-force winds.

Meanwhile, the techniques they learn include agility training in combat, focusing on fire magic, medical training, increased willpower, and quickening metamagic.

Perhaps most integral is their bloodline arcana, however, which lets them convert fire spells into a healing warmth to heal their allies, though with only have the potency compared to the destruction the spell would normally do.

These sorcerers boast supreme magical senses, allowing them to sense magical auras with ease, as well as immediately understand most magical items, though curses may still elude them.

They can also surround themselves with flame, empowering their attacks and searing foes that stand too close to them.

Additionally, they can grow a pair of phoenix wings to carry them aloft.

Later on, they can perform greater acts of restoration once a day, infusing the recipient with magical healing and purging flame.

The most powerful of these mages invoke the true power of the phoenix, and can resurrect from death once a day, rising a minute after apparently perishing, though overtaxing this ability can still kill them permanently.

While the wings and the free identification on most items and the fire aura are nice, the bread and butter of this bloodline is the ability to turn fire spells into healing magic, letting you do things like healing fireballs and the like. As such, This is one elementally-aligned bloodline you’ll want to load up on good fiery options, though of course, leave some room for diversity both in terms of other elements, and also other types of spells depending on your build.

With the powers of both flame and healing, this bloodline is certainly set up to inherit the reputation of the beings they draw power from. As such, they may find themselves living up to a lot of expectations, both reasonable and otherwise, and that’s a lot of pressure to be put under.

They say that phoenixes are related to other powerful elementally-aligned avians, and this includes tidehawks, who have their own sorcerous inheritors. Such is the case with the merfolk Melagi, who boasts a combination of stormwracked and phoenix bloodlines as a result, a combination she is proud to display, earning the nickname Storm Singer.

Subject to divine punishment from an evil god, a pharmakos is a creature of nearly immortal suffering and death with no respite. Even finally being slain only results in the soul being brought before the dark deity they forsook. However, one scholar posits that a ritual involving an atonement spell and blood donated by a phoenix-blooded sorcerer may yet free such a creature from their torment.

Despite the phoenix appearing as a symbol among many cultures, very few sorcerers that claim link to them are born. When one does appear, it is considered an omen of good fortune, one that many faiths may forget themselves to raise and acquire, such is the case with the infant that the party has been tasked with escorting.

[emmettkane]

The Razorwhale

Another birthday present for @grimvestige (oops).

A conversation between The Outsider and Maximilian Xavier DeMarco.

---

Do you want to hear about a monster? Sailors drenched in wasted youth and whiskey speak of it with solemnity. If you look into their eyes you'll see the surging waves, crashing hammer blows into barnacle encrusted, stormwracked hulls. Broken bodies thrown into the sea like bait. A beast wielding memories against the ones who dreamed them. It sings a song of lost loves, regrets, and failures, cutting body and soul. It is a thing of rusting iron and glass, timber and rotting cloth: all the refuse and waste of the sailing-sort.

They call it The Razorwhale.

Now that I've given you its title, you know it's real. You've seen it in your dreams. You've heard it hymn the names of those you've lost, echoing and ringing. You hear it every day, beckoning beneath the machine whir-and-click of your current works. Your distractions. Your rage.

What verse is your favorite? Your ship? Your guardians? Your professor? I know which one is mine.

It starts with a wrench, smuggled from the bosun's stores and more deadly than any weapon. Loosen a bolt here, pull out a screw, bend this pipe or that, the work of your hands rapidly overtaking your better sense.

Just one more thing and it's done, but—tick, tick, boom. The Razorwhale's crescendo, the great twist, the height of the song, but not the end by far. You remember the next note.

Overboard. Not you, someone else. I don't need to repeat their name, you say it so often already. You honor it like a holy relic, just as zealous as any overseer, just as desperate as any renegade. It drives everything you do. It is the sun in your sky and the moon as well, a forever-eclipse over the blackened wastes of your life.

Still, you persist. You carry on, learning and growing, stronger and smarter and unable to quit. The spark of your human soul could grow into a flame yet, but what sort? A hearth to warm, a righteous blaze, or an all-consuming inferno?

Or, will you simply succumb? I doubt it. People like us are rarely so lucky.

[artstationable]

Lin Chang • "Runara of Stormwrack Isle"

Freelance Concept Artist 微博：星星翔

artstation

More from «Artstation» here

[dungeonmalcontent]

there are the Seacliff Dwarves from the 3.5 book Stormwrack they live like puffins kind of.

they are your basic dwarves but swim better, hold their breath longer and don't have a bonus in combat against Orcs and Goblins

I assume this is about my sea dwarves post. And this is good to know. My knowledge of 3.5 is limited. It's always refreshing to see that old editions and other rpgs get to where I'm going before me. Like the fleshwarps in pathfinder.

Regardless, I like the idea of sea dwarves as more of a setting thing than a race/ancestry option. Like, I want a setting where the cultures are familiar to their standard fantasy tropes, but that exist in odd ways. Like sea dwarves, or steampunk elves, goblins that are explorers that live on the outskirts of discovered lands, halflings that live like dragons, etc.

[thecreaturecodex]

Sisiutl

Image by Jim Nelson, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the Stormwrack Art Gallery here

[The Sisiutl is a common symbolic monster in Pacific Northwest art, with the Kwakwakaʼwakw version being the best described online. It’s also one of the few First Nations monsters to appear in D&D. The Stormwrack version has a petrifying gaze, but I stripped that out to make it a little less TPK-able, given its pretty good melee capacity. I replaced that with flesh to stone, so it can still petrify foes, albeit one at a time, and arrow-themed abilities, which are more in keeping with what lore I could find.]

Sisiutl CR 10 LN Outsider (native) This creature resembles a massive serpent with three faces, two each at the ends of long necks, and a more human-like face in the middle where the necks meet. Its scales are like flakes of stone.

A sisiutl is a creature that bridges the boundaries between the Material and Outer Planes. It is a wise councilor and fearsome guardian, and serves to protect and mediate interactions between mortals and extraplanar outsiders. They are usually found near portals between planes, places where planar boundaries are thin, or even as advisors and guides to shamans and spiritual leaders of all kinds. Sisiutls are somewhat stern and no-nonsense, but they have a fondness for cooked meats and other gifts that are difficult to make or obtain without hands.

In combat, a sisiutl prefers non-lethal measures, petrifying a single foe and then negotiating with its allies to restore it to flesh in exchange for meeting the sisiutl’s wishes (which are typically to withdraw the trespass). They are skilled at melee and ranged combat, however, mixing powerful bites and constriction attacks with scales flicked from the ends of their tail like arrows. They can even enhance a scale such that it acts as a deadly weapon against a specific type of creature. If they are mollified or allied with, a sisiutl may give up this scale willingly as a reward, although they choose the type of creature it is attuned to. Common types include animals for assistance with hunting, or a creature type that matches a local menace to the community’s stability.

A sisiutl can speak through all three of its heads, and may carry on multiple conversations simultaneously in different languages with ease. All three heads have the same personality and goals, however.

Sisiutl             CR 10 XP 4,800 LN Huge outsider (aquatic, native) Init +4; Senses all-around vision, darkvision 60 ft., Perception +21, scent Defense AC 23, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (-2 size, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural) hp 125 (10d10+70) Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +13 DR 10/adamantine; Immune charm and compulsion effects Offense Speed 20 ft., swim 50 ft. Melee 2 bites +14 (2d6+6 plus grab) Ranged arrow scale +12/+7 (1d8+6/x3) Space 15 ft.; Ranged 10 ft. Special Attacks constrict (2d6+9), slaying arrow scale Spell-like Abilities CL 10th, concentration +15 (+19 casting defensively) At will—flesh to stone (DC 21), lightning bolt (DC 18), remove fear, stone shape, stone to flesh 1/day—commune, fly, plane shift (DC 22) Statistics Str 23, Dex 19, Con 25, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 20 Base Atk +10; CMB +18 (+22 grapple); CMD 33 (cannot be tripped) Feats Alertness, Combat Casting, Dodge, Iron Will, Point-Blank Shot Skills Diplomacy +18, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (local, nature) +13, Knowledge (planes, religion) +16, Perception +21, Sense Motive +21, Survival +17, Swim +27 Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal SQ amphibious, canoe form Ecology Environment cold and temperate coasts Organization solitary Treasure standard Special Abilities Arrow Scales (Su) A sisiutl may fire scales from its tail as if they were arrows shot from a Medium composite longbow, with a pull equal to the sisiutl’s Strength bonus. It has an effectively infinite amount of scales. Canoe Form (Su) As a standard action, a sisiutl may transform itself into a canoe 5 feet by 20 ft. long. It may carry four passengers in this form, and moves on its own at its normal Swim speed. It uses its Swim modifier instead of Profession (sailor) to navigate hazards. In this form, it can use its spell-like abilities, but not its natural weapons. A sisiutl may remain in canoe form for as long as it wishes, and return to its normal form as a standard action. Slaying Arrow Scale (Su) Once per day as a swift action, a sisiutl can declare one of its arrow scales to act as a slaying arrow against a creature type of its choice (Fort DC 20 negates). It can then fire that scale as an arrow scale, or bequeath it to another creature. If given to another creature, it can be lashed onto an arrow with a successful DC 15 Craft (bowyer or fletcher) check, and its magic lasts for 1 week before fading.

[adrianrmarsh]

This morning’s ride was quite tough, through storm wrack along the seaside and trees blown over by the terrible winds yesterday and the day before. The sea was very choppy too. Shortly after, on the way back home, I broke my saddle going over a BIG hole in the seaside path, but the nice people at Atek Bisiklet sorted my Brompton out with a replacement @bromptonbicycle @atekbisiklet @brooksengland . . #brompton #bromptonbicycle #bromptonistanbul #stormwrack #seasideride #heavyweather #brokensaddle #photobyadrianrmarsh (at Caddebostan Sahil) https://www.instagram.com/p/CW-jw1dosn6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[creatureculture]

MERFOLK 1.5 Edition

listen Colin and Gnollbard talk about your favorite monsters, spooks, and nasty guys that inhabit your fantasy settings. Enjoy the unusually breif episode!

Leviathan Locale: Chi-Akta Bay (3:34) Bestiary: Chuuls (31:31) Monster Memoir: the incredible journey of the Kishkacast (40:55)

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[jesus-woofed]

Ayyy we getting a seafaring d&d book soon! Pirates and vikings here we come baby

[thirdtofifth]

Blackskate Large undead, neutral evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 76 (8d10 + 32) Speed 5 ft., swim 40 ft. Str 20, Dex 17, Con 19, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 16 Damage Immunities poison Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, poisoned Senses darkvision 60 ft. passive Perception 11 Languages - Challenge 4 (1100 XP) Blood Frenzy. The blackskate has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn't have all its hit points. Keen Smell. The blackskate has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell. Nimble Swimmer. While swimming, the blackskate can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of its turns. Actions Multiattack. The blackskate makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its sting. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6+5) piercing damage. Stinger. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d4+5) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.

Their bodies composed of shed scales and loose cartilage shed by various beasts of the sea, blackskates lurk in the depths of the ocean. It constantly seeks out warm blood, which sends it into a famished frenzy. However, it prefers to hunt by waiting below a thin layer of silt and sand on the ocean floor, and lunging when prey arrives. 

Originally from Stormwrack.

[honourablejester]

Homebrew Cursed Gems

I’m kinda surprised there aren’t more of these, since the cursed jewel is such a huge fantasy trope. The Silmarils, the Arkenstone … And RL trope, for that matter, given jewels like the Koh-i-noor, the Delhi Purple Sapphire, the Black Orlov, and La Peregrina Pearl. In D&D, where gems the size of your head are a total possibility, I’m surprised by the dearth of cursed shinies.

THE EYE OF SAVRAS

Wonderous Item, Artefact (requires attunement)

This brilliant, palm-sized white gem is rumoured to have been stolen from a temple of Savras. The gem has 8 charges, and functions as a Gem of Seeing. While attuned to the gem, you can expend a charge and gain truesight out to a distance of 120ft for 10 minutes when you peer through the gem. In addition, you can spend charges to cast one of the following spells (save DC 17): Scrying (3 charges), Legend Lore (3 charges) or Arcane Eye (2 charges).

Curse. The gem is cursed, a fact revealed only when an Identify spell is cast on the gem or you attune to it. Attuning to the gem extends the curse to you, and you become unwilling to part with the gem. Affected by the Eye’s stolen ability to see more than you should, you have disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws. The curse can only be removed by returning the gem to a temple or cleric of Savras and having them willingly cast remove curse, greater restoration or similar magic on it. Clerics of Savras are unaffected by this curse.

THE STORMWRACK PEARL

Wonderous Item, Artefact (requires attunement)

A finger-length, irregular saltwater pearl with a beautiful blue-black sheen, the Stormwrack Pearl was claimed by the goddess Umberlee as a personal sacrifice, and should never have been taken from the deep. While attuned to the pearl, you gain a swimming speed and a flying speed of 50ft.

Curse. The pearl is cursed, a fact revealed only when an Identify spell is cast on the gem or you attune to it. Attuning to the pearl curses you with vulnerability to lightning and thunder damage, and the curse lasts even if you are no longer attuned to the pearl. The curse can only be removed by casting the pearl into the sea, where Umberlee will gleefully reclaim it.

GREEN SUN DIAMOND

Wonderous Item, Artefact (requires attunement)

Rather than diamond, this stone is a faintly luminous, fist-sized gem of faceted, greenish-yellow heliodor. It is said to have steeped in the hoard of an ancient green dragon for centuries, and soaked up the creature’s malice as well as magic.

The stone emits dim light to a range of 5ft. The light can be covered by wrapping or covering the stone in something opaque. While attuned to the Green Sun Diamond, you can cast one of the following spells from the stone once per day (save DC 19): Dawn, Daylight, or Sickening Radiance. When cast in this manner, the spell does not require concentration. Once you have cast one of these spells in this manner, you cannot cast a spell from the stone until after the next dawn.

Curse. The stone is cursed, a fact revealed only when an Identify spell is cast on the stone or you attune to it. While attuned to the Green Sun Diamond, you have disadvantage on Constitution saving throws. In addition, you no longer have darkvision, nor can you gain it while your attunement lasts, as the light of the stone destroys your ability to see in darkness. A warlock’s Devil’s Sight feature is not affected by this curse. Only a wish spell can remove the curse from the stone.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Been working with one of my players on their Storm Sorceror who got their power from a Kraken Cult. Any chance of a high-seas/pirate adventure that leads to Kraken waters?

Adventure: On the Hook

Sometimes it’s biting off more than you can chew what gets you, sometimes it’s the lil nibble that signals trouble down the line.  

Adventure Hooks: 

Seeking transport across the waters, the party has negotiated a meeting with a amenable captain to set sail during that evening’s tide aboard his ship “The Able Hook”. When they get there however, they find a vicious gang has taken over the ship in the dark, and is curling hauling the captain’s slaughtered crew out into the bay before absconding with the ship and its cargo. This brutal act of stationary piracy was intended to happen fast and brutal, with the pirates escaping on the same time the party was supposed to venture out on. 

With a grisly multiple homicide dropped into their laps and thier travel plans thrown into complete chaos, the party will need to decide between alterting the authorities, or taking the Hook themselves and venturing off wherever they might be going.  This decision might be made for them as the orcish Firstmate Phruma pulls herself from the water, scarred, half bled-out, and looking to avenge her crewmates.   Phruma will steer the party towards taking vengeance on any of the pirates who might have escaped, as well as whatever larger organization put them up to the bold-as-brass act of attacking a ship while docked in a semi-respectable harbor. 

Each of the murderous pirates bore a similar mark on their body, sometimes resembling a squid, sometimes a jellyfish, sometimes thunderbolts descending from a stormcloud. Different designs to be sure, but a clever eye can pick out the hidden sign contained within. Several more nautical adversaries will bear this brand in the future, all ruthless, all in service to a mysterious cabal working out of a dangerous stretch of reefs and atolls in a stormwracked stretch of sea. 

Setup: The Pirates that attacked The Able Hook are agents of a group that calls itself the Hungering Gyre, who trace their lineage back to a band of raiders and warrior mystics exiled from their homeland. In the centuries since they were forced to settle on an out of the way archipeligo  the gyre has evolved into an insular cult, venerating strength above all and extracting tribtue from the freebooters who seek shelter in their shoals and pay them to keep storms out of their path. Recently however a new factor within the Gyre has turned its ambition to farther climbs, actively recruiting pirates to their cause and forcing them to swear oaths of fealty, converting their onetime clients into vassals. 

In the longterm, the Gyre seek to cultivate enough fear and funds as they can in order to create a pirate armada, one strong enough to claim a stretch of land for their own and defend it against the maritime powers, rather than simply sniffing after scraps on their plate. To this end they will murder stabalizing factors among their local pirates, as well as assassinate priest of other sea gods in a hope of drowning out other voices. At the pinnacle of their hubris, they will attempt to summon seamonsters and other monstrosities to decimate their foes, giving rise to any number of horrid creatures transplanted from the depths that’ve outlived their original purpose and have since gone rampaging.  

Art

[caeliri]

@vaelrin

Something grim before I draw a more festive piece for the holidays… hopefully. :)

[thecreaturecodex]

Hammerclaw

Image © Wizards of the Coast, by Jim Nelson. Accessed at the Stormwrack Art Gallery here

[The hammerclaw’s signature ability is seemingly based on the feats of the pistol shrimp, which seems like D&D’s habit of not letting mundane animals do fun stuff. Of course shooting sonic bolts has to be magical! I do like the hammerclaw despite this; it’s a fun sort of goon monster. I imagine that in the  phylogeny of little-used D&D monsters, they’re related to crauds.]

Hammerclaw CR 5 NE Magical Beast This creature looks like a lobster the size of a horse, with a shell covered in bumps and ridges and mottled to look like sea rocks. Its stalked eyes somehow convey a sense of inquisitiveness.

Hammerclaws are monstrous crustaceans with a dim and evil intelligence. They are curious creatures, but that curiosity extends primarily to the sorts of noises a creature will make as it is being torn apart. A hammerclaw hunts by ambush, snapping its claws to create a violent shockwave and then grabbing a victim stunned by the sonic pulse. They may attack even when not hungry out of sheer malice, but those that do are often on the move to avoid reprisals.

A hammerclaw speaks Aquan, but not very well—few hammerclaws have vocabularies of more than 50 words. They are sometimes pressed into service by more powerful marine horrors, but do not take directions well and may wander off if not sufficiently stimulated with violence. Hammerclaws do collect treasure, but they have a habit of breaking it when bored—valuables are thus limited to small objects like coins or gems, or magical gear tough enough to resist their crushing claws.

Hammerclaw           CR 5 XP 1,600 NE Large magical beast (aquatic) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +9, scent Defense AC 18, touch 9, flat-footed 18 (-1 size, +9 natural) hp 57 (6d10+24) Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +5 Resist sonic 10 Offense Speed 20 ft., swim 20 ft. Melee 2 claws +8 (1d6+3 plus grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks constrict (1d6+4), sonic pulse Statistics Str 17, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 4, Wis 12, Cha 9 Base Atk +6; CMB +10 (+14 grab); CMD 20 (30 vs. trip) Feats Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception) Skills Perception +9, Stealth +5 (+9 in rocky environments), Swim +16; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth (+8 in rocky environments) Languages Aquan SQ amphibious Ecology Environment temperate aquatic Organization solitary or pair Treasure incidental Special Abilities Sonic Pulse (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, a hammerclaw may snap its claws so forcefully that it creates a sonic boom. All creatures in a 30 ft. cone take 4d6 points of sonic damage and are stunned for 1 round. A DC 16 Fortitude save halves the damage and negates the stunning effect. The save DC is Strength based.

[jeaneybean]

Something I appreciate about Sam as a DM is that he lets us make our own magic items/spells if we can basically root it in game terms so nothing is too OP. So Taylor could make Oz a shit ton of blood spells by swapping out water spells for blood and changing a few things, and I got to make my sweet paladin boots that let me swap out turns for smites, which were initially draw off slippers of the battledancer.

So I got it into my head I wanted a face slot item that’s a tongue ring of tongues. Taylor’s looking into items and sends some my way, and I lay everyhing out for Sam. Here’s what an item costs that’s just a constant tongues effect; here’s the pearl of languages from MIC that lets you have one commnd spell and one language, but I don’t like the command spell so here’s what a command spell costs, so can I just have the pearl for this ammount; Here’s the crystal mask of whatever, can I make this into a tongue ring. And he’ll be like ‘thanks for doing the math: Tongue ring of tongues is approved, I’ll approve the pearl at that cost since you have to fiddle with a full round action to replace it with a new one in your mouth, and I’m iffy on the third one without some sort of addition to your eyes-

-how about this hideous face jewlery that looks like half glasses with no glass-

‘Jeaney why’

But my current ‘take an item fuck with it’ is the Admiral’s Bicorne from Stormwrack, because it has the _delicious_ addition of a +5 to charisma checks that is totally untyped. Which, fucking great since I’m getting real hard pressed to find buffs that stack for my diplomancer build. The downside? The +5 to profesion sailor, and the constant aura of heroism, which has enough similarities to bardic music that I’m ‘ehhh’ about because I don’t want to step on the bard’s toes, because Amy does regularly use it when we get into combat.

So I’m breaking it down into it’s parts. I can swap out profession: Sailor for Ride, since I’m plnning on basically makin this item into a pair of red dragon horns for Vera to wear because boy howdy, is she developing weird. I’m obviously keeping the +5 to charsma checks because that also applies to turning checks and boy howdy, I’m a shitty cleric. The maginification of her voice I might as well keep because Vera should be allowed to be loud. So I just have to find a subsitution for the last effect.

Since it’s a level two bard spell, I’m thinking of looking through the books for draconic-esque spells that’re level 2 (or level 1 for the half casters), or looking at the command-esque classes to see if they have a similar class skill. I’m also thinking of looking into 5e at Paladin shit and seeing if I can be like ‘hey sam, let me be an asshole’ Taylor suggested that I be able to throw out my divine thingy where I can add my charisma bonus to my saves in an aura, which would be pretty tight.