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Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017-18, the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign I ran in 2018-19 and ‘Out of the Abyss’, a campaign I ran in 2020. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another grand campaign that started out with a slightly warped version of ‘Lost Mine of Phandelver, then rolled on to merge ‘Storm King’s Thunder’ and ‘Princes of the Apocalypse’ (it took the intrepid heroes to 20th level using experience points – yes, those antiquated things lol). Please note it was never called ‘Footfall’ in the beginning, as it was originally just going to be playing the Lost Mine, but I had some ideas along the way and the campaign grew as it went along in an ad hoc, improvised manner, adapting parts of Storm King’s and Princes to pad out the story. The main villain wasn’t even thought of until about three-quarters of the way through the 70-session campaign. Each session was approximately 5 hours (sometimes more) long. This campaign was also the first time I didn’t write all the summaries – some of the players were given that task and did so admirably! Most of the summaries appear here as they first appeared (with minor edits). If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Steve 🙂
From Aelfwyn’s Journal (Pieter):
After beating a band of Redbrands and deciding their fate, Lady Atrasian went to rally the village…one drink after another. Meanwhile, the rest of the party went on to the Sleeping Giant.
I went in and tried to reason with the Redbrands, but with a trick up my sleeve I called ‘shotgun diplomacy’. Even the best laid plans can go wrong. My thunderwave, supported by ball bearings, managed to kill one, but the rest sliced me up. The party stormed in and the fight was on. We won, of course, and were rewarded with some free ale and a good night’s rest. We got some information from one captive, something about the “Black Spider” hiring the Redbrands to harass the people.
Waking in the middle of the night, the party decided to go with Fuzz’s nephew Carp to find the hidden entrance to the Redbrand hideout. We sent the boy back safely to his home, before going in. Failing to move into the dungeon below Tresendar Manor stealthily, we were spotted by a strange creature. Requesting food and being provided with some, a creature identified as a “Nothic” appeared. A remnant of an old wizard trying strange experiments, apparently. I tried to reason with it, but it demanded human flesh. Striver could not let such an abomination live. Not long after, the Nothic lay slain at the bottom of a crevass.
Unfortunately, we made too much noise, and the cavern soon swarmed with Redbrands. A huge fight erupted. Striver tried to hold back the tide on one side, as magic spells and arrows flew. For every Redbrand killed, another seemed to take its place as they flooded in from every direction. Fuzz cut one of the ropes of a bridge over a crevass, causing several Redbrands to fall, but one enemy proved stronger than the others. A wizard we identified as Glasstaff – better known as ‘Glassass’. It appeared he was Iarno, the wizard from the Lords Alliance that Sildar wanted us to find. His magic missiles hit Striver hard, who had previously held his own easily against the horde of Redbrands. We ended a Nothic, 3 Bugbears and 9 Redbrands. Pursuing Glassass through a hidden door, we encountered 3 skeletons, which we managed to dispatch. signet rings we found in the skeletons’ sarcophagi, but unfortunately the wizard was gone. We found Myrna and her 2 children imprisoned in a cell and set them free. Myrna told us of a valuable emerald necklace located in an alchemy shop in the abandoned village of Thundertree, which we could have, should we find it.
Battered, out of spells, Grigor’s longbow destroyed, out of healing potions, and with freed prisoners to protect, we were left with no choice as to how to proceed.
The party made it to LVL 3! (1120 XP total)
From Aelfwyn’s Journal (Pieter):
After a brutal fight in the Redbrand Hideout, the party tried to capture Glassass, but stumbled upon some prisoners instead. Being battered and beaten, we decided on taking the safe route and guide and Myrna her children safely back into town (but not until we looted the hideout). Money was found, money was spent, and a good night’s (or morning’s) rest was well-deserved.
We informed Sildar of his friend’s fate, though he required more proof. After selling excess weapons we had looted (along with beaver pelts), we went back under Tresendar Manor and thoroughly searched the place. We found the wizard’s laboratory and a letter by someone called the “Black Spider” addressed to Iarno Albrek, aka Glassass. There were various texts on alchemy, about the Phandelver Pact and the forge of spells, and about a magic mace called “Lightbringer”. We found a potion of invisibility.
We also stumbled upon a cowardly goblin and tried to extract some information out of him. We decided to keep him as a pet…I mean, loyal servant. Droop the Goblin received some leather armor, a shield, and a scimitar, and a weekly wage of 1 SP (please don’t ask where he keeps it…please, please don’t ask). We found some provisions in the Redbrand hideout which we distributed around town, and prepared for our next adventure. Our first destination: Wyvern Torn, to take out some orcs.
After a 3-day long treck, we finally arrived at the mountain. We started off by getting Fuzz, the halfling rogue, to scout ahead. Unfortunately, a lot of enemies were there, and sliding back down his rope, we were spotted. A battle ensued – orcs rushed from the mountain path towards us, while others threw javelins from on high. Droop immediately fainted at the sight of danger and was of no use at all. After about a minute, the onslaught proved too much as an ogre stormed towards us. Grigor the fighter and Striver the dwarven cleric fell. I was forced back, and Fuzz drank the potion of invisibility to hide from the creatures. I tried to lure them, but instead they decided to drag Striver and Grigor back up the mountain. This could not happen!
I attacked the ogre once more, only to be brutally hacked by an orc’s greataxe, dropping from the big hit. Fortunately, enough attention was drawn for Grigor and Striver to get back up and take on the monsters again. I was healed again, allowing one more ‘Shotgun Diplomacy’ to be cast before my spells ran out. Striver used a big thunderwave of his own, smashing the ogre, while Grigor and Fuzz finished off the remaining orcs. It was a very close fight. We nearly lost our lives, but in the end, we saved the day once more, stopping orc raids along the Triboar Trail.
(1433 xp total).
Next Week: The Ruined Watchtower…
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FiveE Magazine is an annual periodical dedicated to content for the World’s Most Popular Fantasy Role Playing Game! This issue contains 70 pages of amazing content, gorgeous art, free maps, new monsters, new magic items, new lineage, a complete adventure and loads more! And it’s FREE!
With articles by a host of contributors, including Midnight Tower, AlexTheMapMaker, Awfully Queer Heroes, F.H Stevens, Thomas Pugh, DnDWife, W.M Deluca and Laidback DM.
Download it at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/438782/FiveE-Magazine–June-2023
Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017-18, the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign I ran in 2018-19 and ‘Out of the Abyss’, a campaign I ran in 2020. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another grand campaign that started out with a slightly warped version of ‘Lost Mine of Phandelver, then rolled on to merge ‘Storm King’s Thunder’ and ‘Princes of the Apocalypse’ (it took the intrepid heroes to 20th level using experience points – yes, those antiquated things lol). Please note it was never called ‘Footfall’ in the beginning, as it was originally just going to be playing the Lost Mine, but I had some ideas along the way and the campaign grew as it went on in an ad hoc, improvised manner, adapting parts of Storm King’s and Princes to pad out the story. The main villain wasn’t even thought of until about three-quarters of the way through the 70-session campaign. Each session was approximately 5 hours (sometimes more) long. This campaign was also the first time I didn’t write all the summaries – some of the players were given that task and did so admirably! Most of the summaries appear here as they first appeared (with minor edits). If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Game on!
Steve 🙂
The party (consisting of Fuzz the Halfling Rogue, Grigor the Human Fighter and Striver the Dwarven Cleric) travelled on the Triboar Trail to deliver goods to Phandalin for Gundren Rockseeker. After discovering some dead horses and being ambushed by several Cragmaw Goblins, the party tracked down the goblin’s staging cave and assaulted it. After several trials (poop-filled chimney’s and toilet-flush water traps), the party took out King Grol (“Nobody hits King Grol but King Grol!”) and saved Sildar Hallwinter (“I remember when I was fighting goblins just outside of Neverwinter…”). Of note was Striver’s use of sanctuary and dodging to block a doorway and hem the goblins in. Loquacious Sildar promised the party 50gp to deliver him to Phandelin.
(Meanwhile, Lady Atrasian the Human Fighter and Aelfwyn the Elvish Wizard were traveling to Phandalin, each on their own private mission, when they came across dead horses, dead goblins and a disguised supply cart hidden in bushes. They inspected the area and waited until the battered party returned…)
Next week: Phandalin!
– The intrepid party ran into two new party members while recovering their cart. Lady Atrasian the Fighter and Aelfwyn the Wizard joined Fuzz the Halfling Rogue, Grigor the Human Fighter and Striver the Dwarven Cleric.
– They escorted Sildar back to Phandalin, Sildar and Lady Atrasian stopped off at the inn for the night, where Atrasian heard several rumours, including that the Redbrands, a local gang, were running roughshod around the town. Atrasian also met up with Sister Garaele at the local shrine, who offered her a job to flatter a local banshee in return for the location of a magic book.
– Fuzz reunited with his Aunt Qelline and Carp, her son. The party stayed in the barn and ate supper with the family. Carp revealed he knew a secret way into Tresendar Manor and believed the redbrands were based there. Quelline indicated a druid called Reidoth might be able to help them locate Cragmaw Castle. He was last seen in the ruins of Thundertree.
– Next day, the party negotiated a fee to return goods to Lionshield Coster, returned goods to Barthen’s Provisions, and stocked up. Barthen mentioned Gundren Rockseeker’s brothers, Nundro and Tharden, were camped outside of town but had not returned to resupply and asked the party to find Gundren and his brothers.
– Aelfwyn spoke to Sister Garaele about a vision he had about his need to consecrate an altar in Cragmaw Castle. She advised if he helped Atrasian complete her mission she might be willing to provide assistance with Cragmaw.
– The party took out three Redbrands in the street and interrogated another. They discovered Glasstaff (now known as ‘Glassass’) was the leader, and that the gang was based under Tresendar Manor. Apparently, a one-eyed thing protected the underlevels, were told they shouldn’t try wearing the Redbrand’s cloaks, and that some people were recently taken hostage and were held below.
– Over to the Townmaster’s hall, where Harbin mentioned he needed someone to deal with Orc raiders on Wyvern Tor for 100GP. It turned out Sildar was a member of the Lords’ Alliance, a group committed to defending the various lords’ interests in the area. He offered party 200 GP to deal with Redbrands. Sildar mentioned that a short, dark bearded wizard in his mid-30’s named Iarno, might be held by the Redbrands. Iarno was also a member of the Lords Alliance and had been missing for a while.
– Down to the Phandalin Miner’s Exchange, where Halia asked the party to take out the Redbrand’s leader and bring her any correspondence they found – she would pay 100 GP, no questions asked. She suggested a goblin in the employ of the Redbrands might know where Cragmaw Castle is.
– Daran, a member of the Order of the Gauntlet at Eldermath Orchard, advised someone should deal with Glassass once and for all. He mentioned some prospectors were having problems with undead in the ruins of Old Owl Well.
From the journal of Aelfwyn (Pieter):
Lady Atrasian and I were travelling along the road towards Phandalin, when we came across a scene: dead horses, dead goblins, and a hidden cart with supplies. We inspected the area and waited a bit, until the responsible parties returned to the scene, battered and beaten, with a rescuee.
After some initial pleasantries, we all set off for Phandalin together. There, we separated, Lady Atrasian and I accompanying Sildar into the Stonehill inn for some food and rest, while Fuzz took Grigor and Striver to his cousin’s farm. During their stay there, they learned of a secret tunnel guarded by Redbrands, courtesy of his nephew Carp, while enjoying a meal and rest. That same evening, Lady Atrasian visited the Shrine of Luck, where she conversed with Sister Garaele. It turns out she was a member of an organisation called the Harpers and she was on a mission to recover a spell book from a banshee called Agatha, near a well. Pledging to help her, Lady Atrasian exchanged her signet ring for a silver comb she could use to persuade the banshee.
In the tavern, the party spoke of Daren Edermath, a former half-elf adventurer who owned an orchard there, after having been a marshall up the Sword Coast, years ago. A member of the Order of the Gauntlet, too, apparently, though his adventuring days were now over. He said he was too old to keep doing this. We heard of orc raiders to the east of the Triboar Trail, whom had been causing havoc. We also took note of prospectors running into some trouble to the north-east at the Old Owl Well, seeing undead near an ancient watchtower rumoured to contain magical secrets.
But most of all, the talk of the town was of the Redbrands, a band of ruffians who had been terrorising the settlers, and mayor Harbin Wester not doing anything to stop them. They extorted the businesses, bullied the people, or outright killed them sometimes. A woodworker was murdered and his wife and child taken away as prisoners.
After some shopping, selling and delivering of goods, we exited the shop to face a band of ruffians. Unfortunately for them, they gravely underestimated the brave adventurers. A few arrows, spells, and swings of sword and axe later, three of them lay dead with the last one captured and interrogated. It was here we came to learn more about their organisation: their leader, a wizard named Glasstaff, resided in Tresendar Manor; the Sleeping Giant Inn was being used as their go-to tavern; the kidnapped wife and child were being held captive in the manor; something about a hideous eye-monster; also, skeletons. There was a discussion about what to do with the captive – if he should just be killed, like his friends, or sent to jail. The latter option had the most support, and lo it was done.
Personally, I learned about a druid in the ruins of Thundertree who might be able to help me find Cragmaw Castle, where I needed to reconsecrate the altar to Oghma. I also learned that fire was particularly effective against guys with red shirts.
All in all, after this first encounter, the Redbrands should fear us. We were no party to mess around with.
Next Week: Facing The Redbrands…
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SHOTGLASS ADVENTURES rides again!
Lurkers and The St. Avon’s Day Massacre are the newest adventures in the popular Shotglass Adventures PDF One-Shot series! Both are fully play-tested One-Page One-Shots for 5e and OSR systems for 3rd-4th level characters, including full stat blocks with both old and new 5e and OSR/1e monsters, plus grid and grid-less maps. And all for just $3 AU (about $2.00 US).
You can find them at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/13989/
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Hi all,
Just published my second YouTube video, a Dark Souls-inspired hand drawn dungeon time lapse! Enjoy! 🙂
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DMs and fantasy TTRPG designers always need maps, but they’re not always easy for people to make, especially if you want a particular hand drawn aesthetic that you can’t get with digital map making applications. Maps can be expensive to commission, and when you’re a small indie TTRPG game or product designer, your profit margin can be tight on every product.
MAPS FOR FANTASY RPGs 7: a Digital Maps Package containing hand drawn, full color maps – royalty free and ready to use in your next private or commercial print / digital / streaming project!
Designed to inspire you creatively, these maps are ideal for any situation – design an entire adventure around one, use a map as a fill in or one-shot, or ad lib entirely as your players stumble across one. There are maps of all kinds: ruined castles, dark dungeons, spelljammed ships, hidden temples, cavernous caves, and more!
Available now on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/429848/Maps-for-Fantasy-RPGs-7
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So excited! Just posted my first-ever YouTube video of time lapse map drawing! I don’t expect it to break the internet 😂
Cheers
Steve 😊
Hi all,
I’ve been asked in the past about what creative process I use in developing adventures and TTRPG products. Here’s a shortened version of an article I originally wrote for my Shotglass Rounds #11: Duumhaven adventure (available on DrivethruRPG). Hopefully it answers some of your questions.
Please note that my process can vary from product to product and is not always representative of the one outlined below – not just because I like variety but because the way I approach the creative process also depends on the type of product I’m making.
Onward!
Steve 🙂
SR#11 and other Laidback DM Products are available at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/13989/
Tropes & Turnarounds
This project was a bit of an experiment for me – I wanted to do a crossover, old school-style dungeon crawl adventure that leaned heavily into the tropes of those games I played in my youth, but with a modern feel. Yes, there would be some hard encounters; yes, the players might need to occasionally run away. Some of the tropes would include traditional old school clichés like the ‘troll under the bridge’, except this time, how about we give the troll a dog and make him a bit nicer (after all, you shouldn’t have to fight all the time). I also wanted to capture the feel of old school village settings like Village of Homlett or Orlane in Against the Cult of the Reptile God (two AD&D adventures from the distant 1980’s).
The Creative Process
When I design an adventure, I always start with a map and an overarching idea (probably because I love drawing maps and tend to draw a LOT of them). In this case, I had hand-drawn several maps of an underground dwarven city over a year before. The scans of the original paper maps had been sitting on my drive for a while, and one day I decided to digitally color one. It looked so cool, it fired me up and became the map for the upcoming Shotglass Rounds#12: The Goblin Jarl (note: SR#12 was released in October ’22).
Originally, the project was meant to be a series of roughly connected One-Shot dungeon crawls. But as with all things, I had more ideas: DMs would need a wilderness area to feed into the locations. Better put a village in there. How about a massive crack in the earth, caused by a recent quake. The quake was caused by a massive creature. How about various cults and monsters helping the massive creature to escape. The dwarven city could be the original birthplace of the Five Swords (which I created for FiveE Magazine). Okay, the big monster is a Burned One! They originally enslaved the world thousands of years ago, so this one is trapped as penance for its crimes…and so on. And yes, there are a few fantasy clichés in there (why not kill the Burned One all those years ago? Because they felt trapping it forever was punishment enough. Realistically, they probably would have killed it – it slaughtered a whole city of dwarves, after all – but if it’s alive, then it becomes a damn fine campaign Big Bad).
As with any creative process, it’s the little things that draw out more ideas, some interesting and others more mundane: there’s a spy in Duumhaven who will follow the PCs into the dungeon; the troll has family he’s looking for down below; one of the NPCs wants a rare flower for her lover, found only in dank, underground places; etc.
And so, Duumhaven evolved from a little one-shot dungeon crawl to a small regional setting and introductory 1st-level adventure that would serve as the launching point and home base for the PCs throughout an 8-adventure mini-campaign.
Encounters & Maps
I wanted the wilderness region to be cozy – just big enough to include the village of Duumhaven and its surrounds so it wouldn’t take the PCs forever to get to encounter locations. I drew the map specifically for Virtual Tabletop (VTT) (but made it useable in a face-to-face gaming session), allowing for the DM to manage wandering monsters and wilderness encounters on a single wilderness map without the need for additional mapped locations.
The dungeon itself was for 1st-level characters, which are generally a bit…squishy – even more so when taking into account old school PCs. The disused mine under the village (the reason for Duumhaven’s remote location) was deliberately small, to encourage its use as a one-shot (after all, the Shotglass Rounds series is all about one-shots) – a short adventure that could be played in a single session. I created custom monsters for the adventure, as the one-shot’s concept was original and no existing monsters served its purpose. I used a free-flowing encounter structure, unlinked to chambers, allowing the PCs to experience rooms in any order prior to facing off against the one-shot’s big bad (not the Burning One I mentioned previously – he’s for the climax of the series). It was a fun and challenging dungeon, as play testing with two groups proved (I included an amusing memorial listing in the module and it has now become a regular part of the series).
Why Old School Essentials?
The decision to make an Old School Essentials (OSE) version of the adventure was something I had been considering for some time. Previously all my products had been either 5e or system-neutral or included short OSR-conversion guidelines. Now was the time to make the move and embrace the old school renaissance by using the original old school rules (which for me was Basic D&D).
Using a different system adds its own pitfalls – increased development time, added playtesting, more writing and editing time.
The Writing Process
I always write four drafts. The first draft is fine but tends to not include the more specific features beginner DMs might like and may have some sloppy grammar and word usage. The second draft cleans it up a bit. The third draft includes changes from playtesting. Along the way I tend to rewrite passages over and over again because I become a bit pedantic with my writing (read: never happy).
The final draft is the one that is completed after editing and proof reading. I have a proofreader I use and I also proofread the copy myself just to be doubly sure. The final edits complete the file. Then, once it has been released, I spot a mistake I missed and scream.
This happens every single time. It is as inevitable as the sun is hot and the sky is blue. Oh well, nothing and nobody is perfect. I’m gradually learning to accept this.
Layout & Art
I’ve always been good at layout, ever since I first learned how to do it in Adobe Pagemaker, what seems like centuries ago. I like exciting and interesting pages. Lines and lines of text tend to bore me. I use Adobe Creative Suite’s Indesign for layout and Photoshop and Illustrator for maps and art, as well as Procreate on iPad Pro for maps and painting.
Good art makes a difference, and I use purchased and licensed art (and some copyright free/public domain art supplied in previous Kickstarter projects I’ve supported) re-purposing them to fit my aesthetic. I also draw and paint, but I normally limit my stuff to spot art and small features.
Good layout takes a long time but is worth the investment. Tweaks and changes are constant during the development process. I’m one of those naughty people who writes my drafts directly in Indesign (frowned upon by editors everywhere). Why? So, I can make layout changes on the fly and see them with actual text (as opposed to placeholder text, which is how most would work) in real time. Note that you need to have a powerful computer for this, as Indesign may crash (and has) when it feels it can’t handle the pressure anymore.
Changes from the Original Version
The keen observers among you may have noticed that the PDF featured in the Kickstarter campaign grew somewhat from its original 50 pages. I decided to make some changes, which included:
* I originally ran the OSE version with OSE monsters but with 5e encounter descriptions. To make it easier for new DMs, I included system-specific text blocks. They are clearly denoted as ‘5e’ and ‘OSE’, so you can see at a glance which section you need, no matter what game system you run.
* I expanded the How Do I Run Duumhaven section at the start of the module to make it easier for new DMs. I rewrote and expanded the whole section on using the adventure with OSR systems.
* I added more full color art as the PDF expanded.
* I added a broad overview of the Dungeon Duumhaven campaign, as I know there are some people who like to know the over-arching story up front, rather than getting pleasantly surprised along the way as I preferred to do with my Kal-Zar’s Bane series.
* I designed new and old school top-down versions of the map as some of my players found the original isometric map difficult to deal with when running the game via VTT (the fact that my particular VTT subscription didn’t support VTT grids didn’t help). Realizing this might be an issue for others, I made one of the new maps the main map and left the isometric map in as a bonus map – you can use which ever you prefer.
* I added some new monsters because using some of the old originals was a bit TOO clichéd. The ‘gray ooze in the rock pool’ was far too mundane. The Jak Reach’r (see below) was named that way because of my fondness for silly puns.
* I expanded the lore section to make referencing various elements of the game world a little easier.
* I added two pieces of original monster art by me (see above). I hadn’t drawn a picture in a long time. I’d hand drawn maps, done some painting and some spot images, but nothing significant. I decided the purchased art I had for the Darg Tree and Jak Reach’r monsters were a bit… boring. So, it was time to break out the iPad and Procreate and give it a whirl. The resulting images turned out okay. I may just get back into drawing regularly again.
* I added these developer notes as a stretch goal, just because I thought there might be someone out there who’d like to read them. If that’s not you, then I assume you skipped this entire section. And that’s okay.
So, there you have it. Some rather scatter-shot design notes for Duumhaven. Once this series is finished, I’ll consider putting all the adventures together into a hardcover. Maybe even add some new content. We’ll see.
For the moment, the Dungeon Duumhaven story arc remains relatively unplanned (adventure titles and a few brief words in the Dungeon Duumhaven intro are NOT a plan). But that’s how I like to fly when I write campaigns – by the seat of my pants. That way I can change things along the way, and even back myself into a corner so I have to force myself to think up a way to get around that unforeseen complication or plot hole. It’s great exercise for the creative brain. It’s also how I write my books (a book of short stories is on the way, hopefully by the end of next year).
Onward!
Steve, Laidback DM
August 2022
Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017-18, and the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign from 2018-19. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another campaign – 2020’s ‘Out of the Abyss’. Each session was approximately 4-5 hours long. Some of the summaries may be amusing, but don’t forget these are unedited emails, so please forgive their somewhat chaotic nature and poor sentence structure/grammar. If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Game on!
Steve 🙂
The party saved a Modron called Barry from the Beholder Karazekar’s prison, who informed them it could lead them to ‘the Orderer’ (or Maze Engine). The party looted the Beholder’s treasure trove, took everything back to Vizeran at Araj and dropped off the components they had already collected.
Back out into the Underdark and a few weeks later they entered the Labyrinth, where they met a Gnoll called Gash (also known as Shannon), who said he could guide them through. He did – into a trap! The party killed six Minotaurs and moved further in, where they came across a shanty town called Filthriddens. The people were cultists worshipping Yeenoghu, who attempted to ambush the party with the aid of several Ghasts. The battle was suitably brief.
On to the Gallery of Angels, where the party recovered six feathers from petrified, tormented angels, frozen in stone.
Next up, off to the cavern where the Maze Engine, a 20-foot mechanical ball of brass containing a map of the multiverse, rested 40 feet down a 100-foot chasm over a river of magma. A huge Goristro attacked, maiming Kane’s Paladin!
Next Week: Demon Battle! And Menzoberranzannanznanwananman…
The party finished off the Goristro and then fought several other demons. During that battle Belinda’s Bard activated the Maze Engine and it started to produce some bizarre effects. At one point her bard was knocked unconscious and Peter’s Rogue heroically leapt to the rescue, saving her from sliding off the Engine into the magma below. Unfortunately, a bit later he let go of her and she fell in anyway, but nobody’s perfect. She survived – burnt, scarred, shaken, but otherwise okay. It’s not every day you can say you survived falling into magma. One of the last Maze Engine effects (before it toppled into the magma) was a huge energy blast that sent all the demons in 100 miles back to the Abyss. (Hmmm, Baphomet and Yeenoghu were hunting in the labyrinth – they would have been in the 100-mile radius…)
Back to Araj to dump the Goristro’s heart and then off to the fabled Drow city of Menzoberranzan, site of the original summoning, to find Gromph Baenre’s grimoire. Grin Oustl, Vizeran’s apprentice, led the party through a 72-mile long secret passage which opened into a rift in the middle of the city. On the way he informed the party he wasn’t happy that the ritual would summon the demonlords back to his home town – seems he was still a bit attached to it. Awwwww…
The party met up with Jarlaxle Baenre, head of the Bregan D’Arthe mercenary company and brother of Gromph. He wanted the demonlords gone as well, so offered to hook the party up with the Council of Spiders, a group of secret mages attempting to undermine the city’s matriarchy. Off they went to the tower of Sorcere, equipped with a password and some greater invisibility spells.
Into the tower and Gromph’s sanctum, where they fought a Fire Elemental and four-armed Stone Golem, then into a secret room where a Drow imprisoned in a magic circle unsuccessfully attempted to persuade them to free her. Turns out she was a soon-to-be-dead demon.
Back to Araj and a lengthy discussion about why the Dead Heart (the focus of Vizeran’s ritual) needed to be left in Menzoberranzan. After agreeing to place it into one of the rifts to minimise damage to the city, the party headed back out on the secret road back to Menzoberranzan. Soon, they received a vision from Basidia, the Myconid Sovereign from Neverlight Grove, pleading with them to save Araumycos!
Next week: Araumycos! And the final battle!
The party journeyed to Araumycos, a fungi the size of a country hidden deep in the Underdark. On the way they encountered masses of myconids marching to the wedding of Zuggtmoy and Araumycos. These myconids were attacked by oozes, heralding the arrival of Jubilex, demon lord of oozes.
When they arrived at Araumycos, Basidia informed them they would encounter some resistance from Araumycos itself, as it was dazed after Zuggtmoy’s spore assaults. The party defeated several fungi beasts, passed out and awakened inside Araumycos’s mind. They found a giant skull and destroyed the black tumour within. Waking up, they confronted Jubilex and defeated him.
Off to Menzoberranzan to deliver the Dark Heart into a rift in the center of the city and summon the demon lords from across the Underdark. As the demons appeared, each fought for dominance. Soon, only Demogorgon was left. The party took the battle to the immense demon prince, with everyone contributing to wearing it down so that Kane’s Aasimar Paladin could deliver over 200 HP of damage in one round to finish Demogorgon off and send it back to the Abyss.
The party celebrated, knowing they had saved the Underdark and the surface world from the rage of demons. The world was safe again, until…
Hope you enjoyed these session summaries. I’ll post some more from other campaigns soon.
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017, and the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign from 2018. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another campaign – 2020’s ‘Out of the Abyss’. Each session was approximately 4-5 hours long. Some of the summaries may be amusing, but don’t forget these are unedited emails, so please forgive their somewhat chaotic nature and poor sentence structure/grammar. If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Game on!
Steve 🙂
The party battled and defeated a Nalfashnee and two Balgura demons. They were joined by Jeremy’s Firbolg Druid during the battle, who was promptly accepted as if he had been a member of the party from the beginning 😉.
The PCs walked through the huge, basalt gates of Gravenhollow and met an intelligent Basilisk who gave them a tour. The magical stone library existed on multiple levels and interdimensional space, growing in size as needed and consisting of sections devoted to the past, present and future. It was run by three Stone Giant librarians who collated history on stone tablets and crystals. The party discovered the library was aware and brought them here because they needed to be here.
Given a stonespeaker crystal, the party received visions of the various demon lords and figures they had interacted with on their adventures: Zuggtmoy and Neverlight Grove; Juiblex and the Pudding King; Demogorgon and Sluupoodoop; Fraz-Urb’Luu and the dark gemstone of Mantol Derith. They also saw visions of demon lords they hadn’t encountered yet: Baphomet the horned king and a reality warping device stuck in a magma-filled chasm; Yeenoghu, Lord of Gnolls; Orcus, Lord of Undeath and a faraway mind flayer city; Lolth, Queen of Spiders. They witnessed Drow archmage Gromph Baenre’s folly – a magical ritual in Menzoberranzan that backfired because of the Underdark’s faezress – that brought the demon lords to the Underdark.
Afterwards they met Vizeran, the Drow Wizard that Hgraam of the Stone Giant enclave in Gracklstugh asked them to find. He was in the library researching ways to defeat the demon lords. Vizeran informed them that the demon queen Lolth took advantage of Gromph’s ritual and brought many demon lords out of the Abyss to the Underdark. He invited the party to join him.
Next week: Vizeran’s Tower and the quests for ritual components begin!
The party was joined by Jeremy’s Elvish Arcane Archer, who assured all it would be his last class change(!). The party travelled to Vizeran’s Tower, where the archmage informed them he had devised a ritual to summon the demon lords to one place, have them all fight each other and then they could be finished off more easily. Vizeran advised he needed the party to collect some components for the ritual:
Everyone in the party was given an Amulet of Protection from Fiends (single-use), a Drow Cloak of Elvenkind (which unfortunately crumbles to dust in sunlight, such as that produced by Pete’s Rogue’s Sunsword), and sanctuary in Vizeran’s tower between missions.
First up: The purple worm egg! On their way through the wormwrithings, the party encountered Hanne, an apprentice egg hunter separated from her mother and her team. As the party explored a huge egg ‘nursery’, Hanne and Arvus climbed up the resin strands suspending the eggs 40 feet over the floor, to cut one free. The party dispatched a number of giant spiders when a purple worm suddenly appeared! Kane’s Paladin fought valiantly but succumbed to the worm’s poisonous tail and bite. Then, when things couldn’t get worse, a huge Formorian ran into the cavern yelling “Kill egg thieves, save my precious ones!”
Next week: The battle continues! Will the party survive their first fetch quest?
The party finished off the Purple Worm and the Fomorian egg sitter as Kane’s Paladin was revived with a healing word and polymorphed into a Giant Ape! As the PCs ran from the cave with their Purple Worm egg (the arrival of another Purple Worm echoing in the distance), they came upon a group of Drow Egg Hunters led by Hanne’s mother, Zhora Hallen of House Mizzrym. After a stirring and emotional reunion, Zhora and Hanne departed, with Zhora saying she was in the party’s debt and to look her up if they were ever in Menzoberranzen.
The party rested overnight and then headed off to the Vast Oblivium, a deep chasm carved by the beholder Karazikar, surrounded by ten vertical shafts with numerous caves where the beholder’s slaves lived. After a short interview with the beholder on a rope bridge over the chasm, Kane’s Paladin was turned to stone and Belinda’s Bard put to sleep. Shedrak, the beholder’s Mage assistant, blasted Rhyse’s Rogue and Matt’s Cleric with numerous fireballs and a cone of cold, while hidden with greater invisibility. Finally, Jeremy’s Fighter brought the Beholder down and the Mage ran away. Peter’s Rogue woke up Belinda’s Bard, who used feather fall to get down to where Matt’s Cleric lay and saved him from death. A real challenge for the party, but the Beholder’s eye was finally claimed. Two down, three to go…
One of the Beholder’s Dwarven prisoners explained Karazikar was obsessed with something called the ‘Maze Engine’, which it learned about from a machine it held captive in a cave below…
Next week: Into the Labyrinth…
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017, and the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign from 2018. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another campaign – 2020’s ‘Out of the Abyss’. Each session was approximately 4 hours long. Some of the summaries may be amusing, but don’t forget these are unedited emails, so please forgive their somewhat chaotic nature and poor sentence structure/grammar. If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Game on!
Steve 🙂
The party entered the Duergar Enclave seeking a meeting with Ghuldur Flagonfist, the Duergar’s chief negotiator. While they were waiting, Matt’s Cleric bought some plate armour, Rhyse’s Rogue bought a small knife to attach to his non-prehensile tail and the party ordered some barding for Littlefoot, their pack lizard. Stopped by a guard at the door to Flagonfist’s warehouse, Matt’s Cleric, Belinda’s Bard and William’s Barbarian put on a performance and persuaded most of the Duergar merchants to sing, dance and, eventually, drink and conduct drunken steeder races.
Rhyse’s Rogue and Peter’s Rogue sneaked into the warehouse and found Flagonfist and another Duergar interrogating Xantha Coaxrock, the Svirfneblin mage they were asked to rescue. Stabby stabby ensued, with a Xorn being killed along with the Duergar. The party then smuggled Xantha out of the enclave.
Back at the Svirfneblin base, the party were rewarded with a mysterious black gem (worth 5000 GP!) in a special box, which they remained sceptical about… Xantha advised them the whole trouble had started when she had appraised a different black gem for a Duergar merchant, refused to return it and then passed it to her apprentice Flint ThunderBonk who took it to the Drow enclave to trade. She sent a sending message to Flint and asked the party to retrieve him from there. Gabble Dripskillet informed the party that a Zhentarim called Ghazrim Duloc had a special ring that might help them find the stone library they were seeking.
Over to the Drow enclave, the party encountered a Drow mapmaker and (eventually) negotiated to buy a few Underdark maps to the Wormwrithings, Gracklstugh and Menzoberranzan. Flint made an appearance (living up to his name). Flint advised the team he had lost the black gem when a gargoyle swooped down and took it. He hadn’t been able to relocate the gargoyle. The party attempted to gain entry to the Drow enclave to buy stuff but were denied by the guards, who told them it was shut until the Drow’s chief negotiator returned from the Zhentarim Enclave, where they were having a meeting.
Off to the Zhentarim enclave, where the party ran into the Drow negotiation team. They ignored Drow warnings, fought and ultimately killed them (but not before Flint and Littlefoot were poisoned by Cloudkill. Out of the nearby enclave came Ghazrim DuLoc, his beholder and several guards. Duloc wasn’t happy with the party’s “we are peace envoys” explanation, asking them to fix the diplomatic incident they had caused and retiring to the enclave.
William’s Barbarian found a strange black gem on one of the Drow. An evil consciousness invaded his mind – the spirit of Demon Lord Fraz-Urb’luu! He also went a bit crazy. Peter and Rhyse’s rogues noticed the tortle secreting the gem away beneath his carapace…
Matt’s Cleric brought Littlefoot back to life with Revivify. Yay!
The heroes returned to the Svirfneblin enclave to rest, questioned Xantha Coaxrock about the mysterious black gem that caused all the problems in Mantol Derith (the one currently possessing William’s Barbarian, who wasn’t available this session), then headed off to the Drow enclave to ‘fix’ the problem they created the previous day.
The Drow guards wouldn’t let them in and a bunch of Duergar turned up looking for the people who killed their chief negotiator. Some fancy lies and fancy hiding later and Belinda’s Bard accessed the enclave and bought some potions (unfortunately a new giant lizard was not on the cards: “You want to replace Littlefoot?!”).
Later, the party devised a plan to disguise Belinda’s Bard and Rhyse’s Rogue as Drow negotiators for an audience with Ghazrim Duloc, the Zhentarim negotiator with a magic ring that would lead them to the Stone Library. The meeting started well, an alliance negotiated between the Zhentarim and Drow to take out the Duergar and Svirfneblin. Then it stalled and the party decided to take the ring anyway. Rhyse’s Rogue threw a polymorphed rat of Peter’s Rogue at Ghazrim, the rogue changed and sliced off the Zhentarim’s hand, grabbing the hand and ring and running with it.
Unfortunately, Ghazrim’s partner, Lorthun the Beholder, decided to intervene. A massive battle between the Beholder, Zhentarim thugs and the party and their conjured Earth Elemental took place, with many of the party affected by the Beholder’s various rays as they attempted to escape. It was certainly a time when they wished that William’s barbarian wasn’t sleeping off screen. In the end, Belinda’s Bard liked Lorthun a lot, Matt’s Cleric really wanted that hand job, Pete’s Rogue was knocked unconscious and then recovered with a nat 20 death save, and Rhyses’s Rogue killed Lorthun with a poisoned crossbow bolt in his eye.
The party returned to the Svirfneblin enclave for a well-deserved rest, having gained the ruby ring, which had a compass-like star in the ruby which provided directions to the Stone Library of Grayvenhollow…
Our intrepid peace keepers managed to acquire their scale mail barding for Littlefoot, then headed out of Mantol Derith, using Ghazrim Duloc’s ring to navigate their way to the Stone Library of Grayvenhollow. On the way out they met Kane’s Aasimar Paladin, who was keen to join the party (especially since Will’s Tortle Barbarian snuck away in the night with the black gem of Fraz-Urb’luu).
Normally, travel in the Underdark was no easy thing. The twisting passages and vast caverns could lead the unwary traveller astray. As the party made its way from Mantol Derith to Grayvenhollow, the ring of Ghazrim Duloc provided some surety: the star-like centre of the ruby moved like a compass, always directing them to the correct entrance and path.
As the party travelled, they crossed massive caverns filled with stalactites and stalagmites. A cracked and crumbling dwarven bridge caused some delays as they struggled to get Littlefoot across without toppling into the gorge below. An endless parade of fire beetles marched past one day, filling the tunnel intersection and forcing a delay of several hours. Lava pits and fire falls illuminated their caverns with rosy plumes of steam and smoke. Water as dark as pitch and just as thick filled lakes eventually crossed via upturned giant fungi rafts. The Faezress pierced the darkness, with stones hovering in the air just out of reach, silhouetted by the eerie purple haze – the party preferred not to linger in those caves.
For 34 days they worked their way through immense underground walkways and writhing tunnels, up and down huge natural stone staircases and around narrow ledges skirting chasms too deep to perceive the bottom. Along the way there were several encounters with creatures of the Underdark, all easily defeated. The party were heroes, masters of their weapons and crafts, and nothing would prevent them from reaching their goal.
On the morning (at least they thought it was morning, who could tell after so much time underground) of the 35th day the party entered a vast cavern. Up ahead was a natural stone bridge crossing a yawning chasm. Beyond, the road switch backed up the rising cliff face, each tier 50 feet or so above the next. Unnatural light dimly illuminated the cavern. In the distance, up above, the party saw two bright lights – the fires of continual flames burning in braziers. This was it.
Up ahead, the pungent smell of sulphur and a grim, whispering voice: “This is not the path you seek. Begone, lest you lose your way…and your lives.”
The party valiantly battled Shadow demons, Vrocks and Barlgura demons, as they made their way up the cliff road. Kane’s Paladin on his celestial warhorse showed how effective he was with massively damaging divine smites, Peter’s Rogue’s sunblade hit home with savage efficiency, Rhyse’s Rogue’s body-launching acrobatics allowed him to slice open flying enemies, Belinda’s Bard’s eldritch blasts added to the carnage and her healing words saved lives.
But the battle wasn’t over yet…
Next week: Into the Stone Library of Grayvenhollow…
For more Laidback DM, click here.
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Ever long for the days of simple one-shot adventures with everything included on one page? No hassle, limited prep? Something you could throw at your players and finish in one or two sessions?
My first One-Page scenarios for 5e were released in 2019 in Shotglass Adventures, Volume 1. Since then, my creations have grown in scope, but I‘ve always longed for a return to the simpler One-Page One-Shot format that won me the One-Page Dungeon Contest two years running (in 2019 and 2020).
The Lovely Bones and Tomb of the Defiled are sequels to the popular The Madness of St. Avon! Both are One-Page One-Shots for 5e and OSR systems, including full stat blocks for both 5e and OSR/1e monsters and grid and grid-less maps. And all for $2 US each.
Find them at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/13989/
When rest is ill met
When time is heaven spent
When loneliness shakes
My tree, leaves me rent
Your voice
The sonic equivalent
Of water
to
the parched
Of land
to
the drowning
Of peace
to
the wayward
Your voice
Soothed my pain
heaven spent
Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017, and the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign from 2018. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another campaign – 2020’s ‘Out of the Abyss’. Each session was approximately 4 hours long. Some of the summaries may be amusing, but don’t forget these are unedited emails, so please forgive their somewhat chaotic nature and poor sentence structure/grammar. If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Game on!
Steve 🙂
The party headed back into Blingdenstone with the petrified body of whathisname, where they rested after their ordeal. They dropped in at the catacombs with the dead gnome’s bones they recovered in Rockblight, and were thanked by Burrow Warden Jadger. They advised him of the strange happenings in the Underdark (the madness and demon attacks) and the ghost concurred that several demon lords on the loose was not a good thing. They had gained an ally.
The party provided the Diggermattocks with an update, explaining they defeated Ogremoch’s Bane and were off to see the wererats. The svirfneblin were very grateful. Happy times all round.
Into the old city and the wererat warrens, avoiding traps and finally chatting with Chipgrin, who was keen to negotiate peacefully with the Diggermattocks and advise them about a strange deep gnome called the Pudding King, who was controlling the oozes. The party guided Chipgrin and several wererats to Diggermattock Hall, where the news prompted a war council to address the threat.
The party investigated the oozes, discovering there were far too many there for them to advance, and so headed back to the city with the rest of the wererats in tow.
Blingdenstone was united in an army of elementals, deep gnomes, wererats and ghosts to battle the oozing threat. The PCs fought Black Puddings, Ochre Jellies, Gray Oozes and Gelatinous Cubes to get to the Pudding King, all while the battle between the army and the ooze horde raged around them. Finally, the party confronted the Pudding King, who at first used cloudkill to sap their strength, but was eventually dispatched. As he died, he warned that Jubilex, demon lord of oozes, was planning to feast on the Demon Queen of Fungi’s banquet…
The party was rewarded with a Spell Stone, a Stone of Controlling Earth Elementals, a guide to Mantol Derith (secret trading post on the Darklake) and the name of a contact there – Gabble Dripskillet – who would provide them with information to find the Stone Library of Gravenhollow, and perhaps the Archmage Vizeran…
Jeremy’s Barbarian retired in Blingdenstone, helping the locals to rebuild their city. William’s Tortle Barbarian joined the party as they travelled to the Underdark trading post of Mantol Derith, on the shores of the Darklake.
Three days into the journey, the party realised they were still being pursued by the pesky Glabrezu demon that had plagued them many weeks before. They rushed into a vast cavern filled with rocky columns and ledges, only to be attacked from above by Drow! Yes, that annoying lot from Velkynvelve, led by Ilvara, the Drow Priestess, had set an ambush for the party while they were in Blingdenstone.
The battle wasn’t going well for the party as Drow Elites, Giant Spiders and regular Drow troops carved them up left, right and centre. Matt’s Cleric summoned an Earth Elemental which fell directly on the Drow leader, then he used Mass Healing Wounds a few times to get unconscious party members back on their feet. The party fought valiantly and eventually vanquished their would-be oppressors.
The Glabrezu appeared and the Earth Elemental held it off in a bottleneck tunnel. Rhyse’s Rogue claimed some cool Drow poison from the elites and then the party ran out of the cavern.
Everyone advanced to 8th Level!
Three days later, B’l the Svirfneblin guide took his leave after pointing to the trail to Mantol Derith and giving the party the password to a secret door to enter the trading post. As the group made their way up the narrow track, three Chasme Demons swooped down to attack!
The party fought and defeated 3 Chasme Demons on the rock path leading up to the trading post of Mantol Derith. The group trekked along a tunnel until they came to a secret door that led to a ledge, where they met serial killer elf Sladis Vadir, who invited them for a bite to eat from his munchie bag (no thanks). Not knowing he was nasty (but suspecting he might be a bit loopy) the party accepted his gracious invitation to find the correct door and went back up the tunnel until they found the way to the trench separating east and west Mantol Derith.
Taking some lifts up the side of the trench, the party realised something was up – the market places were deserted, 2 Duergar were hunting 2 svirfneblin and a bunch of enlarged Duergar were attempting to knock down the doors to the Svirvneblin enclave. Slaughtering all the Duergar (and Sladis, who decided to slice up Belinda’s Bard during the confusion) was a short aside, thanks to Belinda’s Bard’s fireball, Pete’s Rogue’s deadly sunblade, Rhyse’s Rogue’s double-shortsword attacks and William’s Barbarian’s far-too-numerous critical hits. Rhyse’s Rogue lost the nub of his tail, but at least he still had his hair.
The party entered the svirfneblin enclave to meet Gabble Dripskillet, who conveniently was just the person they were supposed to meet. They asked if she knew the way to the Stone Library of Gravenhollow – she didn’t, but she said she might know someone who did. But first, a favour: could the party rescue Xantha Coaxrock, a svirfneblin mage and friend of Gabble’s who was accused by the Duergar of stealing a special gem? Apparently, that’s why everything in Mantol Derith had gone to hell, although Gabble couldn’t understand why.
The party traded some stuff, long rested, then set off to the Duergar enclave across the cavern (partly to do shopping – Matt’s Cleric wanted plate mail and Rhyse’s Rogue wanted barding for Littlefoot the pack lizard. Like visiting a fantasy world mall, really). They killed some duergar guards in a fungi grove and Matt’s Cleric used his stone cunning wizardry to open the great stone gates to the duergar enclave, where large numbers of duergar turned to face the party…
Next Week: Into the Duergar Enclave…
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Despair is not an easy thing:
It requires commitment, hard work and lots and lots of
wallowing.
Despair requires you dig deep:
Determined self loathing is the key, or so they say, all bitter sweet.
Despair is a friend to me:
Who am I to argue with my
Rabid and insatiable
hypocrisy?
Despair is the ghost in me:
Hauntingly familiar, cold and wanton heartbreak, suffering eternally.
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps by hand for Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy TTRPG adventures. I have far too many, so I like to give away my maps whenever I can.
This map comes with a grid and is perfectly sized (1750 x 1750 pixels, 25 squares x 25 squares) for Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, or Foundry, or face-to-face games!
This map is free to use for non-commercial purposes, as long as you acknowledge me and my website stevestillstanding.com. If you want to use it commercially, please send me an email and we can talk terms.
Onward!
Steve 😊
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Failure
Focus blurred
Myopic haze
Heartfelt loss
Lofty goals
Beyond surfeit
Words cease
Black hole life
No Man’s Land
Bullets punctuate
The trench line
Horizon, just
Out of reach
Faded sunset
Limping shadow
Exhausted
Empty tank
Endless beach
Dragging feet
There is no try
Just do
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps by hand for Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy TTRPG adventures. I have far too many, so I like to give away my maps whenever I can.
This Lava Caverns map is grid-less, measures 1750×1750 pixels (25 x 25 squares) and is perfect for Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, Foundry or face-to-face games!
This map is free to use for non-commercial purposes, as long as you acknowledge me and my website stevestillstanding.com. If you want to use it commercially, please send me an email and we can talk terms.
Onward!
Steve 😊
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Everyone likes to try out a new TTRPG. New mechanics, new lore, new style of play – you name it, there’s a reason why you decided to buy that game and crack open the book or box. Here are a few suggestions to avoid issues when running your first new game session.
Finally, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I know you and your players will have fun with the new TTRPG, and who knows? It just might become an all-time favorite.
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017, and the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign from 2018-2019. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another campaign – 2020’s ‘Out of the Abyss’. Each session was approximately 4 hours long. Some of the summaries may be amusing, but don’t forget these are unedited emails, so please forgive their somewhat chaotic nature and poor sentence structure/grammar. If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Game on!
Steve 🙂
The party entered a cavern filled with stone statues of Drow and weird crystalline formations. Six of the statues animated and the PCs took them out. Then another six animated! As the party valiantly fought on, Peter’s Rogue explored the cavern further, finding a statue of a gnome cradling a crystal as if looking through it. Suspecting foul play, Peter’s Rogue collected some crystals, checked out a cavern further north and realized it held the Menhir that needed to be consecrated with the hallow spell.
A Medusa came upstairs from a cavern below – Peter’s rogue used a crystal to avoid its gaze, but Belinda’s Bard was petrified (and she STILL feels that pain)! Jeremy’s Monk and Rhyse’s Rogue were almost turned to stone, but were saved as Peter’s Rogue sliced the Medusa’s head off with his sunsword. The party decided discretion was the better part of valor, and after briefly looting Belinda’s statue of its non-petrified magic items, fled south and out of Rockblight to rest and recuperate. Oh, and mourn the loss of their fearless Half-Sireen Bard. “Ummm, what was his name again?” thought Mat’s Cleric…
Next Week: Return to Rockblight! And the debut of Belinda’s new character! And no, you can’t go up a level…
Retiring to The Foaming Mug tavern, the party mourned the loss of their bard (“Ummm, what was his name again?” said everyone. Oh, too soon?). Conveniently, they met Belinda’s NEW Bard, a Tabaxi called Serafina Burning Sky with a penchant for handing out chocolate cookies and a silent mascot duck called Montgomery. At the same time, Jeremy’s Monk ‘Da Gronk’ decided to retire, and he introduced a new party member: Gitz’Razza, or Raz, the Bugbear Barbarian, a goblinoid of few words and many actions (as long as they involve hitting something).
Renewed (but forgetting to buy more Potions of Healing – DOH!), the party headed back to Rockblight to deliver the spell gem to the menhir Pete’s Rogue found earlier and consecrate the area. A huge Earth Elemental sprung from the wall and attacked! They defeated three elementals, and after the destruction of each a Galeb Duhr guardian appeared and took its place guarding the menhir. The area was finally consecrated and protected from Ogremoch’s Bane (the thing no one had seen that drove elementals crazy). Belinda’s Bard showed off her fancy spells she’d learned as a College of Lore graduate – eldritch blast and everyone’s fave: fireball! (or furball, because she’s a cat person. See what I did there?). And all I got when I graduated was a piece of paper and this lousy t-shirt…
Back into the main cavern to investigate the dead medusa’s lair, the party took on more animated Drow statues. Jeremy’s Barbarian won the prize for the most times knocked unconscious, and Matt’s Cleric again proved how useful spiritual guardians could be.
Time for a level up, asked the party? “Not likely,” said the mean DM.
Next Week: More Blingdenstone antics! Wererats! Oozes! Soft Shoe Shuffles! And maybe a bright and shiny new level, if you all behave and play well with each other…
After a long rest, the party did some shopping in the Trader’s Bazaar and bought a number of Potions of Healing (about time). They visited the Ruby in the Rough and went down into the dank and dark catacombs, where they met up with the ghost of Burrow Warden Jadger. Jadger was in the process of training new wardens to make Blingdenstone a better place. The party accepted his request to take out Vazuk, a spectre causing problems in the residential area, and recover the bones of a dead deep gnome – Udhask from Rockblight.
Off to the residential area and the hovels, where the 10-foot pole was the latest fad (gotta catch ‘em all!) and the party dispatched the spectre. Rhyse’s Rogue got some rotting socks and Belinda’s Bard got some rubies – shiny! Jeremy’s Barbarian got an empty box and brained a nearby deep gnome with it (accidentally? Nah).
Off to Rockblight, where Jeremy’s Barbarian followed a ghost into a hovel and Matt’s Cleric read the stone building, revealing the secret history of Blingdenstone via the very rock itself with his stone cunning ‘third eye’ (which DM Steve amped up a bit). Turns out the bones of the ghost were just what the doctor ordered, so Jeremy’s Barbarian collected them as Rhyse’s Rogue decided to recover the expensive drow dresses they missed last time.
Dashing through the room of statues as they animated, Rhyse’s Rogue got the dresses and the party fought the walking statues. Matt’s Cleric used his stone cunning to realise the statues must be there for a reason, so they systematically destroyed them all (and Belinda’s Bard realised she could fireball her own party – a revelatory moment). Jeremy’s Barbarian went to town and even decided to kill the old statue of Belinda’s previous bard – whatshisname – but stopped, just in time.
When the final animated statue fell, the dust coalesced into a vast, swirling, malevolent cloud – Ogremoch’s Bane! The party didn’t know what to do, until Rhyse’s Rogue pulled out the gemstone he uncovered a few sessions back and ran to the hallowed temple. Unfortunately, he was too short to place the stone in the hole in the menhir, but Matt’s Cleric grabbed it, placed it and Ogremoch’s Bane was no more, banished back to the elemental plane of earth!
And the party advanced to level 7!
Next Week: Yet more Blingdenstone – where the Wererats and Oozes do play!
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
My Year in Review! This is a post about all the stuff I released in 2022. I haven’t done one of these before, so here goes nothing lol. Each of the products is listed in release order.
Maps for Fantasy RPGs 3 was released in February 2022. What can I say, hand drawn, royalty-free maps are cool 😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/387203/Maps-for-Fantasy-RPGs-3
I love writing poetry, and this book – Dark Minds and Bright Souls – released in March 2022, had the additional benefit of being my first ever hardcover!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/389015/Dark-Minds–Bright-Souls
Shotglass Rounds Hardcover Vol.1 was a collection of 10 one-shot adventures, reprinted from the Shotglass Rounds PDF series. My second hardcover and a book I am so very proud of, taking pride of place on my shelf😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/385654/SHOTGLASS-ROUNDS-Volume-1
The SR Vol.1 Digital Maps Package was released to accompany Shotglass Rounds Hardcover Vol.1, this collection of maps is for every adventure in the collection – for use in game or in your own projects royalty free 😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/390989/SHOTGLASS-ROUNDS-Volume1-Digital-Maps-Package
FiveE magazine Issue 2 was a labor of love for me – a FREE magazine for D&D 5e featuring many talented and amazing creators! My gift back to the community that supports me 😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391814/FiveE-Magazine–April-2022
Life in a Faded Moment was my 2nd poetry book for 2022 (of 4 total so far over a few years) and my 3rd hardcover! Looooove this book 😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/396390/Life-in-a-Faded-Moment
June 2022 – the 4th book in my D&D 5e magnum opus – Kal-Zar’s Bane 4: Bane’s Requiem was the culmination of 2 years writing and playtesting and a book with so many twists and turns it could have been a novel 😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/399888/SHOTGLASS-ADVENTURES-BANES-REQUIEM
The BANE’S REQUIEM Digital Maps Package features hand drawn maps from the book that can be used in your games or royalty free in your own projects😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/400013/SHOTGLASS-ADVENTURES-BANES-REQUIEM-Digital-Maps-Package
I love drawing black and white maps with sharpies on grid paper. It’s old school all the way. Maps for Fantasy RPGs 4 – Old School is the culmination of lots of map drawing. Hand drawn black and white maps that can be used royalty free in your own commercial projects!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/405424/Maps-for-Fantasy-RPGs-4–Old-School
I love to draw maps – Maps for Fantasy RPGs 5 is about full color, hand drawn maps for use in commercial projects – royalty free 😊
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/405538/Maps-for-Fantasy-RPGs-5
Duumhaven was meant to be a short one-shot. It morphed into a region setting with lore and a short introductory scenario. It’s the first of around 8 modules that link to form a mega-dungeon, or it can be played as a one shot!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/408464/SHOTGLASS-ROUNDS11-Duumhaven
The 2nd in the Dungeon Duumhaven series!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/413267/SHOTGLASS-ROUNDS12-The-Goblin-Jarl
November 2022 – Maps for Fantasy RPGs 6 – more sexy hand drawn maps you can use in your own projects, royalty free!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/415823/Maps-for-Fantasy-RPGs-6
The 3rd module in the Dungeon Duumhaven series!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/418968/SHOTGLASS-ROUNDS13-Gates-of-ShunZin
I released 18 free maps on my SteveStillStanding/Laidback DM website!
https://stevestillstanding.com/category/the-laid-back-dungeon-master/
Finished my Tomb of Annihilation series of session summaries and started my Out of the Abyss series!
https://stevestillstanding.com/category/the-laid-back-dungeon-master/
Posted 18 poems on my SteveStillStanding website!
https://stevestillstanding.com/category/poetry/
I played so many games of #dnd #5e and #OldSchoolEssentials that I’ve lost count, including Shadows Over Saltmarsh, Black Heart Meridian and numerous playtests! (Check out my Facebook or Twitter for weekly posts) 😊
https://www.facebook.com/steve.stillstanding
So that’s what I did last year (and that’s not including the 8 other projects I started but haven’t released yet). It was exhausting, but amazing fun! Here’s to another creative and productive year in 2023!
Onward!
Steve 😊
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps by hand for Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy TTRPG adventures. I have far too many, so I like to give away my maps whenever I can.
This map comes with a grid and can be used for face-to-face games or Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, or Foundry!
This map is free to use for non-commercial purposes, as long as you acknowledge me and my website stevestillstanding.com. If you want to use it commercially, please send me an email and we can talk terms.
Onward!
Steve 😊
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Thank you to everyone for your amazing support in 2022. It’s had its ups and downs, but your support, whether it was via kickstarter, buying TTRPG & D&D content from my shop or just liking & commenting on my posts has been wonderful & keeps me going. Here’s to an awesome 2023 😊👍🙏
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps by hand for Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy TTRPG adventures. I have far too many, so I like to give away my maps whenever I can.
This map comes with a grid and can be used for face-to-face games or Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, or Foundry!
This map is free to use for non-commercial purposes, as long as you acknowledge me and my website stevestillstanding.com. If you want to use it commercially, please send me an email and we can talk terms.
Onward!
Steve 😊
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Ever long for the days of simple one-shot adventures with everything included on one page? No hassle, limited prep? Something you could throw at your players and finish in one session?
My first One-Page scenarios for 5e were released in 2019 in Shotglass Adventures, Volume 1. Since then, my creations have grown in scope, but I‘ve always longed for a return to the simpler One-Page One-Shot format that won me the One-Page Dungeon Contest two years running (in 2019 and 2020).
And that’s what this is. The Madness of St. Avon is a simple, One-Page One-Shot for 5e and OSR systems, including full stat blocks for both 5e and OSR/1e monsters and grid and grid-less maps. And all for $2 US.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/423906/SHOTGLASS-ADVENTURES1-The-Madness-of-St-Avon
Hi all,
I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ campaign I ran in 2017, and the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign from 2018. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that). Here’s another campaign – 2020’s ‘Out of the Abyss’. Each session was approximately 4 hours long. Some of the summaries may be amusing, but don’t forget these are unedited emails, so please forgive their somewhat chaotic nature and poor sentence structure/grammar. If you’re a D&D fan you may enjoy them. And maybe even if you aren’t.
Game on!
Steve 🙂
The party survived a slap down with Yestabrod and his minions, then fled to the central basin to recover. Matt’s Cleric and Peter’s Rogue were infected by madness-inducing spores, but Peter was healed by his Sunsword. Belinda’s Bard discovered a box left by Myconid Soverign Basidia as a reward with lots of goodies. Basidia and her faithful, non-crazy Myconids left the grove to escape the fungal madness overtaking the place.
Back up on the shelf, the party encountered a strange wedding party with fungal bridesmaids and chamberlains acting out the ceremony. Belinda’s Bard nuked the wedding with a fireball bead, and the rest were taken out by the party. A hoard of magic items was found and distributed.
Rhyse’s Rogue decided to investigate the huge cavern beyond the grove and found Yggmorgus, an enormous, towering mushroom. After being driven slightly mad by the horrific sights and sounds there, he retreated with the party. As they fled the grove, they experienced visions of Zuggtmoy, Demon Queen of Fungi in a bizarre mycelium wedding dress inside Yggmorgus. A demon queen loose in the Underdark! Along with Demogorgon, that’s two…
Next Week: Blingdenstone!
Fleeing the madness of Neverlight Grove, the party bid farewell to Stool and Rumpadump as the junior mushrooms departed with Sovereign Basidia’s myconids for greener (and less crazy) pastures.
On the way to Blingdenstone with their newly-named Giant Lizard pack mule ‘Littlefoot’, the party encountered some hungry Cave Fishers. After a savage battle, Belinda’s Bard decided to sacrifice her hand to feed Littlefoot—okay, didn’t happen, but almost did… Luckily, there was more than enough food to go around after the battle.
Arriving in Blingdenstone a few days later, the party were let in through the gates and proceeded to the market square, where two Gelatinous Cubes slid under some inner gates and attacked a lone Svirfneblin! Matt’s Cleric was dubbed ‘worst ever’ after muffing his spells a lot(!) and Rhyse’s Rogue sacrificed all his body hair in a valiant effort to save the Deep Gnome, who then proceeded to call the Ratfolk the ugliest creature he had ever laid eyes on…
The party advanced to 6th level!
Next Week: When good Blingdenstone goes bad!
The heroes of the Trader’s Bazaar bought lots of magic items from Hobnob, a deep gnome with a magic item store. Off to visit the Diggermattocks, the party passed through several caverns, learning more about Blingdenstone as they went.
They spoke with Dori and Senni Diggermatock, the provisional rulers of the reclaimed city. The party was asked to complete several tasks before Dori would provide them with the name of a contact at Mantol-Derith. Firstly: Find out where the oozes were coming from and whether or not they were controlled by anyone or a particular magic. Secondly: Talk with the Goldwhisker wererats and see whether they should be wiped out or integrated into Blingdenstone. Rhyse’s Ratfolk Rogue’s bizarre hairless look was commented on by every NPC he came across: “My gods, I’ve never seen such an ugly beast! Is it for sale?”
Staying at local Inn The Foaming Mug, the party learned several rumors about the city, including: half the town wants the wererats wiped out, half wants them left alone; Ghosts are a problem in town, especially in the catacombs; Rockblight is an unclaimed area to the north where earth elementals go crazy, caused by something called Ogremoch’s Bane.
The next morning the party travelled back to the bazaar, but along the way encountered Gurnik Tapfinger, a priest who tasked them with consecrating a sacred menhir. He gave them a spell gem with a hallow spell in it and advised they would need to fight three of Ogremoch’s Bane’s servants before completing the task. He would grant them blessings when they returned.
Into Rockblight (with fancy dynamic lighting – previously unknown as I was on a free Roll20 account before) plunged the party, where they faced a scary ghost (which aged Peter’s Rogue 20 years – he’s now a silver fox), 2 Gargoyles and an Earth Elemental, which caused all kinds of trouble by diving into the ground after attacking. Belinda’s Bard and Peter’s Rogue were both knocked unconscious at several points. The party worked together to take it down, with Belinda’s Bard’s shatter spells particularly effective. Rhyse’s Rogue recovered a strange magic gem from the creature’s remains…
Next Week: More action in Rockblight!
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Available now on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/418968/SHOTGLASS-ROUNDS13-Gates-of-ShunZin
GATES OF SHUN-ZIN is the 13th adventure in the SHOTGLASS ROUNDS series! This 64-page PDF adventure is compatible with 5e, Old School Essentials (OSE), OSR retro-clones based on Basic/Expert, and includes 5e and full OSE monster stats!
GATES OF SHUN-ZIN is for 3rd-Level characters and can be played as a One-Shot or as the third adventure in the DUNGEON DUUMHAVEN series.
You’ve reached the Gates of Shun-Zin. A month ago they closed in response to a mysterious earthquake. Numerous denizens of the city are now trapped outside.
Perhaps they need YOUR help to return to Shun-Zin? Perhaps they’re just obstacles to be overcome? Only YOU can decide…
GATES OF SHUN-ZIN includes:
So many different ways for your players to mold the story: puzzle-solving; all-out assault; quiet and sneaky infiltration; pure exploration.
Available now on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/418968/SHOTGLASS-ROUNDS13-Gates-of-ShunZin
Time for a free map! I love drawing maps by hand for Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy TTRPG adventures. I have far too many, so I like to give away my maps whenever I can.
This Old School B&W map I drew a few years back comes with a grid and can be used for face-to-face games or Roll20, Fantasy Grounds, or Foundry!
This map is free to use for non-commercial purposes, as long as you acknowledge me and my website stevestillstanding.com. If you want to use it commercially, please send me an email and we can talk terms.
Onward!
Steve 😊
For more Laidback DM, click here.
For Laidback DM products, visit Drivethrurpg.
Laidback DM: SteveStillStanding.com 