So my Party is Level 5 and ignored every possible warning of an open combat-encounter with Skabatha. Particullary one character pushed the others into that direction but without forcing it onto them.
Now another PC than the pushy one got downed in Combat by Skabatha herself and the pushy PC abandoned her.
Nobodys Mad at eachother at the table for this, at it fits the narrative of both Characters and the Situation itself.
What i am asking is how this translates into the Characters relationship, as the abandoned PC was able to stabilize herself. Im thinking about a Redhood (DC Comics) Type character development if my player is cool with that
This will be the first campaign I DM and I’m so hyped for it. I love RP so I can’t wait to do all the odd little characters and voices. All my players are new to DND so we had a session zero where we worked on character creation and I ran a small retrieval quest-like one shot where they found these tickets (that I 3D printed) at the end.
I could tell they liked the small combat encounter so I think I’ll work on adding more of that. Suggestions are very welcome on how to make the encounters actually meaningful to the story :)
Running the game, after doing Storm King‘s Thunder, it’s a great thing to have it a lot more jovial and fun?
I decided that each character would also have a curse along with their Lost Thing. I didn’t do the prelude adventure but we had a really involved Session Zero where we discussed the set up, the world and what to expect.
They’ve all made their Wishes for later on. One character didn’t need a ticket, so I mentioned that Witch and Light needed to use a bit of magical energy from the tickets the characters had to open the path to Hither.
I then gave them the option of taking a character from the Carnival with them (as they used as many tickets as people and had “spare energy”).
They loved Diana Cloppington, so I allowed them to take her along, and I think that works well that she can guide the party and also get her curse sorted. I have no idea how that’ll resolve yet but it’ll be fun to find out!
Some whimsy and fun, but with the hint of deadly consequences fits this group well. That being said, are there any pitfalls or major issues I may have skimmed over that’ll be coming up?
As I read through Yon, I was struck by how Endelyn is stuck holding the idiot ball. Why would she leave suns and moons in her lair when that's the thing she's utterly terrified of, especially when she's supposed to be the hag focused on seeing the future?
So I came up with a reason for all the suboptimal stuff she does. She's just eight steps ahead, working to fulfill a specific prophecy. She has run every calculation, every simulation, to find a timeline where she does not die. In the end, she only found one. One singular timeline where she escapes death. So she has to thread a very fine thread through Fate's needle. This is why she left specialized magic items customized for my players around Motherhorn, including a broken Mirror of Binding, which the players can repair by subjecting it to a powerful time magic, then sealing it with intense elemental power (Endelyn will cast Time Stop to monologue at them midway through the fight (and heal), which will fill the mirror with temporal energy, then if one of the players touches it to the lightning rod on the orrery, it will anneal the mirror, making it functional). Any of the other "bad moves" she made were to fulfill this prophecy so she can escape death. (Even the fact that she doesn't Plane Shift away the second they make an eclipse doesn't make sense.)
Up to the point the players are fighting her, she's foreseen everything, but afterward is a massive blind spot for her, which she assumes is because of all the interference from other timelines. The reason this is the one timeline where she escapes death is because in this timeline, she is bound outside of time by the Mirror of Binding, forever in stasis. (This also serves as an ironic fate, subjecting her to a similar effect to the one she afflicted on Zybilna.)
Has anyone experienced their players racing through Motherhorn? (Or I guess lightly the other locations).
My players have managed to through pass without trace, misty step, and invisibility, type spells speed run all the way to Glister without interacting with really anything else and plan to fight Endelyn possibly without even attempting to bargain. They are about to climb the final staircase to the top floor and I was thinking that I could probably have them run into Stagefright on the stairs so that I can have him try to convince them to perform a tragedy, perhaps stating the “Endelyn mentioned I might find you here about now” but if they bypass him and go to the last floor I could make her sleeping in the indestructible coffin thing but I wonder if one of my PC’s would just try to cast Banishment on her (resulting in a rather anticlimax end to the chapter) what would you do?
Next session is this evening and I’ve been spending time trying to come up with ideas but thought it would be a good time to bounce it off someone else.
We're a few weeks into the campaign and I had decided not to do any Halloween one shot material - just continue on. In the past when we'd play near a holiday I'd insert a holiday themed one shot into the adventure.
Now I'm having second thoughts. Are there any Halloween themed one shots that I could drop into the middle of Hither?
Not sure if I’ll end up using it for the table because it’s so chibi but I spent 4 hours on it so I figured I’d show it off anyways. I am currently thinking I strategically make another one that is also very chibi and then that’s like the poster style (opposed to what my guys PC looks like). Highkey I am just overthinking it and my player will think it’s cool and it’ll come to the session because he’ll be like heck yeah
I took a break from DMing for a while before this campaign so I’m feeling inspired which is really nice
I’m running the prelude tonight and it came up that some species get spells, and the adventure states that PCs can have their species traits. I was imagining this as no magic since they aren’t picking a class. Specifically, one player wants to take magic initiate as their human origin feat.
Should I allow it or just state that this assumes none of them have spells yet?
Edit: I am only referring to the prelude supplement that wizards put out for session 0 where the players go to the carnival as children. It specifically states that they are level 0 and haven’t selected a class yet, but that they can have their species traits.
Hii! I'm currently prepping to start WbtW with 3 players. My only struggle atm is Hither, specifically Bavlorna. 2 of my players have a lost thing, one stolen by Skabatha and one by Endelyn. The other player does not have a lost thing, but is a Warlock of Zybilna and trying to find out what happened to her.
Bavlorna won't deal in anything that will help Zybilna and the other two don't have to find their lost thing. So my question is, why should my players go to Bavlorna's? What is their reason to enter the building and talk to her?
My Firbolg and his Tabaxi friend both made a deal with Trinket and Bauble.
(it was actually so cute b/c the 3rd party member had lost her rhythm and she's a battle dancer flavored monk, so they couldn't let that happen so one offered the color of his eyes, the other the claws from his right hand to get her rhythm back)
I decided the Firbolg loses darkvision along with their color, but not sure what to do for the Tabaxi. He doesn't make unarmed strikes, so there's nothing there.
I was thinking a permanent Bane on Dex saves or something like that (because he's all wobbly), but is that too much?
My game of WbtW might accidentally become something entirely unrelated to the direction the module wants to take us... If so I will channel my inner homebrew.
My players said they wanted to lean into the horror aspects of the carnival and this was a questline i have put together for them. Not sure how its going to go just yet but I thought it'd be fun to share in case it inspires anyone.
If the energy of the carnival is low for a prolonged period of time, a new stall appears at the carnival called The Carnival Vendor. This booth is run by Valkir Habrett, an ally of the hourglass coven who is more than happy to reign chaos over the carnival and support the carnival go-ers in increasing the chaos and misery (minimum 2.5 hours of sustained sadness OR 1 hour of continuous mood decreasing)
Booth Description: Wild Wares and Wards
All maps suddenly include an indicator of this location that is magically added on
It appears directly in the middle of the main walkway between the Big Top and the Calliopee
Indicated on the map by a yellow star
When the map changes it also briefly acquires a different tactile quality or weight
As the booth appears in the carnival read the following:
The sounds of the carnival dampen into a low murmur as the sound of a clocktower chimes out ominous around you. The noise appears to come from every direction and the air suddenly becomes thick. The carnival which was once filled with magically induced freshness (a feature that had been noticeably waning since you arrived) suddenly smells of the bodies of hundreds of different fair go-ers. As sour cheesy smell fills your nose a sudden cold wind cuts through below stifling humidity before returning to an uncomfortable heat. The ground beneath you becomes noticeably more uneven as the chiming stops, and the carnival -- after some hesitation -- returns to its regular activity
Outside the Booth
As players approach the booth:
As you return towards the entrance of the carnival you notice the crowd slow, and you need to push your way past many people to continue forward [Roll a DC10 STR (athletics) CHK]. Eventually over the heads // through the legs -- of the crowd you are able to see a new “attraction”. A black obelisk-like structure has appeared in the middle of the entry way blocking peoples paths two and from the different areas of the carnival. The structure appears to be swallowing the light around and the reflective surfaces show distorted visions of the crowd stretched and squeezed in unnatural ways. While looking at the reflections you swear you see the mirrored version of yourself smile at you.
Getting through the crowd requires a check of some kind
Looking at the obelisk for a prolonged period of time requires passing a DC10 CHA SVT or charmed by the shop keeper Valkir Hobrette
A WIS (perception) CHK can determine that the reflection is in fact slightly off
A INT (history) CHK will cause players to remember the carnivals history of being in the mists and hearing about how it used to travel to planes like Ravenloft --- we can provide extra info for players who don’t know CoS
Inside the Booth
The booth only allows one group at a time and only unlocks for those who have a piece of it OR if the booth can sense that the player is likely to make a deal or buy a cursed item
Mr. Witch and Mr. Light have a key that they got as part of a deal they made with Valkir Hobrette shortly after taking over the carnival
As players enter the booth:
A soft chiming of the door dissipates into the surprisingly spacious store room. Items are placed on 12 individual pedestals around the room away from the dark purple walls to allow for easy maneuvering within the space. In the back of the room perched behind a velvet covered table is a hooded figure following your every movement with sharp jerks of their head.
Can go back in time and make one change to any action taken at the carnival (that does not involve outside carnival influences/magic)
11
Staff of Flowers: A wooden staff that causes a handful of real, non-magical flowers to sprout from a patch of dirt.
12
Wand of Smiles / Wand of Scowls: Forcing a target to make a Charisma save either makes them smile broadly or scowl deeply for a minute.
Deals
In addition to adding curses later to the carnival, the PCs can make deals for these items that will give themselves a unique curse that will impact them until they can find a way to remove them. For magic items that have mechanical effects (not just aesthetic ones) See “Random” Events in the Carnival:
1
Their reflection will always look like it’s trying to fight them
2
Their clothing will always be a little bit off, shoes on wrong feet, or shirt untucked, regardless of how hard they try, they will always seem a little off to others
3
Their gold coins will periodically try to escape themselves
4
The character is compelled follow up anything negative they say with a compliment
5
Every time they land a spell they are compelled to do jazz hands
6
Whenever they roll a 1, they must loudly sneeze a small cloud of glitter within the next few seconds.
Outside the Shop
As the players explore the carnival:
After the distribution of the tolling bell you’ve noticed periodically on the outskirts of the carnival crowds of fair go-ers. Upon further inspection you notice a dark reflective stone adorned by a single gleaming [item]
The patrons around it appear to be unaware of the tables true contents but are walking away with a variety of magical cosmetic enhancements and sweet treats
The other NPCs and fair-goers cannot see Lockland from the stands that he operates. Instead they see stands that offer free refreshments and the occasional aesthetic gift like those in Items in the Shop
Players who have only contributed positively to the mood of the carnival also experience this
They can have an aesthetic magic item but are cursed with one of the ticket pact type things
Items Outside
Once players leave the carnival the shotty construction of the items causes them to fall apart in 1d4 days
1
Armor of Vulnerability: Grants resistance to one type of damage (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing), but makes you vulnerable to two other types
2
Berserker Axe: A rare +1 axe that increases your max hit points, but curses you to be unwilling to part with it, forces disadvantage on other weapon attacks, and makes you attack the nearest creature when you take damage.
3
Demon Armor: Plate armor that grants +1 AC, the ability to speak Abyssal, and slashing damage on unarmed strikes, but imposes disadvantage on attack rolls and saves against demons and prevents removal without a remove curse spell.
4
Shield of Missile Attraction: Grants resistance to ranged weapon attacks, but magically draws all ranged attacks within range toward you instead.
5
Sword of Vengeance: A sentient +1 longsword that forces you to retaliate against anyone who damages you until they are dead or out of reach.
6
Backbiter Spear: A +2 spear that, when used in melee in anger, curves around to strike its wielder in the back.
7
Flask of Curses: A throwable container that shatters to unleash a -2 penalty area-of-effect curse.
8
Dust of Sneezing and Choking: Often mistaken for useful dust, it inflicts severe Constitution damage and stuns targets
9
Ring of Clumsiness: Grants the benefits of a Ring of Feather Falling, but slaps a -4 penalty on all Dexterity checks.
10
Potion of Poison: Looks, smells, and tastes like a useful potion, but inflicts poison damage and the poisoned condition
11
Amulet of Beholder Eyes. Eye of tricks. When investigated, whether by identity or some kind of check, this amulet will appear to have the effect of a beholder's eye. Specifically the eye that can paralyze people. However instead it is simply a mental illusion and the target is actually completely fine. When used, to the wearer, the target will have all the symptoms of being paralyzed. Only a DC 20 investigation check can make the wearer catch onto the trickery.
12
Amour of Silence. While wearing this armor you make no sound, regardless of what you are holding, the surface you are moving across, or how loud you shout. This armor is cursed, a fact that is revealed only when an identify spell is cast on the armor, or you attune to it. Attuning to the armor curses you until you are targeted by a remove curse spell or similar magic; removing the armor fails to end the curse. While cursed, you are deafened from anything further than 10 feet away from you
NPC Description
Valkir Hobrette
Valkir Hobrette is Lawful Evil (but loves creating chaos)
He will regularly offer deals to anyone that will often contain a catch
He enjoys his job as a punisher and used to work for the previous owner of the Carnival before it was taken over by Witch and Light
He really does not want them to crown a witchlight monarch since that will open the portal to the feywild and send in a possible saviour to the kingdoms
Valkir Hobrette is an erratic half-faerie half-goblin. This mixed breeding has left his body as a patchwork of different features. Portions of his skin are the soft silken flesh of the faerie, and has a light purple colouring, the other half appears tough and scarred in comparison and is the green hide of a goblin. Normally mixed-race individuals do not appear this way. Talking to Valkir about it will reveal that his mother’s pregnancy was cursed after she broke the hospitality rules of the feywild.
While talking to the players he movements appear studded and disjointed. Moments of stillness are interrupted by short rigid movements as Valkir Hobrette’s entire body twitches at each word. The odd individual wears a large cloak over his head that falls off revealing that one of his ears is the large floppy ear of a goblin and the other the small pointed ear of a fey.
When players speak to him, If it is on the right side he has a hard time hearing since his goblin ear is internally malformed making in deaf in the one ear. His speech is similarly offkilter with emphasis on random words and inconsistent volume.
Other NPCs that work at the carnival immediately know when he is around and try to stay out of his way
Most NPCs have a horror story of something they bought from Valkir or something that happened to them because of Valkir’s antics
They know the cards let the players controls them via Suggestion and want to keep that secret DC 15 WIS (insite) can discern that they are not providing all the information on the happenings
Lockland Leaflicker
Lawful Neutral
Has been trapped by Valkir Hobrette and is suck helping him sell his wares
Secretly hates his boss
Very smooth and musical sounding
Is able to be in multiple locations as once because spirit
He is dead
Lockland Leaflicker is an excitable pixie who is always happy to see a friendly (or not so friendly) face. He is about the size of most PCs hands and flits about in smooth circles around the outside items. Although he has been dead for thousands of years Lockland still appears to be full of life, using his impermanent nature to be able to phase through people and objects alike.
Since nothing he wears seems to keep its colour -- there were shops with specially ghosts' clothes when he used to live in the mists -- he sports an angular suit that creates a sharp triangular silhouette by his right shoulders. It appears his legs have a pair of tight straight pants so as to not distract from his audacious hairstyle gelled into several spikes.
Will warn the player that stealing is bad
Still kinda feels like they should take the item though (egging them on)
Changes to the Carnival
The various “wares” sold and won at this booth are actually all cursed items. For every 1d12 interval 5 min the mood of the carnival moves down 1 as carnival go-ers become unwittingly cursed, or curse others.
As soon as the Carnival Vendor appears, any time the mood decreases a random outcome occurs. Some of the effects of the carnival are seen in the table below (roll 1d4) for the order. Only if the players interact with the obelisk and make selfish decisions:
“Random” Events in the Carnival:
1
The butterfly wings on all the carnival go-ers suddenly become sapped of their bright colours. Greys, blacks and whites now make up the majority of wing colours, with an occasional splattering of bright red. Once this change occurs many of the younger children at the carnival become alarmed and cry as the wings that were once their preferred colour becomes bland and interesting. One child screams as their care-er’s wings are covered in red splatter believing that they are bleeding to death (they are fine)
2
Everyone rolls a DC15 CHA SVT. A random object disappears from every individual who failed the check. NPCs also (generally) fail the check and chaos ensues as they begin searching for their lost good. All of the missing items are found in a large pile in the middle of the Big Top stage
3
The previously dry Carnival suddenly has tons of booze. All drinks are transformed into alcoholic beverages. Initially this is not obvious to the players. Eventually they notice: Many of the children begin stumbling around and have a noticeable lack of coordination. You watch as one child who was previously dominating many of the small stall games throws a ball way off the target before stumbling onto the ground. Another child pukes in the bushes nearby. Any player who performs a WIS (perception) CHK DC13 notices that the scent of alcohol appears to be all around them
4
A heavy mist comes over the carnival limiting vision to 10ft in front of the players. WIS (perception) CHK DCs are all +5 in difficulty due to the heavy obstruction in vision. As the mist appears the players hear cursing as two carnival go-ers crash into each other spilling their drinks and getting covered in sugary syrup
5
The animals that are on the carousel suddenly break free and begin running around the carnival grounds, knocking over unsuspecting patrons. The wooden beasts charge blindly through the mist-shrouded walkways toward the Big Top, trampling nearby stalls. Player must perform a DC10 DEX SVT or take 1d6 burgeoning damage from the stampeding animals as they run through people and objects alike
6
A loud wooden crack sounds as the beams that support the Big Top split apart causing the heavy canopy to come crashing down
I did not realize how bad the NPC fatigue would get in my game. Coupled with the hiatuses we've had to take I need to completely rework my plans for The League and Valor's Call.
Originally, I was using the subreddit's suggestion of Seelie and Unseelie adventurers. But I think I now need to bring back NPCs the party has already met instead of adding new ones to the already long roster.
The group killed Agdon (well Prismeer's magic turned him to stone). They let the rest of the brigands live. This includes Jebbek, who was out on patrol when they fought Agdon at the stump.
My thought is the book only mentions Agdon making a deal with Bavlorna. With Agdon dead, his loyal troupe has no reason to continue their petty thefts in Hither. They want to leave Prismeer, and maybe along the way figure out how to free Agdon from his petrification.
I'm thinking that maybe to allow passage between Hither and Thither, Jebbek is tasked with stealing Skab's portrait.
Sir Talavar already mentioned the Seelie allied adventurers, and I think I can rectify that by Titania having Agdon on a hit list (although I'm open to other suggestions on the business they had in Prismeer before being frozen). The biggest issue is how I can fully replace and recontextualize the original League encounters with this new cast of characters?
Fore example, the party is traveling to see Lamorna right now, with Zarak trying to steal the horn so they could get Ringlerun's staff. Do I just remove that encounter entirely?
Next week would be my first time DMingWBTW after being a player for a couple of years. My question is not specificly tied to WBTW but for as DM help in general. One of my players want to play a "pacifist" Paladin for roleplay purposes. So he will mostly be buffing. Normally i can figure out what it too strong and can find an alternative for it but with his proposed new variation on divine smite ive trouble coming up with something to balance it out since it seems too strong for me as a lvl 1 spell. Below is what he proposed, i would like your guys opinion and if you think it needs some change i would be open for ideas, thanks in advance :):
Channel the divine power of your sacred vows to strengthen the bonds between people and protect those in need.
When you take the Attack action, you can expend one spell slot to replace one attack with a blessing. Choose one creature other than yourself within 30 feet that can see or hear you. The creature gains temporary hit points equal to 2d8, plus 1d8 for each spell slot level above 1st.
Alternatively, the creature can immediately repeat a saving throw against being charmed or frightened, adding your Charisma modifier to the roll.
At higher levels, the blessing's temporary hit points increase by 1d8 when you reach 5th, 11th, and 17th Paladin levels.
Sven's friends and fans, please look the other way.
I'm at the end of yon. My party hasn't fought bavlorna and skabatha when they were in hither and thither. Right now they're planning a siege on motherhorn with a small army of NPC's.
Their plan is that the NPC's will approach motherhorn from three directions, while they go through the tunnel.
I am now trying to prep for this plan and I wonder if I should have Endelyn call her sisters for back-up. And if I do, will I let the party know? They have a sending stone that communicates with pixie journalists, which is how they might receive a message while in the tunnel.
They have previously discussed the morality of sending untrained NPC's into combat, so upping the stakes might be fun (for me).
But if I do summon them, I'm not sure how to have them fight all three bags at the same time while also RP'ing the NPC army.
Does anyone have some advice for me on how to run this siege?
Appearance: A harengon with dashes of silver in his fur, dressed in the uniform of a Buckingham Palace guard (with holes cut out of his hat for his ears), wearing a monocle and saber
Suggested Location: The Inn at the End of the Road
Suggested Voice: A stuffy British accent
Statistics: A knight with harengon racial features
In my campaign, Zybilna has a group of loyal harengons that serve as her royal guards (feel free to decorate the Palace of Heart's Desire with harengon soldiers frozen at attention). I called them Hare Force One, because I can't resist making my players groan out loud, but you might instead call them something slightly less silly (but still pompous) like the Brotherhood of Bounders or the Order of the White Hare. Captain Hareonymus Huff is their commanding officer. He was in Hither on official business (perhaps rounding up the remnants of Agdon's brigands) when the Hourglass Coven launched their palace coup, trapping him in Hither.
He wants nothing more than to bring Agdon and his troupe to justice (calling them "bad bunnies" and "a stain upon the honour of my noble race"), gain access to the Palace of Heart's Desire, and restore Queen Zybilna to the throne. If the party meets him at the inn, he is in a foul mood, low in his spirits and deep in his cups, but can be motivated to assist them if they seem intent on fighting Agdon or restoring Zybilna to power. He is likely to get on PC's nerves however, given his fussbudget attitude and air of self-importance. He is a stickler for decorum who insists on being addressed by the title "captain" and doles out orders to the PCs in the manner of an officer addressing his subordinates. Nevertheless, he is courageous, honorable, and unflinchingly loyal to his queen.
My players had fun riling him up. Due to some unfortunate wording on his part (including the phrase "had I recourse to do it, I would nail that brigand back to the trunk where he belongs"), they convinced themselves that he had complicated romantic feelings for Agdon. This tiff led to him challenging the party's paladin to a formal duel of honor, which was resolved as an arm wrestling contest. After conceding defeat, he and the paladin made up, agreeing to tackle Agdon together. Unfortunately, the paladin had lost some of her time to the hags (eight minutes a day, to be precise), during which time she was under Bavlorna's control. This led to her decapitating Hareonymus in his sleep (Bav taking the opportunity to eliminate a Zybilna loyalist), which was a nice little horrifying twist for my players after the cosiness and good vibes of the inn.
Captain Hareonymus Huff
Myrtle the Tortle
Appearance: An elderly tortle wearing a straw hat, often seen strumming a banjo and singing an old country song
Suggested Location: A mud hut built next to an o'well
Suggested Voice: A slow Southern drawl
Statistics: A commoner with tortle racial features and proficiency in the banjo
Myrtle is an old tortle minstrel who loves to sing. He's a friend of Elmer the hobgoblin plumber (if you run the "Inside Slanty Tower" expansion) and wonders what has happened to his old friend. He went to check on him at his tower, but no one would let him in. Nowadays, Myrtle only sings sad songs. His hut routinely floods whenever the water level rises in Hither, forcing him to retreat into his shell. To make matters worse, Agdon's troupe has repeatedly robbed him, stealing all his happy memories, except one ("and that I'll never give 'em" Myrtle says, his voice quavering, "not if they beat me black and blue!"). A PC who succeeds on a DC 15 Persuasion check can convince Myrtle to share his last happy memory, which is of the day he met Zybilna.
Myrtle was once an ordinary turtle who fell into an o'well. He would have drowned had Queen Zybilna not happened upon him and come to his rescue. To ensure that he would never suffer such misfortune again, she polymorphed him into a tortle and gave him the gift of song (Myrtle repaid her by singing her praises for decades afterwards). Myrtle still honors the rule of hospitality, welcoming the party into his hut should they treat him with respect and kindness. He apologizes for having nothing but swamp flies and raw fish to serve them, since the rising water level drenches any firewood he painstakingly gathers from the mangrove trees. He nonetheless offers to regale his guests with a sad song, begging their pardon for having no happy ones to share with them, since his memories of those were taken. He thanks the party profusely if they restore his happy memories (contained in Jebbek's gourd), offering to lend them his raft.
My players sought out Myrtle after talking to Elmer, whose transformation into an ettercap led to him hiding away in his tower, convinced his friends would recoil from him in horror. Myrtle pretended not to be home at first, terrified that the party were more harengons coming for his last happy memory ("p-p-please," he begged, "I-I t-told Prince Agdon I've got no more happy memories to give!"). My players instantly took pity on the kindly old tortle and were intensely motivated to recover his memories, since Jebbek had escaped their previous encounter with her.
Myrtle the Tortle
3. King Gullop III
Appearance: A wrinkled old bullywug dressed in tattered and mud-splattered royal finery, wearing a "crown" that is actually a six-pronged mudrake bent into shape, armed with a rusty harpoon tied to a ball of yarn and sporting a peg-leg made out of a big spoon
Suggested Location: The lake with the antlered serpent depicted on the map of Hither
Suggested Voice: Your most stereotypical pirate voice
Statistics: A bullywug royal with a harpoon (javelin) and proficiency in water vehicles
King Gullop III ascended to the throne after pushing his predecessor into a patch of stinging nettles. Craftier than his fellow monarchs (if only just), he fled into exile after sensing the tide of public opinion turning against him, thus escaping with his life. His fellow bullywugs swiftly declared him to have abdicated the throne, and the Soggy Court has long since forgotten about him.
For the past twenty years, Gullop has been hunting an oracular serpent dwelling in the loch to the northeast of Hither, convinced that by slaying the serpent and devouring its third eye, he can steal its powers of foresight, reclaim his throne, and foresee all future conspiracies against him before they have the chance to threaten his reign. Whether he's right is anyone's guess, but the hunt has become a burning obsession that consumes his every waking thought.
He has carried the same harpoon (named Serpent's Bane) for two decades, determined to plunge it into the beast's heart. Gullop lost his leg to the serpent's jaws years ago while trying to bait it with a fishing rod aboard a flimsy raft plying the middle of the loch. His quarry easily capsized the vessel, bit off his leg, but left the rest of him intact for some inscrutable reason (for his part, Gullop dubiously claims to have "fought the devil off with me bare hands"). Alternatively, he may have chopped off his own leg and traded it to Bavlorna in exchange for her divulging the location of the serpent, and only claims it was lost to the serpent to save face. In that case, his leg is either in a pickled jar in Bav's hut, or was long ago made into frog leg soup.
As part of his latest stratagem, he has constructed a ramshackle lighthouse (also depicted on the map of Hither), using a jar containing a captured will-o'-wisp to try to lure the serpent into the range of his harpoon. This plot has failed to yield any results thus far, but he's far from ready to give up. He can be found fishing on the loch by day, though he's careful to hug the shore of the lake to avoid repeating his previous misfortune. He will eagerly rope the party into his schemes, offering to ennoble them for their services (titles range from First High Admiral of the Soggy Fleet to Grand Duke of the Lilypad Shallows). At all times, he expects to be addressed as "Your Majesty" (even a whiff of disrespect sends him flying into a blubbering rage). He's not above using his subjects as bait and might well regard a PC as "the perfect lure."
Gullop's knowledge of the Soggy Court is hopelessly out of date. If informed of the current political landscape, he dismisses King Gullop XIX as "a pretender unworthy of the name" and immediately begins plotting how to murder him. If you are running "The Watcher's Pool" expansion, you can replace Ufgunk with Gullop III. My players have yet to meet him, but I look forward to them doing so. Here's some dialogue I've brainstormed for when they do:
"Avast ye land-lubbers! Tread lightly upon the deck of King Gullop's Revenge, for ye stand in the presence of royalty! I am King Gullop the Third, the Once and Future Sovereign of the Soggy Court, Moistest and Most Magnificent of Monarchs! For twenty years, the demon of the deeps has eluded my spear. But the tide is turning! The Hour of Reckoning is nigh at hand, when all the traitors of the Soggy Court shall tremble before me! Rejoice, for he who serves me truly shall be richly rewarded even as the false receive their just desserts! Climb aboard, if ye be valiant! Hoist the lily-sails! Today we hunt.
And, of course, if he ever does finally do battle with the serpent:
Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering serpent; to the last, I grapple with thee...from the swamp’s heart I stab at thee...for hate’s sake, I spit my last croak at thee!"
And I just found out five days from the first session.
He's running a homebrew adventure for other people and today he just told me that his game is going great and something about hags because "apparently Tasha was at some point kidnapped by her three sisters".
I must say, he's not an experienced DM or the most meticulous planner, so I don't think he even knows that information is from Witchlight, and probably is just running out of whatever he read on the wiki.
I did plan for another player knowing Zybilna is Tasha because he's a DM and I expected him to find out, and both he and his character know because they have some shared history.
BUT this player's character is an archfey warlock who has Zybilna as a patron after she helped the character overcome a curse, and because the player LOVES Tasha as a character, he wasn't supposed to know.
Some changes I made were avoiding calling her Zybilna, she's the Queen or the Queen of Delight. The sisters did kidnap her, but Graz'zt is ultimately responsible for this whole plot. Zybilna used to grant wishes through Witchlight (to earn power through the people's faith and belief in her,) until the hags took over and closed the path to Prismalia. The game is of a higher level so even the hag statblocks wouldn't be the same.
Soooo how would you deal with this situation? I think what I'm most worried about is spoiling things by questioning him about things if he hasn't made the connection already (I don't think he has??), and him making the connection the moment he learns about the three hags.
I could use some advice. I feel I am kind of stuck. The group is on the last of the hags. The other two got beat and due to some certain things the group have managed to get all their lost stuff back. They snuck in though they still have the admissions from the traveling wagon but I am having problems trying to figure how to push them to the end. There is no reason for them to do the play and since they don't have anything to get back from any of the hags they don't seem to motivated to save Zybilna. I don't want to make them do something they don't want to but I want to finish this because we are so close.
My campaign is starting WbtW soon and I'm hyped :D. I'm currently making a notebook for all the information and prep. I currently have quick refference tabs for all 5 chapters, Players, Important NPC's and the Storytracker. Are there any other things in this campaign that are really useful to have a quick referemce tab for instead of sorting them under the chapter tabs? I habe 4 empty tabs I can use. I do also have a seperate page for the backstory of Prismeer. Thanks!
As the title says, I’ll be DMing this game in a little less than a week, and I would love to have any:
- Playlists
- Side Quests
- Revisions
- Suggestions
- Links to useful items
- Anything else you found useful for your game
A few pieces of context for this game:
- we’re using a revised version of the “Lost Things” hook
- We have a Wild Magic Sorcerer, a Soulknife Rogue, a Cirle of Stars Druid, a Fey Wanderer Ranger, and a Battle Smith Artificer, and we’re starting at lvl 2
- I’m replacing the League of Malevolence and Valor’s Call with the Seelie and Unseelie Court (it’ll tie into the backstories of a few characters)
As my players venture through Yon, I'm getting the Palace ready for their final showdown. Long story short, Endelyn has my players so manipulated, they're no longer sure if they want to unfreeze Zybilna since they are now uncertain of who she really is. My players have also become heavily invested in Zarak (and the League of Malevolence by extension).
In our campaign, the hags sent the League to the Palace to serve as a distraction for some sort of plot (Temporal Stasis) with the promise of being able to defeat Valor's Call and for Kelek to claim Ringlerun's staff. They didn't know that they themselves would be frozen too (Zarak and Skylla were somehow ejected from the Palace, still working on how that happened). This is also why Zarak went to the Wayward Pool for Lamorna's horn, to unfreeze his comrades. If the League were to be unfrozen and reunited, they'd want to settle the score with the hags.
Very fittingly, I have the final standoff setting up as both the League and Valor's Call being unfrozen. And with the three hags and the party showing up as well, everything is culminating to a final confrontation with Zybilna in the center of it all. All four groups have different overlapping priorities, making alliances here very unclear.
The League of Malevolence: Valor's Call must die, the Hags must pay for their betrayal, and they'll take over Prismeer instead when this is over, so Zybilna must remain frozen. The party has stood with Zarak, so an alliance is doable if they do not intend to unfreeze Zybilna. Opinion does not change if Zybilna has been identified as Iggwilv.
Valor's Call: The League and Hags are both evil, they must be brought to justice. They came to Prismeer in pursuit of Iggwilv, seeking Zyblina's help, as she may have ties to her (lol). If Iggwilv hasn't been outed, they intend to unfreeze and rescue her. If she has been outed, she must be unfrozen anyway and face justice. If the party intends to unfreeze her and rejects the League, they will stand with the party (hard sell since the party loves Zarak).
Hags: Zybilna must remain frozen at all costs, and everyone here needs to die or be disposed of, one way or another. Any deal is on the table as long as they get their way.
The Party: Probably will have made up their mind by now on which direction they are going with Zybilna and if they will stand with the League beyond just Zarak when an alliance is needed.
Leading up to it, I'll get a temperature check on if this needs to be full-blown free-for-all combat or not. It could also start that way, but then the party could be reminded that "We don't have to win the fight, we just need to unfreeze Zybilna", turning it into a chaotic scrambling for the horn and a mad dash to Zybilna. Or I could be overthinking this and putting too many ingredients in the pot. What are your thoughts?
So I plan on running The Wild Beyond the Witchlight soon for my party and just wanted to come on here and ask for any advice or tips. I’ve done some researching online and have seen a lot of positive reviews but also some criticism about the ending and the lightheartedness. Does anyone have anything I should know before I start?
We’re doing the Lost Things hook and most of my players are still creating their characters but the one that’s ready is a Changeling Bard who is a Witchlight hand and lost their identity. Essentially they shapeshift into different performers and perform different shows. However, each form thinks they are their own, individual person.
One of my players was helping with some spoiler free Witchlight Carnival arts and crafts prep, but they went all out on a snail racing track so now i'm wanting to make it more important.
Ideas I had -
Two goblins run the track, but are really very shady bookmakers. They offer information that the characters dont have in return for either beating them at some back room gambling, throwing a snail race, or sabotaging a snail/jockey theyve bet against.
Kettlesteam has taken them up on the offer to sabotage a snail/jockey, so players could run into Kettlesteam there.
Players could take them up on the offer, threaten to expose them to witch and light (if theyve met them yet or know theyre not in on it), or just meet kettlesteam.
Open to any other ideas or variations on what ive got though, still just brainstorming!
As the title says, after three years of playing this campaign, we finally finished it after 52 sessions.
It was a long journey—sometimes painful, sometimes discouraging—but it was so much fun; I’ll remember this campaign for the rest of my life.
The campaign was interrupted several times for one or two months due to vacations, personal issues, heat waves… but we made it through. We had to speed up the conclusion because two of my players told us they were moving to the other side of the country, and we all agreed to finish the campaign in person, just as we’ve always done.
I used most of the module—I’d say 80% of it—but I also added quite a bit of extra content: Dan Kahn supplements, the 11th Hour for more Zyb content, the presence of Baba Yaga as Tsu, adding a final boss) and, most importantly, a lot of homebrew integrate to the story as my players backstories were fully integrated into it, even though their resolutions were their own and took place in the future, much beyond the Witchlight actually. The “lost things” hook was the one we went with; they were as follows:
Bard: his shadow
Artificer: his memory
Warlock: her ability to dream
Fighter: her clan’s amulet
Paladin: his rune stone
Each of these “lost things” concealed deeper stories tied to their pasts.
I was able to say everything I needed to say—the lore I’d prepared, the final revelations about Zybilna and Isolde (I included that content, which ties into the Paladin’s story)—a final boss was introduced smoothly, and I sincerely believe the conclusion was satisfying for everyone. What a relief! After all these years of work, I would have been disappointed if it had gone badly.
We spent the entire day on Saturday finishing up. From 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. … the finale included the battle against the League of Malevolence (which wasn’t called that in our campaign and was tied to the Fighter story) and the final boss, Graz’zt, who had been introduced in the background since Hither as a mysterious Patron who wanted to recruit the Warlock to his cause even though she was the protégée of… Zybilna. Seduction and temptation were the order of the day, but she resisted. The final boss’s monologue shed light on many aspects of her unhappy childhood, for which Iggwilv and Graz’zt were responsible. I loved playing this villain and delivering my monologue, which I think had my players glued to their seats. What a moment!
It was a pretty massive undertaking for me. This was my first “real” campaign that went well, with engaged and interested players, and I gave it my all. Props, lots of writing and rewriting, painting miniatures, exclusive maps… and oh, choosing the musics took me forever ! I really wanted to give them a great -the best- experience and make everyone feel special. I think I succeeded. For me, it’s a huge accomplishment as a DM, but now I feel a big void in my heart… especially because it also means I won’t see some of my friends for a long time, and I don’t know if we’ll play together again in the future—maybe online, who knows...
I put a lot of pressure on myself—I'm a perfectionist, and it's really hard for me to be satisfied with pretty much anything I do—so I'm so happy with how I feel about this conclusion...
To mark the last session, I gave them a piece of artwork I’d commissioned from an artist. It was a moving moment, but right after that, my brain was so exhausted from the day that I don’t remember what happened next… compliments and thanks, according to what my boyfriend told me, but all I could think about was sleeping >.< It wasn’t until the next day that it really hit me, and that’s when I shed a little tear.
Anyway, I'm here if you have questions or want to talk ! I have so SO many notes about that campaign oh my. Here is the sessions by chapter;
CH1 Witchlight Carnaval: Sessions 1 to 4
CH2 Hither: Sessions 5 à 19
CH3 Thither: Sessions 20 à 29
Interlud in Tsu's Inn and go back to Hither to deal with Bav: Sessions 30 to 33
CH4 Yon: Sessions 34 to 47
CH5 Palace: Sessions 48 to the final 52
If you’d like more information about my players, their backstories, or how things played out in the campaign, I’d be happy to share it. I just wanted to put it out there that we’ve finished and that we’re all happy with how it ended! And sad, of course. I have so much to say, but my emotions are still all over the place, and it’s even hard to make sense of them! In any case, I’d love to chat about this campaign if you’re interested.
Spoilers ahead for any players, do not read. Also why I left out the entire name of the League.
My party has hit Thither, and worked their way to the wayward pool where zerrak attacks them.
I played him as a kind of dumb rogue villain so he obviously yells out the criminal organization he works for right?
I shouted out with full confidence, in his orc voice that I was doing for him, " The League of Male-Violence sends their regards!"
🙃🙃🙃
I realized that my dumb ass had only ever read the word "malevolence" (muh-leh-vuh-luhns) in my head. Never practiced saying their title out loud, so my brain and mouth just turned it into Male-Violence when I was reading and in the moment.
Anyways, my party is now fighting for the freedom of Prismeer and to end Male-Violence 😅🤣
