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[Tawmis]

Should look familiar.
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[Tawmis]

The other adventurers who have been stuck on the island helping goblins against the Kuo-Toa, enter their third session and finally encounter the "Blue Holder"...
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... scovery-03

Session 4 for the game I DM, that had been stranded on the island...
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... scovery-04

Session 5 from this group I DM (this is not the guys fighting Drow) - they arrived in Ivory Coast and were asked by a woman to help rescue her sons and husband... they agreed... and what would happen next... is magical.
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... scovery-05

Session 6 of the monthly game I run...

Our would be heroes are relaxing after helping Santa Claus - er, that is Nikalos - and helping the Stormblade family...
Enjoying several days of relaxing at the Ivory Coast...
When a disheveled human claiming to be the local Graveyard Keeper asks for help... what could go wrong?

http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... scovery-06

NOTE: This was the second time I had used ROLL20 as a virtual table top - which allows to use maps, create player tokens the players can move, and monster tokens I can use, allow the players to see and create a more interactive experience. The previous time had been the Tuesday game I run, which everyone there loved it - so I used it for the monthly game - and everyone there agreed, it added to the experience. It's much more work for me to do (now creating maps, rather than theater of the mind), but I'll do whatever it takes to create a better experience for my players.

The third and fourth screenshots are previews of Roll20 from that session.

[Rath Darkblade]

Should look familiar.
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Why not just call her "Baba Yaga"? Her name isn't exactly copyright.

[Rath Darkblade]

When a disheveled human claiming to be the local Graveyard Keeper asks for help... what could go wrong?

Off the top of my head? He could be a Rakshasa in disguise? Or ... much more disturbing ... the way he's coughing (and the way he looks), his skin could fall off and he could become an illithid.

Arhian cuts off a piece of her common clothes and uses it to cover her mouth.

What, no-one else does???

Hartmut races over and hits with his sword sword

Um. I presume this should be short sword?

Hartmut notes that the protective runes have been scratched out

Can they be put back? Or written again? Or whatever you do to create protective runes?

Ah, a fun session killing the undead. Why does that make me think of Vampire Burns?

"Welcome. Please come in. Ah, more victims for my ever-growing army of the undead."
"Sir, you have to let go of the button."
"Well, son of a bi---" *Door loudly creaks open*

[Tawmis]

When a disheveled human claiming to be the local Graveyard Keeper asks for help... what could go wrong?

Off the top of my head? He could be a Rakshasa in disguise? Or ... much more disturbing ... the way he's coughing (and the way he looks), his skin could fall off and he could become an illithid.

Arhian cuts off a piece of her common clothes and uses it to cover her mouth.

What, no-one else does???

Hartmut races over and hits with his sword sword

Um. I presume this should be short sword?

Hartmut notes that the protective runes have been scratched out

Can they be put back? Or written again? Or whatever you do to create protective runes?
Ah, a fun session killing the undead. Why does that make me think of Vampire Burns?
"Welcome. Please come in. Ah, more victims for my ever-growing army of the undead."
"Sir, you have to let go of the button."
"Well, son of a bi---" *Door loudly creaks open*

So I normally record the sessions as an MP3, so I can use it as a reference for notes. But I forgot till half way through when Jessica (who plays Twilight) mentioned I am going to have fun listening to the audio (because the players were going down) - because I really roleplayed the Grave Keeper and his cough - like as I was talking as him, I was constantly coughing, as he was sharing his story. I really enjoyed it - I was like General Grievous from Star Wars.

And the others used Arhian's cut cloth to cover their mouths. (We even made the joke of the reflection of real life)

And yup - should be short sword.

And the runes can be replaced by a priest who has the Sanctuary spell to cleanse the area. There's no Cleric/Priest in the party.

[Tawmis]

Should look familiar.
Click here if the preview below doesn't load

Why not just call her "Baba Yaga"? Her name isn't exactly copyright.

I think with the issues (previously mentioned) with various lore they'd used before and got in trouble with - they just made it Baba Lysaga and based her off Baba Yaga. This is total speculation; as I am not sure why they didn't use "Baba Yaga"'s name directly other than perhaps - since she was directly connected with Sthrad (from Ravenloft) they probably wanted to use their own hag (with clear references to Baba Yaga) without screaming one is Slavic (Baba Yaga) while the other (Strahd) is clearly based off Dracula.

So easier just to make a new hag, borrow from what they like, and make up their own lore without people accusing them of stealing something or using it incorrectly.

[Rath Darkblade]

Meh. *shrug* Baba Yaga is definitely Slavic, but Dracula (aka Vlad the Impaler) is originally from Wallachia, a region of today's Romania. That's OK; D&D is known for "borrowing", and that's fine.

I don't mind that people "borrow" stuff from other cultures. That happens all the time. What amuses me is the bad attempt to 'disguise' Baba Yaga as "Baba Lysaga". That's just bad. Besides, some folktales have three Baba Yagas that help the hero in his quest, either by giving advice or by giving gifts.

Why not call her something else (anything) else? For instance, Black Water Hattie is a witch who lived in the swamps and bayous of Florida. The most well-known legend about her is the song by Jim Stafford.

Not good enough? How about Black Annis, Peg Powler, Jenny Greenteeth, or Nelly Longarms -- all good, solid witches, and all with their own stories.

[Tawmis]

Meh. *shrug* Baba Yaga is definitely Slavic, but Dracula (aka Vlad the Impaler) is originally from Wallachia, a region of today's Romania. That's OK; D&D is known for "borrowing", and that's fine.
I don't mind that people "borrow" stuff from other cultures. That happens all the time. What amuses me is the bad attempt to 'disguise' Baba Yaga as "Baba Lysaga". That's just bad. Besides, some folktales have three Baba Yagas that help the hero in his quest, either by giving advice or by giving gifts.
Why not call her something else (anything) else? For instance, Black Water Hattie is a witch who lived in the swamps and bayous of Florida. The most well-known legend about her is the song by Jim Stafford.
Not good enough? How about Black Annis, Peg Powler, Jenny Greenteeth, or Nelly Longarms -- all good, solid witches, and all with their own stories.

Well, there are Annis hags in D&D.
As for borrowing the whole Baba Yaga thing; probably because whoever designed the adventure really liked the Baba Yaga lore (of the hut and such) but wanted to give it their own spin for the character of Baba Lysaga. I've not read through the adventure to know much of it - other than it's all Ravenloft based, which I'd assume has Strahd himself since it's called Curse of Strahd.

[Rath Darkblade]

Fair enough. *nod* It also makes it really easy to recognise the inspiration.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm ... does D&D have magic weapons that are specifically for gladiators? If so, how are they created? Yes, I know that they require magic and expensive ingredients (I think gems are favourite). But is there a way to do without?

If I remember rightly, in some medieval stories, a weapon would be considered magical if it was blessed by a priest, or if it was found in mysterious circumstances (e.g. given to you by the Lady of the Lake in King Arthur's case, or found beneath an altar in the case of Joan of Arc, or Attila the Hun). Are there any D&D weapons like that?

Just wondering ...

[Tawmis]

Hmm ... does D&D have magic weapons that are specifically for gladiators? If so, how are they created? Yes, I know that they require magic and expensive ingredients (I think gems are favourite). But is there a way to do without?
If I remember rightly, in some medieval stories, a weapon would be considered magical if it was blessed by a priest, or if it was found in mysterious circumstances (e.g. given to you by the Lady of the Lake in King Arthur's case, or found beneath an altar in the case of Joan of Arc, or Attila the Hun). Are there any D&D weapons like that?
Just wondering ...

It's D&D. You can create whatever you want.
I had a story where the party was fighting off some demons - and the local blacksmith made a two handed long sword called "Demonbane" - that does more damage (Radiant) to demons and devils, as a part of the story.

[Rath Darkblade]

Um ... I'm sorry, I have no idea how magic weapons are created in D&D. Is there any source material that can show me how?

I know of one or two ways they were created in RL. *points above* At least, people believed they were magical, which comes to more or less the same thing. For example:

A man brought Attila the Hun an old, rusty sword which he claimed was buried away. Attila immediately proclaimed it to be the Sword of Mars, god of war. Just the weapon to fight the Romans with! Good for PR, right?

Likewise, Joan of Arc told her followers where to dig - underneath an altar in a ruined church - and they unearthed an old sword with a fleur-de-lis engraved on the blade. The Sword of France, sent to her by God to fight the treacherous English! Must be magic, right?

So how are magic weapons created in D&D? I tried googling this yesterday, and went through a lot of material, but couldn't find it. Any ideas?

[Tawmis]

Um ... I'm sorry, I have no idea how magic weapons are created in D&D. Is there any source material that can show me how?
I know of one or two ways they were created in RL. *points above* At least, people believed they were magical, which comes to more or less the same thing. For example:
A man brought Attila the Hun an old, rusty sword which he claimed was buried away. Attila immediately proclaimed it to be the Sword of Mars, god of war. Just the weapon to fight the Romans with! Good for PR, right?
Likewise, Joan of Arc told her followers where to dig - underneath an altar in a ruined church - and they unearthed an old sword with a fleur-de-lis engraved on the blade. The Sword of France, sent to her by God to fight the treacherous English! Must be magic, right?
So how are magic weapons created in D&D? I tried googling this yesterday, and went through a lot of material, but couldn't find it. Any ideas?

In D&D, there's no definitive way. They just have a listing of +1 Longsword, +2 Longsword, +1 Chainmail, +1 Vorpal Weapon, +2 Polearm vs Demons, +1 Arrow of Dragon Slaying, etc. that describes their benefits. Some have origins, that might say "+3 Blade of SHP is a weapon owned by Collector, who forged it in the flames of MOE's hatred."

[Rath Darkblade]

Oh? That's curious. So where do they come from? Do they just appear randomly, like the ammo and medikits in FPS games?

*googles again* Yikes -- this looks complicated (from "Flutes Loot" -- two approaches to crafting magic items, one from the DMG and one from "Xanathar's Guide to Everything"). Very complicated ... but makes sense.

Suppose I wished to create a sword that deals fire, cold, or lightning damage. Luckily, my PC is a former blacksmith; he has lost his own forge, but is allowed to use a forge now, plus has access to blacksmith's tools (at least part of the time).

Obviously, not being a magic-user, he has no access to spells. However, a cleric might have access to such a spell (though he'd need to be paid)... *looks it up* A-ha! A 5th-level cleric could cast flamestrike on the blade to create a flaming sword. Excellent.

Then there are the VSF components (a pinch of sulfur, value 1-2 sp). So we're all set to create a flaming sword, yes? Or have I missed something?

[Tawmis]

Phew. I am playing catch up with my D&D notes (this is from the December 1st, 2020 game!). I got behind because of doing two podcasts back to back - so my brain on editing an audio file to extract notes was taxed!

But now I am trying to catch up - this is the "Work Game" - where they're down in the "Shadow Vale" - which is essentially my world's version of the Underdark...

And they're facing off against some driders - and the "Mini Boss" - Doomsilk!
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... nturers-34