Born as Two Die as One

Born as Two Die as One is my 61st micro-adventure and my 79th 'thing' on Patreon. Patreon has helped me develop a nice back catalog of material. My current content is going into a sandbox for Swords and Wizardry Light. I'm making progress, but as of now, I have several pieces and need to discover how'll they fit together. Not a bad problem. But one that I'll need to take some time out to solve. 

There is a backstory to this adventure. I shared it on my Patreon. If you're interested, hop over there for a few minutes. This adventure, like some of the other ones I've written recently, have developed the Northmen culture. This adventure addresses one of their customs. Their customs were developed by surviving in hostile territory and avoiding the wraith of the gods. 

For me, these small background touches enhance an adventure even though the players may never learn it. I would never burden a GM with pages of text describing an entire culture. Instead I prefer to give glimpses of what it was like. A quick paragraph to nuance the adventure's atmosphere. While I think two grave sites containing giant, twin brothers is cool on its own, adding the harsh reality of Northmen's customs, adds another layer.

I have to give a shout out to +Andy Action again. He's helped with the edits. I put him to work on this one. His suggestions and corrections were invaluable. 

My Patreon adventures are free on PDF. Born as Two Die as One has the PDF, a map for the GM and the players for download. I always try to include a blank map for on-line play. If you are interested in getting a physical copy please consider joining my Patreon. If you have any question about how it works, let me know. I would be glad to answer your questions.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the adventure. 

Mr. Cruddy's Grave

Some 'villains' are less than threatening. Helpless. Confused. Incompetent. Any of these words describe Cross-Eyed Louie. Despite all this, Louie holds a grudge. His anger for Mr. Cruddy extends past the grave. If you asked Louie why he was so angry at Mr. Cruddy he would look at you like you were the dumbest person in the world, asking the dumbest question in the world. "I hates Mr. Cruddy, cause I hates him. No more explaining than that. Hear?" 

This is one of those encounters that starts off comical, but gets real serious when the little mudmen get involved. Those things are no joke.

This adventure speaks to the kid in my heart. Buried treasure. I always, always loved a good story where the protagonists are scrapping at the earth trying to reveal the mysterious treasure beneath.

The mysterious treasure beneath is a skull that allows a spellcaster on additional spell slot per day. I did not write what spell level that slot could be. 

GM Advice on the Adventure: A GM could easily just allow the spell skull a 1st level spell slot. Myself, I consider it a minor artifact. It's a huge help to the spellcaster without being overpowering. And it has a drawback with the possibility of summoning a skeleton. To put a twist on this, what level of spell cast when using the skull would be the HD of the skeleton summoned. Swords & Wizardry Light is a low-level system meant for players to grind out adventures. I think the spell skull is a good balanced item for the system and its power can grow with the character.

I hope you enjoy Mr. Cruddy's Grave. It was brought about by my attempt at a side view map. I am practicing to improve this view. I love the cutaway maps that Dyson, Forster and Jackson draw. I need to up my game!

And if you are wondering why Cross-Eyed Louie is digging for the skull you just imagine Louie giving you the cross-eyed stink eye and he says, "I digs for treasure, cause I digs for treasure. No more explaining than that. Hear?"

Ruins at Wolf Creek

I've got a secret weapon now. Its name is Andy Action! Sounds like a superhero. He's even got the Stan Lee alliteration happening. Andy is helping me clean up my words. Editing. The divine act of saints and drummers. And for that, I cannot thank Andy enough.

Ruins at Wolf Creek hints at two of the boss creatures in the area, the death stalker brothers, undead rangers, Maleck and Obadiah. A glimpse at what they do and what's to come. Otherwise this is a found site, a place the party finds while exploring. There are some nasty creatures here that can devastate a party. Image the party's delight and terror as they cross the creek and see a rust monster. That should put some poop in their britches. I haven't used one of those critters in years.

Then there is a hint of another bad group in the area. One of those evil cults your mother warned you about. Dedragoria is one of my seven death gods. She is an unashamed rip off of Kali. You know why? Because she is crazy cool bad ass woman with lot of arms and not afraid to kill what she creates. 

I'll have some more news soon about the over all project. Good news I think. Yeah, good news. I'm staying positive. 

Go grab some players and tell them Lawrence went missing. Went into the Komor Forest alone. Stupid ass. 

Grab a copy of Ruins at Wolf Creek at my Patreon.

Got My Dice!

I was thrilled to get my dice in the mail.  I got a 100 of each.  The turn around time with inquiry, sample, order and complete transaction was fast.  The customer service at Chessex was fantastic.  I will definitely do return business with them.  I'm glad I've bought way too many Chessex dice over the years. I'll buy more.

For now I am going to make up reasons to roll my dice.

Maps & Goblins

I've had a busy weekend. No playing unfortunately. Working. Good work. Game stuff. Maps. Adventures. Layout. Reading.

I'm continuing work on my Swords & Wizardry Light Sandbox. It keeps morphing on me. I'm not sure what the final look will be. But I thought I'd share some of the things I made over the weekend.

A couple of simple grid maps, because you can never have enough grid maps.

The adventure is going to feature goblins. I decided to make a few goblins the party will encounter and interact with.

I thought I had a map set, but after looking at with fresh eyes today, the trees were too blurry and in general, it was a mess. Not sure what I saw yesterday.

I'm hoping to stay focused this week to get a first draft completed.

Adventurers Needed!

Another month of my Patreon adventures is in need need of brave, or not so brave, desperate will do, adventurers.  As you enter the Komor Forest it is wise to rest and get information.  At the edge of the forest is Miners Rest, a camp with people with big personalities to gather the some information before heading into the dark forest.  And a chance to become King of the Camp!

As you make your way through the thick underbrush wondering where you are, the tree cover is thick, its difficult to tell whether it is night or day.  You breathe a sigh of relief when you come upon a cabin.  Shelter and maybe a warm meal.  But you'll find neither By the Cabin's Red Glow.

With another day of stumbling across creeks and down steep ravines you find the Northman barrow.  Just the top of it is exposed so you'll need to dig.  And dig you do.  Prying the door open was no easy task.  This place has been sealed for centuries.  But as the stone cap moves and the dust settles, from somewhere inside you hear movement in the ancient darkness.  Above you crows gather in the trees.  You are now in their territory and must suffer the Judgement of the Crow.

All three of these laminated beauties are headed out this weekend.  If you would like to check them out, the PDFs are free for anyone to grab.  If you'd like the print laminated version consider joining my patreon.  

A $1 tip is extremely appreciated.

These are all part of a larger project I am working on, slowly.  

Enjoy the adventures and I hope to throw some dice with you soon.

Check Out My Dice

So +Martin Ralya suggested I contact Chessex to do a mock up of my dice. Smart guy.  I did.  Last night.  This afternoon Chessex had them done and sent me pictures!  Love both versions.  

The logo was created by +trey causey.  He did a fantastic job and I think it looks great...did I already say that?

Customer service Chessex has been outstanding.

The breakdown, At a quantity of 100-199, our 16mm style d6s would be $.60 each with one custom face.  At a quantity of 200-499, this price would become $.50 per die.

I'm going to order 200 and I can split the type of dice I can get.  So I am going to get a 100 of each.  So it'll be a $100 for the dice and then $14 for shipping.  

It is a vanity project of mine.  Plus a little swag for folks who purchase stuff from me.  And I hope to get into a con or two and set up shop.  

My ballcap is off to Chessex.