Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Bedroll of Comfort - Weird Magic Item #7


Inspired by the incredibly excellent Weird Magic Item generator over at Donjon.bin.sh, I've been coming up with a few of my own system agnostic weird magic items to put in the many games I run, be they 13th Age or Beyond the Wall...

Eventually I want to try and put them into a randomizer, but I need to generate a few first. I'm going to try and post one every other Wednesday. Please let me know if you end up using an item I've created in your own game. You can find the entire series here...

Antagonist Relations Weird Magic Item Generator Presents...

Bedroll of Comfort


This bedroll can be used by a single character per 24 hours and allows them to have a full and complete rest, even in circumstances that would otherwise forbid it. However, the character cannot take a watch and must remain in the bedroll the entire time. For games where a certain amount of health is regained the DM can consider allowing the Bedroll to double that amount.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Beyond The Wall - Random Undead Encounters

Since I'm using the Risen Dead threat from Across the Veil for the Beyond the Wall Actual Play Podcasts, I made a little random undead encounter table.

2d12 BtW Undead Encounter Source
2 Vampire BtW
3 Banshee BtW
4 Wraith BtW
5 Wight BtW
6 Captain of the Dead Across the Veil
7 Will-O'-the-Wisp BtW
8 Foolish Mortal Across the Veil
9 Ghoul BtW
10 Ghoul BtW
11 Zombie Rat BtW *Use Critter Stats
12 Zombie BtW
13 Zombie BtW
14 Zombie BtW
15 Skeleton BtW
16 Skeleton BtW
17 Skeleton BtW
18 Phantom BtW
19 Phantom BtW
20 Whispering Spirit Across the Veil
21 Revenant Across the Veil
22 Sluagh BtW
23 Spectre BtW
24 Risen King Across the Veil



Monday, May 28, 2018

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 34 - Increasing Sass

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 34 - Increasing Sass


Ben, Cassandra, Christy and Zack discuss the second session (episodes 31, 32 & 33) of the Antagonist Relations Actual Play of Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures as well as other assorted nerdery.

If you want to know more about Beyond the Wall, check out the Antagonist Relations reviews:

Antagonist Relations reviews Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures
Antagonist Relations reviews Further Afield.


Please take our listener survey here.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Wait, What? – Perplexities as RPG Hooks

Talking with Thomas about the Day of Al’Akbar, a module he’s running for our ongoing AD&D 2nd Edition al-Qadim Church game. He was asking if it felt like there was too much going on in the city for the party to keep track of and that led to us discussing how NPC’s give clues and just what hooks and focused are needed for the PCs in an adventure. I haven’t read the Day of Al’Akbar yet, as we’re still playing through it, but our party headed to the city of Khaibar, thinking it was an abandoned ruin with perhaps a small bandit camp. Our goal was to find the cup and talisman of Al’Akbar, in order to cure a disease in a city we’d like to be able to visit without fear of catching a plague and to charge the rulers a massive amount of gold to do so. Instead of the ruined and empty (or nearly empty) city, we arrived to find a re-established city with at least 500 inhabitants, multiple inns, mercenary soldiers, a bandit king and his followers and a terrorist waging a magical bombing campaign. Needless to say, this threw us for a loop and we spent two sessions exploring the town, speaking to dozens of NPCs, exploring a dozen or so labeled shops and such and trying to figure out if the tensions in the town were going to interfere with our mission of obtaining the two artifacts we had come in search of. The third session was largely us stumbling onto the aftermath of some NPC theater and using it, as well as several overpowered spells, to loot the palace of the town and locate the first part of the artifact, but we still don’t quite know what happened between the bandit king al-Farzikh and his enemy, Mad Dog, and if the mercenary take-over after al-Farzikh’s death was planned or just opportunistic. But, since none of those NPCs seem to be searching for the artifacts, it’s likely that we play next we will continue to ignore them as we move our hunt for the second artifact elsewhere in the city.

This got me thinking of two modules that I’ve run recently where I feel like the PCs were drawn into the plot despite a relative paucity of hooks, the excellent Dancing in the Ruins module for Godless, and the first published Planescape adventure, The Eternal Boundary. At 6 pages, Dancing in the Ruins, is wonderfully economical, it offers a few NPCs who can serve as quest givers, but mostly relies on the mystery to be compelling. For The Eternal Boundary, it starts with a quest giver, either faction or non-faction, but both those starts give the PCs basically the same information and send them on a quest that is largely a red-herring and then the PCs discover the real plot of the module in the course of tracking down their MacGuffin. Instead of detailed hooks what both modules rely on are Perplexities, tangles of clues that convince the PCs and their players that there has to be something more (and oh boy, there is plenty more lurking beneath the surface in each module.)



MINOR SPOILERS FOR DANCING IN THE RUINS,THE ETERNAL BOUNDARY AND N1 – AGAINST THE CULT OF THE REPTILE GOD BELOW.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Music to Game To: Xordox - Neospection

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

XORDOX - NEOSPECTION

I'm a JG Thirlwell junky...I’ve got a Manorexia tote-bag, I’ve even got Foetus on My Wall. He might be best known for his long-running Foetus project, or his work on the soundtrack on the Venture Bros (which is why I knew about that series before it ever aired back in 2003) but his Steroid Maximus, Manorexia and now, Xordox, projects work better for RPG soundtracks. All three projects share the cinematic feel of his soundtrack work, but the focused musical palette of Xordox, with only synthesizers and Sarah Lipstate (aka Noveller) processed guitars, lend it a cohesiveness that makes it less jarring for playing in the background then say, Manorexia’s The Radiolarian Ooze (which featured a warning that the skipping sound on the disc was intentional). Thirlwell describes Neospection as "Neon Noir" and that encapsulates it wonderfully, with the bright neon flare of 80’s sci-fi and the grittier paranoia of noir creeping in. It evokes those 80s soundtracks of John Carpenter and Vangelis, but without simply being tribute or pastiche. More than many other releases there’s an undercurrent of wonder as well, that keeps the album from descending into full darkness. There is really no way to do the album full justice, but it is far and away one of my favorite releases from 2017. Were I to run a Stranger Things/Papergirls inspired 80s sci-fi/time travel game, this one be a backbone of the soundtrack, along with S U R V I V E and John Carpenter’s Lost Themes.

  • Vocals?...Minimal and processed vocals on one song, “Destination”
  • Music Genre(s):...Experimental, Electronic
  • Perfect for...Any game with a bit of science fiction edge to it or where a bit of 80s throwback synth feel would be appropriate.
  • If you only grab one track, make it...“Pink Eye” which alternates between a low and pulsing melody and blasts of synth noise.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 33 - Slithering Beneath the Surface

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 33 - Slithering Beneath the Surface


The third of three parts of our May 2018 Beyond the Wall Actual Play Episodes, now separated into bite size chunks for your audio enjoyment (or at least, not an listenable 3 hour podcast). 

The party, having just escaped from the Golden Grain Inn, further explore the suspicious village of Orlane and decide to have a detailed discussion with the Mayor, but first they decamp to the Slumbering Serpent Inn and have a wine tasting. Also featuring overpowering night odors.

Starring Ben as Hugen Coldhands, the New Watchman, Christy as Ziska Forespark, the Student of the Dark Arts, Mike as Jasper (Jape) Sweetberry IV, the Gifted Dilettante and Cassandra as Tulip, the Village Bear.





If you want to know more about Beyond the Wall, check out the Antagonist Relations reviews:


Friday, May 18, 2018

Music to Game To: Alec Empire - The CD2 Sessions: Live in London 7-12-2002

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

ALEC EMPIRE – THE CD2 SESSIONS: LIVE IN LONDON 7-12-2002

A few things to get out of the way, yes, this is a live album that I’m recommending and, also yes, this live album is the album I’d recommend if you only had a single album to use as the soundtrack of a cyberpunk game. Not to worry, this album doesn’t feature any of the usual hallmarks of a live album, like audience ambiance or applause, that can help a live album deliver an authentic concert experience. Instead it’s a live recreation of many of the experimental electronic songs off of CD 2 of Alec’s Intelligence and Sacrifice album, hence CD2 sessions. Beats and grooves come and go in the songs, but what carries through is a harsh-edge electronic paranoia, which makes this album perfect for a Cyberpunk RPG. A groove will build only to be shattered by a dissonant electronic sound and the longer running time of many of the tracks lets the songs build and morph. Thudding bass riffs, frantic glitches and shimmering electronics, there album is the base for the soundtrack of any cyberpunk game I run.


  • Vocals?...Yes, “Electric Body Rock” features the lyrics “Electric Body Rock”
  • Music Genre(s)… Experimental, Electro, Musique Concrète
  • Perfect for…Any Cyberpunk game or any game where you want to add a deep cyberpunk feel.
  • If you only grab one track, make it…Technological Warfare”, seven minutes of high-voltage electronic tension.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Goblet of Blood - Weird Magic Item #6


Inspired by the incredibly excellent Weird Magic Item generator over at Donjon.bin.sh, I've been coming up with a few of my own system agnostic weird magic items to put in the many games I run, be they 13th Age or Beyond the Wall...

Eventually I want to try and put them into a randomizer, but I need to generate a few first. I'm going to try and post one every other Wednesday. Please let me know if you end up using an item I've created in your own game. You can find the entire series here...

Antagonist Relations Weird Magic Item Generator Presents...

Goblet of Blood

This golden goblet is inlaid with rubies which seem to change shape when out of sight. When it is held by a creature who is currently polymorphed, shapechanged or under any illusion or alteration magic that hides their true from it will fill and then overflow with blood, this lasts for at least a minute after the creature stops touching the goblet. Any liquids in the goblet immediately transmute to blood, or if the goblet is empty, it fills quickly with blood. Otherwise it functions as a normal goblet.


Monday, May 14, 2018

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 32 - Seeing Eye Bear

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 32 - Seeing Eye Bear


The second of three parts of our May 2018 Beyond the Wall Actual Play Episodes, now separated into bite size chunks for your audio enjoyment (or at least, not an listenable 3 hour podcast). The Antagonist Relations crew begins to explore the sinister secrets of the village of Orlane and attempts to find appropriate accommodations for their "Seeing Eye Bear"

Starring Ben as Hugen Coldhands, the New Watchman, Christy as Ziska Forespark, the Student of the Dark Arts, Mike as Jasper (Jape) Sweetberry IV, the Gifted Dilettante and Cassandra as Tulip, the Village Bear.

Player created maps
GM Hex Map (not for player eyes)

If you want to know more about Beyond the Wall, check out the Antagonist Relations reviews:

Antagonist Relations reviews Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures
Antagonist Relations reviews Further Afield.


Please take our listener survey here.


Friday, May 11, 2018

Music to Game To: Seven That Spells - Cosmoerotic Dialogue with Luciver

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

SEVEN THAT SPELLS – COSMOEROTIC DIALOGUE WITH LUCIVER

A Croatian band that self-describes as “modern, aggressive psychedelic wall of sound incorporating polymetrics and occasional Viking funeral rites, hailing from the 23rd century where rock is dead,” Seven that Spells is not the music for an understated session of roleplaying delicate trade negotiations. They are very much the band whose albums you toss on when your high level D&D pcs finally make it to the bottom level of the dungeon to battle a dracolich or when you need the soundtrack to a fantastic space battle. When these songs blast full speed ahead, it feels as though they’ll never let you take a breath, but there are enough slower and softer moments as well, they just never arrive until you absolutely need to take a gaps for breath. This is an album to put on when you want to give your game a propulsive urgency.


  • Vocals?...Yes, in Croatian, mostly wordless though.
  • Music Genre(s)…Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock
  • Perfect for…Epic fantasy battles where the PCs struggle to catch their breath, psychedelic tinged science fiction games.
  • If you only grab one track, make it…the album closer and perhaps softest track on the album, ”Torture Vessel from the Triangle World”, which builds slowly, bit by bit with growing intensity, until it reaches a shimmering peak.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Beyond the Wall - Reptile Cult Threat Charts

For my actual play podcast, I’ve created my own threat of the Reptile Cult, inspired by old school modules like Against the Cult of the Reptile God and Dwellers of the Forbidden City. With one or both of those modules, or just some ideas on using a hidden cult of worshippers who try to turn themselves into ancient snake people, you can use the threat charts and monsters below to run your own Reptile Cult Threat in Beyond the Wall and Further Adventures using the threat rules from Further Afield (review here).

Character History



1d6 How did the Reptile Cult affect your childhood? Gain
1 A battle scarred group of tomb raiders came to town and were looking for something. You were impressed with them and listened to their stories in the inn. -1 Wis, Skill: Forbidden Lore
2 When you were a child, several villagers were stricken with a strange plague, rose from their beds in a trance, and wandered away into the swamps, never to be seen again. You contracted the disease and felt a strange compulsion, but stayed put. -1 Con, +1 Int
3 You had trouble sleeping throughout your childhood because you could hear the Snake people's hissing speech in your dreams. -1 Int, you know the language of the Snake people.
4 Long ago, you saw hooded and cloaked figures from the cult of the Snake King take a member of your family prisoner and swore revenge. While you do not know where the cult took your kin, you believe them to still live. -1 Wis, +1 Str
5 You rescued the Blacksmith's youngest child from a snake person in the swamp, but were badly scarred in the process. -1 Cha, Skill: Investigation
6 Once, when playing as a child, you fell into and then climbed out of a pit that lead to terrifying Snake People ruins. -1 Str, +1 Dex


Threat Effects


1d6
1 A random village or settlement other than the characters' home village is infiltrated by the Reptile Cult or the Reptile Cult strengthens their position.
2 The cult sends agents looking for humans with snakeblood in them. If one of the characters has any snakeblood, then any encounter rolls this week will be with 1d6 cultists.
3 The cult sends agents to a city or village looking for artifacts about the snake people, such as books or scrolls.
4 A body of water floods or expands, providing new swampy area for snakes and other reptiles to colonize.
5 Another Threat or power in the campaign world is set back by a cult attack. Another Threat is temporarily thwarted, or a local lord is killed, or a castle is sacked and burned.
6 The cult kidnaps 1d4 humans from a village or settlement to use in their experiments.



Recommended Monsters


  • Cockatrice
  • Giant Snake
  • Insect Swarm (Reskinned as a snake swarm)
  • Medusa

  • Amphisbaena
  • Attorcroppe (Reskinned as strange Reptile Cult experiments)
  • Crocodile
  • Jaculus
  • Sea Serpent
  • Snake, Venomous

Custom Monsters to use:


Lizard Folk

Hit Dice: 1d6 (4 HP)
AC: 14
Attack: +1 to hit, 1d6 (spear)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 15

Troglodyte

Hit Dice: 1d10 (6 HP)
AC: 14
Attack: +1 to hit, 1d8 (great club)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 20
Non-reptilians in melee combat with a Troglodyte need to make a saving throw versus poison or suffer a 2 point penalty to all rolls and a 1 point penalty to AC.

Great Trog

Hit Dice: 3d10 (15 HP)
AC: 15
Attack: +3 to hit, 1d10 (great axe)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 50
Non-reptilians in melee combat with a Troglodyte need to make a saving throw versus poison or suffer a 2 point penalty to all rolls and a 1 point penalty to AC.

Minor Snake Person

Hit Dice: 1d6 (4 HP)
AC: 15
Attack: +1 to hit, 1d4 damage + poison (bite) or sling +1 to hit, 1d4 damage
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 15
Notes: Poisonous (anyone bitten by must make a saving throw versus poison or be paralyzed for 1d4 hours)

Major Snake Person

Hit Dice: 4d8 (14 HP)
AC: 15
Attack: +4 to hit, 1d6 (bow) or 1d8 (Sword), 1d4 damage + poison (bite)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 175
Notes: Polymorph (Once per combat the Snake Person can gaze at an enemy and they must make a saving throw versus polymorph or be turned into a snake). Poisonous (anyone bitten by must make a saving throw versus poison or be paralyzed for 1d4 hours)

Naga

Hit Dice: 6d10 (33 HP)
AC: 17
Attack: +6 to hit, 1d8 (bite)
Alignment: Chaotic
XP: 650
Notes: Spellcaster (the Naga can cast six spells per day and is particularly fond of Burning Hands (as a 6th level caster for 1d3+12), Commanding Word, Conjure Darkness, Veil of Sleep and Web) True Name (the Naga has a true name which gives her foes power over her). Charm (When a creature meets the Naga’s gaze, they are affected as by the ‘False Friend’ spell. A normal saving throw versus spell is allowed and anyone who passes their saving throw is immune to the charms of this particular Naga. A creature can avoid her gaze by taking a -4 penalty to attack rolls. If the Mage Light cantrip is cast on the Naga’s eyes, it will prevent her gaze from working but she can make a saving throw versus spell to avoid the effect). Vulnerable to Iron (the Naga takes double damage from iron)




Monday, May 7, 2018

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 31 - A Suspicious Weasel

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 31 - A Suspicious Weasel

The first of three parts of our May 2018 Beyond the Wall Actual Play Episodes, now separated into bite size chunks for your audio enjoyment (or at least, not an listenable 3 hour podcast). The Antagonist Relations crew journeys from Swanholm to the sinister village of Orlane, besting bandits on the way and encountering a SUSPICIOUS WEASEL.

Starring Ben as Hugen Coldhands, the New Watchman, Christy as Ziska Forespark, the Student of the Dark Arts, Mike as Jasper (Jape) Sweetberry IV, the Gifted Dilettante and Cassandra as Tulip, the Village Bear.

Player created maps
GM Hex Map (not for player eyes)

If you want to know more about Beyond the Wall, check out the Antagonist Relations reviews:

Antagonist Relations reviews Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures
Antagonist Relations reviews Further Afield.


Please take our listener survey here.

Friday, May 4, 2018

Music to Game To: Mario Batkovic - Mario Batkovic

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.


Another album I discovered via The Quietus, a very fitting entry in their list of the best albums of 2017. Here’s how they describe the album…

Mario Batkovic is a Bosnia-born, Swiss virtuoso solo accordion player whose self-titled LP is a rich, opulent delight. Classically trained at the Hochschule für Musik und Theatre in Hannover, Batkovic finds an immense strength in nothing but his one instrument, plumbing stunning depths that are sometimes mournful, sometimes unsettling, and sometimes sublimely beautiful.[blurb by] Patrick Clarke

The album is richly evocative, the shear versatility of the accordion explored wonderfully. The mournful and unsettling moments that populate the album make it perfect for any game set in the dark forests of say, Barovia, or the like. You can easily imagine a Vistani musician playing this music, supernatural skill creating its haunting melodies and echoing notes.

  • Vocals?...No
  • Music Genre(s)…Classical, Contemporary, Avant-garde
  • Perfect for…Any game where you want to add a haunting Eastern European feel.
  • If you only grab one track, make it…Semper”, where higher notes pulse along, as deep and dark bass notes emerge periodically to give the song an ominous cast.



Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Etching Chalk of Monument Translation - Weird Magic Item #5

Inspired by the incredibly excellent Weird Magic Item generator over at Donjon.bin.sh, I've been coming up with a few of my own system agnostic weird magic items to put in the many games I run, be they 13th Age or Beyond the Wall...

Eventually I want to try and put them into a randomizer, but I need to generate a few first. I'm going to try and post one every other Wednesday. Please let me know if you end up using an item I've created in your own game. You can find the entire series here...

Antagonist Relations Weird Magic Item Generator Presents...

Etching Chalk of Monument Translation

When this chalk is used to make a rubbing of an engraved or carved surface that contains writing in any language, it is automatically translated on the rubbing into a language of the user’s choosing.


Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Tuesday Table - Random Travelers

Another table created for my Beyond the Wall games, this one tells you what direction and how far away travelers or a caravan are coming from. It's a result on several of the sample encounter tables from Further Afield and each time I blank, so now I've got these nifty tables to help me at least decide the direction and distance I should be looking at on my hexmap for a possible departure point.

d8 Direction
1 North
2 East
3 South
4 West
5 Northeast
6 Southwest
7 Northwest
8 Southeast


d12 Distance Traveled
1 Near
2 Near
3 Near
4 Near
5 Near
6 Near
7 Medium
8 Medium
9 Medium
10 Far
11 Far
12 Far



The Saltmarsh Register - Vol 1.18 & Vol 1.19

The Saltmarsh Register is the in-game newspaper I invented for the Ghosts of Saltmarsh game I run online every other Saturday. It is reprint...