2018 Antagonist Relations Recap

Image: Twenty Sided Dice set to 20 19

Antagonist Relations, Inc is back from holiday break, which was not particularly a break since I’ve run 6 game sessions and prepped a 10 part Cypher Game campaign since my last post in addition to all the normal family hoopla around the holidays.

Blog Business

It was a good year for blog writing last year— I posted 102 items in 2018, more than twice the next highest year (2015 with 47) and almost five times what I posted most years since I started this blog in 2012. The volume is especially notably because I only had a single post before March 2018. It was a questionable year for blog reading though… at least from what I can tell. Posts will get 10-20 views in the week I post them and that’s about it. Almost all of the referral links in the blog stats are for scammy clickbacks, for sketchy pharmaceutical hawking blogs or other obviously fraudulent and more importantly non-RPG blogs or sites. The few comments that I did get on posts in 2018 were all spam as well. Despite attempting to promote the blog with a twitter account (@antag_relations) and making sure to post fairly regularly on it to keep it from entirely being a wasteland in between blog post tweets I don’t seem to have grown the blog audience from the three people I know read it which has been disheartening.

Ultimately though, I’ve decided to keep posting here and to accept that maintaining the blog is something I’m mostly doing for myself and not for an audience, after all Lonely Fun has a long and storied tradition as part of the RPG hobby and so this blog will be my outlet for that. That said, if you’re a reader of the blog and not someone I know personally, if you send me an email at “Antagonist.relations(at)gmail.com” to let me know you’re out there, I’ll happily send you one of these snazzy stickers or a pack of the AD&D Second Edition Collector Cards if you’re interested.

Image: Shit Stickers where the I is a 1 on a d20, unopened pack of 1992 Series TSR D&D Collector Cards

So, what are my goals for the Antagonist Relations blog for 2019?

• Keep posting Weird Magic Items and Music to Game to Posts.
• Post more module and system reviews.
• Post at least 100 updates again.

Back in 2018 when I made the conscious effort to revitalize the blog, I planned on putting up lots of tables, but by the summer I had discovered that churning out a table every week or two was difficult, so I’m going to let those drop away and not spend time trying to come up with another table of names just to say I got another table made. On the other hand, I’ve really enjoyed writing the Weird Magic Item and Music to Game to Posts so those will continue.

You’ll also continue to see cross-posts from the Antagonist Relations Podcast, we recorded our first episodes of 2019 on January 4th and I hope to have them edited and ready to post soon. I swear that eventually I’ll do another Lonely Fun podcast just for Ben and there is a chance that there might be another potential podcast to come as well, though that one is really tentative.

N1 in the time of 5E - Against the Cult of the Reptile God Review

Terror by night! The village of Orlane Is dying. Once a small and thriving community. Orlane has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered. Rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants flee their homes, abandoning their farms with no explanation. Others simply disappear...
No one seems to know the cause of the decay—why are there no clues? Who skulks through the twisted shadows of the night? Who or what Is behind the doom that has overtaken the village? It will take a brave and skillful band of adventurers to solve the dark riddle of Orlane!

One of my favorite modules and definitely my favorite of the 1st/2nd edition AD&D modules I’ve gotten to run/play, Against The Cult of the Reptile God is a fantastic low level module that you can easily translate to any fantasy RPG. I’ve now gotten to play it once, run it full through twice and I’ve broken it apart and used various pieces of it to set up the campaign and adventure locations in the Antagonist Relations Podcast Actual Play Beyond the Wall game.

What makes Against the Cult of the Reptile God great to run? (Spoilers follow)

Antagonist Relations Podcast 45 - Cellar Gases

Antagonist Relations Podcast 45 - Cellar Gases

The third of three parts of our August 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 ventures down into the cellar of the Golden Grain Inn, unsure of what macabre secrets they might stumble upon...

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)
• Map of Orlane

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.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 44 - Save Vs Dad Joke... Fail!

Antagonist Relations Podcast 44 - Save Vs Dad Joke... Fail!

The second of three parts of our August 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 find ruins in the swamp and suffer a setback, but persevere. Also features a commercial for Sweetberry Goodberries...

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)
• Map of Orlane

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.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 43 - Snake Steaks

Antagonist Relations Podcast 43 - Snake Steaks

The first of three parts of our August 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 ponders the arson that occurred in Orlane while they slept and head into the swamps... where they encounter a snake, will 'o the wisps and consider if they qualify as murder hobos...

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)
• Map of Orlane

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.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 38 - Murder, Mayhem and Modules, Oh My!

Antagonist Relations Podcast 38 - Murder, Mayhem and Modules, Oh My!

Ben, Cassandra, Christy and Zack ramble on a bit after playing a third session of Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures, mostly discussing murderous rampages and old modules.

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.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 37 - The Bear's Entourage

Antagonist Relations Podcast 37 - The Bear's Entourage

The third of three parts of our June 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 continues their search for a basement, visiting the mill, purchasing a sack of flour, then they visit the ruins of the Foaming Mug Inn where they finally encounter a basement… a basement full of a familiar rancid, musty stench… Also featuring Hugen’s further descent into blood vengeance...

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)
• Map of Orlane

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.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 36 - "Can we see the stench?"

Antagonist Relations Podcast 36 - "Can we see the stench?"

The second of three parts of our June 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 takes leave of wizard and weasel to visit a widow in Orlane and then having found signs of foul undertakings, march on to the Temple to determine if it is the seat from which all sinister doings in the village emanate.

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)
• Map of Orlane

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.

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 35 - Ixnay on the Bloodbath-ay

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 35 - Ixnay on the Bloodbath-ay

The first of three parts of our June 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 visits the mayor of Orlane and Ziska, Jape and Tulip have to talk Hugen out of killing first and asking questions later. Then they visit a weasel and a wizard.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

From Core Book:

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

From What Lies Beyond

• 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)

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.