Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold
Crit Academy is joined by the best-selling Dmsguild author Jeff Stevens! He joins us today to discuss his current and first Kickstarter Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold!
Let's face it, as game masters we don't always have the time to prepare an adventure for the next gaming session. This isn't our fault, we can't predict what chaos may occur in our everyday lives. Nor can we always be prepared for when the adventuring party turns left when they should have turned right. Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold hopes to remedy this by supplying you with one-shot adventures designed to run quickly and efficiently, with many requiring little preparation time.
Let’s talk about Blank!
Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid
Hasbro and Renegade Games Studios have expanded their relationship with Power Rangers to create a new RPG based on the Dungeons and Dragons 5E system.
Give Away: Loresmyth: Modular Dungeon Tiles - Arcania
Modular dungeon tiles are an easy way to create your own beautiful digital maps. The Arcania lets you make dark, shadowy dungeon map, rich with the fumes of arcane secrets.
Winner: Mppennucci
Didn’t win? Np, head to www.critacademy.com/loresmyth a free set of digital terrain and much more.
Main Topic: Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold
Jeff, for those joining us for the first time, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do in the RPG world?
Can you tell us about Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold?
This is your first kickstarter, what drove you to change from your normal production on DMsguild to Kickstarter?
When is the kickstarter running/ending?
I love the inclusion of the Kobold Press book monsters, what drove that decision?
Who is the Potbellied Kobold?
Can you tell us about the Slime Cave of Norwal (available now for free)?
How did you come up with this promo idea of releasing one of the adventures for free on DrivethruRpg?
Can you tell us a bit about the team you’re working with to bring this project to life?
Is there anything else about the project you want to touch on that we may not have discussed?
Where can Crit Nation find you? (Insert Links)
Give Away: Jeff Stevens Games: Scourge of the Nightingale: Part 1 A Song of Love
A masked menace terrifies the region, raiding villages to fund her devious plan. Unknowingly, the adventurers stumble into her most recent evil scheme: the kidnapping of a famous performer known as Devon Artis. Their mission is to deliver a ransom and collect Devon. Though, as in most cases, not all goes as planned.
Winner: TheDMsCouncil
Didn’t win? Np, head to www.critacademy.com/jeffstevens to get Villains and Lairs III and Encounters on the Savage Seas III Free
Unearthed Tips and Tricks! We bring you new and creative content for you to bring with you on your next adventure!
Character Concept:
Battle Commander
“Follow my commands, and victory will be ensured!”
You are the embodiment of the battle leader in action, an inspiring commander who effortlessly flows from issuing commands to engaging the adversary and back again as conditions on the frontline warrant.
As a leader who battles as well as she leads, you have earned the allegiance and admiration
of your allies, and together you have been forged into a unified battle squad.
Monster Variant:
Zenary
Little is known about these aberration abominations. They prefer damp abandoned mines or expansive tunnels, even sewer systems on rare occasions. Tales are told to adventurers and travelers to never journey into unexplored tunnels, for the darkness hides the drinker of dreams. It stalks its prey day and night, tormenting and cursing them as they are chased through the tunnels, skittering along walls and ceilings.
The creature does everything it can to prevent its prey from receiving even a single moment's respite. It uses hit and run tactics combined with its piercing claws that curse its foes with nightmarish waking dreams. The senary prefers to slowly devour their prey while they are stuck in a state of confusion, lost among its labyrinth like tunnels. Few survivors still coherent enough to speak have given widely varying descriptions of this creature. The only consistency across all survivors are the six green eyes staring at them from the darkness.
Origin: Bone Devil
Lost Features: Sting. Telepathy, devil’s sight, claw, sting, fly,multiattack
New Features:
Spider Climb. The zenary can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage, plus 18 (4d8) psychic damage, and the target is cursed if it is a creature. The magical curse takes effect whenever the target takes a short or long rest, filling the target’s thoughts with horrible images and dreams. The cursed target gains no benefit from finishing a short or long rest. The curse lasts until it is lifted by a remove curse spell or similar magic.
Disorienting Sting. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage plus 17 (5d6) psychic damage and the target must succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence saving throw or be subjected to the confusion spell for 1 minute (no concentration required by the monster). The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Legendary Actions: The zenary can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The dream drinker regains present legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Illusory Sight. The zenary makes one Intelligence (Investigation) check to disbelieve an illusion.
Piercing Fling. The zenary makes a Disorienting Sting or Claws attack against a target. The target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be flung 15 feet away from the dream drinker in a direction of its choice.
Encounter:
A Lost Cog
While traveling through a large plain or barren valley, the characters stumble across a strange round metal object in the middle of a crater coated in thick layers of dust. It has small wings with spindly arms and legs, all broken with sparks shooting out of it. The object is a damaged monodrone (MM) with 1 hit point, its name is D2R2. The creature was sent out years ago during its last seventeenth cycle from Mechanus. A character knows the following information about Mechanus with a successful DC 19 Intelligence (Arcana) or automatically knows it if they are an Artificer. Mechanus, a plane that embodies absolute order, and one made almost entirely of clockwork gears, all interlocked and turning according to their measure.
D2R2 was sent on a reconnaissance mission to gather information on the state of the material realm. Unfortunately, during its travel it was damaged and has been unable to do its duty, as it has been stuck in this location for many years, unable to move. D2R2 seeks the character's aid to repair itself so that it can finish its reconnaissance and report to Primus its findings. The characters must find an Artificer to help repair D2R2, carrying him around as he does his recon taking interest in every little detail, and constantly struggling to understand illogical behavior. If the party has an Artificer, the repair should require rare adamantium or mithril components they must seek out and find before they can finish the job.
Magic Item:
Staff of the Mindsculptor
This oaken staff has a sapphire gemat its head with three silver cast mermaids with arms outstretched grasping the deep ocean like gem.
Staff, very rare (requires attunement)
Your ability to see the truth in the false is amplified by this magic item. You have advantage on all Intelligence (Investigation) checks to disbelieve illusions. While you hold it, you gain a +1 bonus to your spell save DC for any illusion spells you cast.
The staff has 10 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast one of the following spells from it, using your spell save DC: color spray (1 charge), blur (3 charges), or major image (4 charges).
The staff regains 1d6 + 4 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the staff becomes clear, splashes into a puddle of water, and is destroyed.
Dungeon Master Tip:
Monster Madness
The terrifying lairs of some monsters can insight a level of madness that can quickly overtake even the most hardy of adventurers. You can enhance the feeling of terror by adding a new lair or regional effect for otherworldly monsters such as Mind Flayers, Beholders and other powerful monstrosities. While in the monster's lair or within sight of the monster, roll on the Monster Madness table to determine the nature of the madness, which is a character flaw that lasts until cured. See the Dungeon Master's Guide for more on madness.
dlOO Flaw (lasts until cured)
01-20 "Someone is plotting to kill me. I need to kill them first to stop them!"
21-40 "There is only one solution to my problems: kill everyone!"
41-60 "There is more than one person within my head."
61-80 "If you don't agree with me, I'll beat you into submission to make you rethink your position."
81-00 " I can't allow anyone to touch or even look at anything that belongs to me. They will certainly try and steal it away from me!"
Player Tip: Don’t be a Dick
Arcane Teachings: Arcane Binding
You can then use the Conjure elemental spell to summon a powerful challenge rating 5 minion. The largest problem with this is the conjure elemental spell only lasts an hour, and requires concentration, what’s worse, is that it is then hostile toward you. The magic circle spell can be used to create an area that can keep out or lock in powerful celestials, elements, fey, fiends or undead. Once summoned and contained you can now use the planar binding spell to force the creature to serve you for 24 hours, and no longer requiring concentration. As long as you have the components, you can continue to do this binding indefinitely, so long as you have the heavy cost of two 5th level and one 3rd level spell slots required. Though you can really lower the impact on a single character, by having multiple casters surrendering slots for the summoning and binding process.
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