UPDATE: January 31st 2021

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well! I'm writing this to give out some updates on some of the things I've been working on as well as a new posting schedule for the blog itself.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter (@Em_CampsNChars) my upload schedule is on my profile. It's the pinned tweet at the very top. The schedule has changed due to the fact that I'm starting school again on February 1st. I think this new schedule will allow me more time to complete my schoolwork, and still give all of you some amazing content! For those of you who don't have Twitter:

PC, NPC, and Campaign Concepts will be uploaded on Sundays - specifically the first, second, and third Sundays of each month. The fourth Sunday will be an off-week for me, so I can make sure I'm doing my homework and taking care of myself. If there is a fifth Sunday in the month, then I'll put up a Twitter poll, and there can be a vote for what goes up on that Sunday!

All of the session summaries will go up as usual: Matchmaker on Wednesdays, Tri-Panthonic War on Fridays, and System Space on Saturdays.

Please bear with me if some of the posts are uploaded later in the day or even at night. I might also miss or postpone uploads, and/or the schedule might not work as I intended. In that case, I'm going to have to re-work it again. My school work is always going to come first when it comes to this stuff.

Beyond all that, I have a couple things coming very soon:

- I'm taking another poetry class, and I'm going to try to make most (if not all) of my poems based in D&D and fantasy. So, of course, they'll go on the blog too! So anticipate more poetry from me very soon - potentially even weekly!

- I asked if you guys wanted a highlight reel from Welcome to the System Space from before that campaign started being posted here. It's in the works, for sure, but it's also long and there's a lot I have to remember to include. I'm hoping to have that up soon, preferably by the end of February. 

- I also plan on doing a highlight reel for Tri-Panthonic War in the near future, but that will take me some time. That campaign is over a year old, almost a year and a half. That's a lot of content. So although it's coming, you probably won't see it until late spring or even summer. I don't really have a timeline for that yet.

So yeah! That's basically what's going on at the moment. Thanks for your support! More content on the way! Talk to you all very soon.

WSS Summary: World 8, Dear Father Time - Session 6

Present Party: Aria (Avery), Claudia (Alex), Emori (Amelia), and Steve (Hugo.) Recall that all characters have been renamed by their new parents, Ike and Jin, (to the names in the parenthesis) but I will still be referring to them as their real names.

Setting: Typical medieval fantasy world with various Greek elements, seen mostly in temples. The gods in this world are part of the Greek pantheon. They are at their home in Blackpool.

Second Bracket, pt. 2: Ages 7 to 10

The party gained access to any spells up to second level, and also any class features up to fourth level during this bracket.

Claudia and Emori were both playing their pan flutes, having a little contest. Emori was currently doing a bit better. Ike walked in. Emori had a thought that the two of them should play worse to trick him. However, it was also discovered that Claudia did, in fact, hear Emori's voice in her head. The girls were confused, but Ike explained to Emori that it was probably just her kalashtar traits finally coming in. They decided to play worse, but Claudia's performance remained consistent. Emori's was far worse.

This made Claudia upset and she stormed off. Ike and Emori went to talk to her, with Emori insisting that she was in the right and had been trying to boost Claudia's confidence. Ike assured them that they were both very talented, and helped them clear up the misunderstanding.

The four of them along with their younger tiefling brother, Quest, (who was 4 when they were 8) conspired to steal some cake after a family party. However, they spent most of the time during the party stealing the cake from each other. Multiple hijinks ensued, with Aria and Claudia stealing cake from each other using spells, Claudia throwing cake at Emori, and even Steve talking to their brother-in-law, Adonis. Steve played a round of dice (with his loaded set, of course) for Adonis's piece of cake. Steve won.

That night, the party had planned for Claudia to cast Invisibility on Quest to get cake, but Claudia had used all of her second-level spells during the party. This led to a very passionate argument between the four siblings, with the very young Quest watching. 

When Claudia eventually declared that she wanted no part in it, Quest looked at his siblings and asked, "So... no cake?"

Claudia left the room, and went downstairs to see if she could get cake, only for herself and Quest. Luckily, there were no adults in the kitchen and she'd been successful in finding where they'd hidden it. She grabbed two pieces.

Emori used her new-found mind powers to try and coax Quest to cry so he would make Claudia feel bad and they could all get cake. Aria helped by pinching him. However, all this did was scare Quest, and he ran from the room, crying. Claudia found him, and comforted him with Dancing Lights and cake. When he was ready, Quest went to see Ike and Jin, and Claudia told them what happened. Ike told her to go upstairs, and he'd deal with it in the morning.

When Claudia went back upstairs to tell everyone what happened, Aria and Emori weren't particularly pleased. Steve, however, took Claudia's side and agreed that what they did to Quest was pretty mean.

They all went to bed pretty angrily that night, and shut their magic curtains (closing off their beds from each other and effectively creating their own little rooms) to prevent sound from coming through. They each played their instruments: Emori on the drums, Claudia on the pan flute, Aria on the lute, and Steve on the bagpipes. Steve, however, sneakily opened them all so they could all hear... and they sounded really good together. They decided they would form a band, but not that exact night, much to specifically Emori's dismay. It had been a long day, and emotions were still riding high.

The next morning, Ike came up to see Emori and Aria with Quest. The girls apologized, and Ike told them that since Quest didn't like the mind talking or the pinching that it wasn't fair to him to do it. He also told them that if they had wanted cake, then they could have asked him this morning. Not last night in the middle of the night.

The party also gained a new sibling:

Eliana

- Kalashtar

- Younger sister (2 years younger)

- From "a very strange place" - nobody has told you exactly

There were a few peculiarities about her addition to the family. Ike was insistent about getting her her own room. When she arrived, she was escorted by Conah - Ike's friend, former party member, and "uncle" to Ike's children. She was very shy, and didn't speak.

The only other event that occurred, not long after Eliana arrived, was preparations for a huge snowball fight. Steve and Claudia were elected team captains, and they chose their teams.

Steve chose Emori, Aria, Nyx, Silev, and Quest to be on his team.

Claudia chose Hadrion, Hekate, Myev, Aryllan, and Alaion to be on her team.

Next session, it was decided, would be the snowball fight of the century!

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

Additionally, thank you to my friend @bandcat5313 - the original homebrewer and DM for the world of Eushora. This setting and some NPCs were inspired by hers.

TPW Summary: Act III, Scene iii - Session 5 [END of Scene iii]

Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation

Scene iii: The Summer Cotillion

Present Party: Boris, Venus, and Sylyeras

Setting: The Feywild - mostly the Winter and Autumn Courts, followed briefly by Summer. On the Material Plane, the party finds themselves in the port city of Veerport, in Aldea.

The party said goodbye to their Kumonga-spider friend, Khuva, and started to make their way south, hoping to cross into the Autumn Court, bantering along the way. Lars was still leading them. Boris took it upon himself to carry Finn, who was still suffering from frostbite and hypothermia to some degree. The berries were making it a lot easier. His sleep deprivation wouldn't get better until the party reached Autumn though, due to (as Boris has always said) "Magical Bullshit." Sleeping in the Winter Court was difficult, especially for those who hadn't slept in a while.

They arrived at the iced-over ocean to the south, and started to make their way across. Beneath the ice, just under the surface, was a huge white dragon. Boris asked if they should be concerned, but Lars assured them that although the dragon was alive under there, they would be fine as long as the ice didn't break. It was already heavily cracked in some areas. Still, the party used their skates and started making their way across, but three Yeth Hounds came charging out of the forest from where they came. The party fought them off and continued forward, managing not to crack the fragile ice holding the dragon in the process.

Lars brought them to the small town of Aiqua across the ocean. Venus made sure to disguise Finn by turning him invisible, in case people were looking for him. They stayed there for the night, and then continued forward until the snow started to disappear. The thorns underfoot were sparser and sparser. The trees began to transition from pine trees, covered in snow, to deciduous trees with leaves colored red, orange, yellow, and brown. Lars stopped on the very last bit of snow, and looked back at the party.

The party assured him that they'd figure out what to do for him; they'd get him out of his warlock pact somehow. Then, they crossed the border, leaving Lars in the Winter Court.

Finn passed out almost immediately upon entering Autumn. The party discussed where exactly they should go, considering they no longer had a guide. They wondered if they could pay Kalicosio - the strange fox / bird hybrid archfey - to teleport them to the border between Autumn and Summer. That way, they could move quicker. When they called him, he said that he would gladly do that for them for the price of ten gold but that someone needed to talk to Finn before he was allowed to do that.

"Are they going to take him?" Venus asked.

Kalicosio chuckled. "No... Not yet."

The party (albeit reluctantly and cautiously) agreed, and they walked through the maze of trees that made up the Autumn Court. It was, as Boris quickly found out first after storming away, a literal labyrinth. Going certain ways caused you to walk the same path, and there were very specific turns that you needed to take. You couldn't backtrack. The only way to "go back" was to walk backwards, which Boris figured out very quickly. He met back up with the rest of the party quickly.

Kalicosio led them to a small cabin at the base of a waterfall. Inside, there lived an old man who offered them food and a place to rest. Talking to him, the party discovered (somewhat) who he was.

"I am not a lord of Autumn. I am not the king of Autumn. I am Autumn." He smiled. "But you may call me 'Father.'"

The old man seemed relatively harmless. When Finn finally woke up, he and Father had a conversation in Sylvan. None of the other party members spoke the language. The conversation lasted for about an hour and a half before ending with a handshake. They all said their goodbyes and left. Nobody questioned the content of the conversation that had transpired.

Kalicosio, for ten gold, teleported the party to the edge of Autumn and Summer. Finn regained his powers. The party crossed the border, and made their way easily to the Summer Palace. They summoned a boat to get them out to the island, and while sailing, they were accosted by one of Sylyeras's mermaid friends, Hali. 

She informed them that the party had been gone for five years in Feywild time.

The party, understandably, were shocked, worried, and appalled by the idea. Finn reassured them that time spent here didn't necessarily matter. The Summer Queen could put them back in the material plane five years ago as long as he made a good case for it. Sylyeras messaged for Aurinia to meet them when they arrived. She did, and was ecstatic to see her father after five years. Finn went to see the Summer Queen. The party went to find Lady Sunshine and see if there was absolutely anything they could do for Lars or about the time travel situation.

Lady Sunshine, in terms of Lars's situation, didn't really give them any new information. There had to be a trade of equal or greater value - basically warlock for warlock or person for person. The Lady of Darkness needed a source of pain. The time situation was different. The party sat, trying to figure out which event had led them to being gone for five years. After explaining what they'd been through, Lady Sunshine looked shocked.

"You asked Kalicosio to teleport you? Oh! Well that would do it! He's the archfey that controls time here! He's the reason everything's different compared to the material plane."

Boris and Venus set out immediately to call Kalicosio and make things right. Sylyeras stayed back to talk to Hali a little bit more, discouraged about what was happening and especially worried that he'd missed the birth of his son.

Ultimately, Kalicosio and Boris struck a deal. Boris gave Kalicosio 5,000 gold in exchange for him teleporting Boris, Venus, Sylyeras, and Finn to that exact spot two days after the attack when Finn was taken.

It was done. The party sailed the boat back to the Summer Palace. All the archfey were standing in the foyer, alongside Barnabus Shay - another Summer Archfey Warlock - and Aurinia. All of the archfey remembered everything, but The Summer Queen had been very genuinely impressed with how the party handled the situation. She and Finn discussed the terms of their departure.

There was only one remaining problem: Lars. Considering the jump in time, Sylyeras decided to see if Cthulhu still remembered their conversation. He prayed.

~~~~~

Sylyeras rose out of the inky, black water and found himself face-to-glowing-eyes with his patron. Cthulhu did not forget, but Sylyeras was still determined to help Lars.

"You can ask me for anything - anything except my wife or my kin. If you help this kid out of his pact, I'll give it to you."

Cthulhu answered, "I want you... I want your mind and body. On the material plane for... a minimum of six months. And I will relieve this boy of his pact and grant him to another of my kin."

"How about this? You can have me - my mind and body - for twenty four hours, once a month, for the rest of my life. And during that time, you will not harm, speak to, or get anywhere near my wife, my son, any of my future children, anyone else of my kin, or any of my friends. And you cannot make pacts with any of my children. When Lars is freed from his pact, send him to me."

Cthulhu accepted this trade, and said, "I look forward to our new partnership going forward, Captain Taldin."

Sylyeras returned to the Summer Court.

~~~~~

When he returned from his state, Sylyeras was shaking and nauseous. Venus did her best to comfort him, but all he could say was, "She's going to kill me..."

Lady Sunshine helped Sylyeras as best as she could. Within the next two minutes, Lars appeared at the Summer Court as well, screaming and crying. Venus calmed him, and managed to get him to tell her what happened. Lars had been teleported to a large body of water - the ocean - but he didn't know how to swim. He was drowning, when a wave washed him ashore and he met with this huge monster of some kind. He was terrified and very confused. They promised to help him.

The Summer Queen and Finn returned. Venus, with a look, reminded Finn to ask about Aurinia and whether or not - as long as they had a spell to safely unbind her from her tree for a time - Aurinia could move to the material plane to live with Finn and his husband, Caldor. The Queen, with persuasion from her daughter, Lady Sunshine, agreed. Finn could come back and unbind her safely when he was able to.

With that: Venus, Boris, Sylyeras, Finn, and Lars were shifted back to the Material Plane.

~~~~~

The party found themselves in a city they'd never been in, but that Finn recognized as Veerport, in Aldea. They were about four days travel north from where Finn and Caldor lived in Rugathore. They were in front of the docks. Sylyeras's ship - The Bastard Prince - was in port. So was his wife's ship: The Dragon's Delight. Finn asked someone for the date. Today was July 30th. Ariel would officially be due any day.

Sylyeras rushed to her ship. Venus and Boris made sure Lars stayed with Finn, and went after him. They found out that Ariel was in labor. They'd made it just in time.

On July 31st, at three o'clock in the morning, Romeo Taldin was born. Ariel's first mate, a goliath named Storzak, announced to the crews of both ships, "It's a boy!" All of them erupted into cheers and shanties.

A few hours later, Sylyeras traded in his mother's flag for his wife's. He'd officially quit Pirate Lord Ashglade's fleet. There would be no more hiding.

MMC Summary: Session 7 - An Odd Adventuring Group and Their Small Cat-Child

Present Party: Keviks, Lupan, Nana, and Wren.

Setting: Mostly on the road through the mountains, heading west to Dragon's Valley.

The night after Fang's last date, the party returned to their rooms to pack their bags and get some rest.

Veers
Changeling, works for Hugo DeMarco
(Art by Claparo-Sans on DeviantArt)

That night, Nana was visited by a face that she'd only seen in passing and at the local adventurer's tavern: the changeling man who she'd been told was Veers. Veers worked for Hugo. He came by to deliver a few books that had been requested for her by King River from Guildmaster DeMarco.

River had procured her a +1 Arcane Grimoire and the Libram of Souls and Flesh that Hugo had in his possession. Veers passed on the message from Hugo: "You're very lucky to have the position that you do."

Nana replied that Hugo could have had it. She'd offered it to him, and he refused.

Veers shrugged. "Yeah, well... he's kinda been there and done that already so there's really no need."

"Correct me if I am wrong, but you are also the one who procures his... resources," she checked, referring to the souls used to feed Hugo's phylactery.

"Yes."

"Where do you get them?"

"Some of the darkest parts of the multiverse," he declared. "Let's just say that... humanoids aren't the only creatures who have those kinds of resources."

He left after that, bidding Nana a good night. Nana did some research, discovering that some of the widely considered "darkest" planes in existence were The Nine Hells, The Abyss, and Helheim itself.

~~~~~

The next morning, the party prepared to leave. Prince Fang said goodbye to his younger brothers: Aspect, Snow, and Time. All four brothers also gave Nana a good luck charm in the form of a bracelet that had their initials inked onto the wooden beads. Fang also said goodbye to his parents. The goodbye was rather tearful on the part of King River.

He looked to the party, and said to them, "What I am trusting you with is worth more to me than this entire kingdom. I want you to remember that."

After that, they discussed exactly where they wanted to go. The three nearest places were the small hunting town of Pohnorr to the southeast, the peaceful village of Cherish to the northeast, and the historical village of Dragon's Valley to the west. The party also knew that Quest's pan flute needed to be buried in Dragon's Valley, and Fang informed the group that he actually had family there: a grandmother, uncle and cousins on his mother's side. Ultimately, that was where they decided to go.

Before they left, they also stopped briefly at the Horizon Walker's guild - an adventuring guild catered to rangers. They just wanted to talk to someone about the mysterious individual that had shot Nana's familiar Mond out of the sky. The ranger's guild seemed to be the place to ask for that information. Sadly, the guildmaster wasn't in at the time, but the receptionist assured Nana that he would look into it. She told him to report any information to Ego, back at the royal palace.

A few hours into their journey west on a road that wove through the mountains, and broke up into paths that led further up, Keviks and Nana heard a strange noise. It sounded like a child, crying and calling for help. Then, they noticed on one of the high roads, a child that appeared mostly human running towards them. His only non-human traits were a pair of black cat ears on top of his head and a big, fluffy cat tail. He was very little and wore very dirty clothes and no shoes. Behind him were two griffons, who were attempting to snatch him up.

The party intervened, and saved the young boy by killing the griffons. They healed him, and asked him for his name and where he was from. He said that his friends called him Casper, and that he didn't know where he was from. Looking at him now, the party realized he had to be pretty young - somewhere between four and six years old. They asked him what he was doing in the mountains all alone.

Through tears, he explained, "I-I was with my friends... and they were escorting some nice people th-through the mountains, and... there was a dragon, and they told me run so I did, and then the monsters came, and then I was lost, and-and now... I-I don't know where they went..."

"Do you remember what the dragon looked like?" Nana asked.

"It was a black one..." Casper informed them, drying his eyes a little.

They asked if he could describe his friends.

"Uh... There's Boomer, Finch, Arcta, and Kressa. Finch is a human. Arcta has ears like yours." He pointed to Lupan, the eladrin. "Kressa is a bird like you." He pointed to Keviks, the aarakocra. "And Boomer is made of metal!"

The party decided to follow Casper's tracks back the way they came on the higher mountain roads. Fang, on his horse, invited Casper to sit with him since he wasn't wearing shoes. One of Keviks's favored terrains is mountains, so travelling and keeping up with the tracks with the help of the other party members was easy. Along the way, they heard a strange noise, like steam or wind being pushed out of something. They saw a creature - vaguely humanoid, in red robes - flying higher over one of the roads on the other side of the pass. He had blue fire protruding from his feet.

They pointed him out to Casper, who looked very happy, and yelled, "Boomer!"

Boomer
Warforged School of Evocation Wizard
(Made by me, on Heroforge)

The creature looked to them and then flew over to their road. He landed in front of them - a warforged, about seven feet tall with broad shoulders. Seeing him so close, they realized that he wasn't in the greatest shape. Much of his joints were rusty, and he moved rather slowly. Casper scrambled off Fang's horse and ran to him. Boomer pat him on the head gently, and Casper climbed up him and onto his back. Boomer used a stone to call another member of their party, and they agreed to meet back up.

The party spoke with Boomer, who told them very simply and in a very gravelly voice that the dragon they had been fighting was dead. It was safe, for now. They agreed to meet Boomer's friends halfway.

Boomer's party consisted of a human man with a violin case on his back and a longsword at his hip, a white aarakocra resembling a dove who had a bow, and a drow woman with purple skin, long white hair, and a greataxe. The human did most of the talking, introducing the group. He went by Finch. His friends were Kressa and Arcta - the aarakocra and drow respectively. And the party already knew Boomer.

When asked where they were coming from, they simply said, "North" and when asked where they were going, they said that they were headed back to Dragon's Valley. From there, they were going further south. The party offered to travel with them, for safety in numbers. The other group gladly agreed, and they made their way back to the road.

Along the way, Lupan and Wren inquired about Casper and how this new party had come to know him.

Finch and Kressa explained that their party had been hunting a group of human traffickers for a while. These human traffickers had killed Kressa's family a long time ago, and now they were in this country causing trouble. This party was with the Hero's Way guild, and they were asked to look into rumors about a group of them up in the mountains. They did, and found a very large group. They killed who they could, and intended to release any "cargo" they had. However, the only "cargo" they'd found was Casper.

"He's so little, you know?" Finch sighed. "Not like we could just let him go out here. So... we stole him."

They were now in the process of looking for a place for Casper to stay, preferably off-continent so he wouldn't be found again. The whole idea was to get to Lanti and try Jarna, where Boomer had a friend. If that didn't work, then they'd go further south across the Xanden Sea. It was during this conversation that Casper's race was revealed to some of those who weren't familiar with this species: a "half-tabaxi." Both Nana and Finch seemed to know a lot about them, talking about how very few seemed to "be well." Everything was left rather vague in that regard.

Finnegan "Finch" Pomeroy
Human College of Whispers Bard
(Art by Claparo-Sans on DeviantArt)

Along their walk, Finch and Wren spoke to one another, and realized that they had some history. Their families were friends and allies, but saw each other rarely. Wren recalled his real name - "Finnegan Pomeroy" - and also recalled a dance they shared a few years ago. Despite his scruffy appearance and the fact that he had a very large build, Wren also recalled that he was a year younger than her in age: 22. He was quite good friends with her brother, Orion, and the two of them were in quite similar situations, it seems.

"Would your family welcome you back, if you returned to Lanti?" he asked.

"I think that would depend on who was doing the welcoming," she answered.

After some time, the party set up camp for the night. Nana conjured the prince a lighthouse (using her staff and the spell "Galder's Tower" from Lost Laboratory of Kwalish) to sleep in. She also slept inside. The rest of the party opted to make camp outside with their new friends. They set up a series of watches. Boomer, being a warforged with Sentry's Rest, was basically a permanent watch, but more eyes never hurt anyone.

Finch and Wren took the first watch. They caught up a bit, and Finch let her know that he and his group stopped back at Dragon's Valley a lot. The bartender at the local tavern is a good friend. He asked her to write to him, if she could, and send her letters there. He would get them.

Kressa
Aarakocra Monster Slayer Ranger
(Made by me, using Heroforge)

Keviks and Kressa took second watch and took to the sky. Keviks learned that Kressa used to be a soldier in the Imperian army - the nation to Midtia's east. There was a civil war going on there at the moment. She'd been shooting a bow for them since she could hold one, basically. They talked a bit more about the human traffickers. Kressa claimed to be seeking vengeance, but the best kind of vengeance: vengeance against those who are doing terrible things, in an effort to make the world better for everyone.

Arcta Ursu
Drow Berserker Barbarian / Circle of
Spores Druid
(Art by u/arecsu on Reddit)

Last watch was taken by the two elves: Lupan and Arcta. They talked about war, and where they'd learned to fight. Arcta had also been part of a tribe, but one on the eastern-most continent. Her people travelled up on the surface and down in the Underdark. However, most people there didn't much like drow. She told Lupan that sadly, she believed herself to be the only one left. Now though, at least she had her party. She seemed thankful for that much.

The party awoke the next morning, ready for whatever their next day of travel would bring them.

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://www.deviantart.com/claparo-sans/art/Punk-789871089

https://www.deviantart.com/claparo-sans/art/Edricane-547043882

https://www.reddit.com/user/arecsu/

Campaign Concept: Friends AND Foes

What Are We Making?

I want to talk about a different kind of campaign, one that would probably be more of a short-form one. This could even work as a one-shot, depending on the scale that you want to play it.

This is a tournament-style campaign that would focus a lot on combat. How any DM wants to interpret that, they have the opportunity to. I want to make a game that allows for adventure, but in a fixed setting - a game where who your friends are is just as important as who your enemies are, especially in that fixed setting.

Although the idea of a "tournament game" isn't new, it is something that's a bit out of my comfort zone. I like to run TTRPG campaigns with a lot of roleplay, more so than combat. I want to try and make a game that's a little different. Let's take a look at some ideas for a game like this.

The Setting

Setting can vary greatly in this kind of game. Medieval fantasy? That works. Sci-fi? Absolutely. You could even go so far as to make this tournament something like a mech battle if you wanted to. Some kind of dystopian setting? Just look at The Hunger Games. I want to focus on the minute details of this setting though, and I think those details depend severely on two things: why are the players here and what are they fighting? 

In terms of why they're here, you have two options: voluntary or involuntary. Did they choose to be here or not? Were they chosen to participate for one reason or another, or was there some kind of sign-up sheet? From here, you can design the other NPCs and the arena itself. As I said, this is a contained setting. In my mind, the game takes place entirely in this arena or colosseum or whatever your "battleground" is. Perhaps you take the Hunger Games route and make this game about survival as well as fighting. Perhaps there are rooms and such under or around the arena. 

Then, of course, there's a roleplay aspect to this. If the other NPCs are also here voluntarily, then they have reasons and motivations. What are they? If they're not, then what happened? Why is everyone here? That goes for the other PCs too! Who's to say that they don't all have different motivations? There's potential for party conflict and/or camaraderie there already.

The fights themselves also have a multitude of different ways in which they can be structured. Much of that depends on the enemy they're facing. The way I see it, there are two options:

- Have the party fight other people / adventuring groups. This might require more work on the part of the DM, especially if you're full-on making PC character sheets for each opponent. That could be a lot. However, it would cause the players to have to think more on their feet and strategize a little harder. I also like this more for the roleplay potential, which I'll touch on a little more later.

- Have the party fight monsters. This would probably be easier to manage, and it could also lead to some really cool scenes and combat sequences.

Obviously, you can also choose to combine the two in some way. Maybe they start with monsters and work up to fighting each other. Both situations, I think, could be really interesting for players and also really fun when you get to higher levels.

From there comes the big question: what's the point? Why are the PCs here? If they volunteered, why? If they didn't, why or why not?

The Plot

I can think of a few motivations for groups of people to want a Roman Colosseum or Hunger Games-esque tournament to occur.

- Over-population. Certain people are just randomly selected and have to fight for their lives because some entity (the government, God, etc.) said so. This tournament is viewed as a necessity. Those who are chosen can't get out of it unless someone else volunteers to take their place.

- Cultural norms. Perhaps this kind of tournament is just... normal... in this particular setting. Maybe it's considered honorable to volunteer or be chosen to participate.

- Entertainment. This is just a ploy to keep the masses in line. Bread and circuses, you know? Think: Ancient Rome. Same concept. This type of tournament would also be public and have an audience. The audience may or may not also have some kind of say in how the game goes. Think: reality TV shows with a voting system that involves the viewers "calling in" or what have you.

I'm sure there are other motivations that you can probably think up too, but these were the first that came to my mind.

Another important aspect to this is: what's the reward if they win? Depending on how deadly you make this for your players, you definitely want a reward that matches the risk. Very few people are going to throw themselves into a tournament with life-or-death stakes for something like fame. Fame would be a good secondary motivator but there has to be something else. Like:

- Money. It works for reality TV, why not here? Why not make it enough money so that the characters and their families could live easy lives?

- Food. This is something that would be important in a post-apocalyptic or dystopian society.

- Someone else's life. What if the characters each had someone very important to them? What if, when they lost, that person died?

- Some kind of magic item. Maybe one that grants something like immortality or a use of the "Wish" spell.

PC death might also be something that the table and DM will have to prepare for if you plan on making this a particularly deadly game. DMs, if this is your plan, make sure your players know that. I'd recommend putting in something like a "merge" plan for the tournament. For example, if the party loses a member in a fight, the player then makes a new PC that was the only survivor of their last fight.

Lastly, I want to discuss more about the roleplay aspect to this game, and specifically why I called this concept "Friends AND Foes." This idea works especially well if the players do fight other people, rather than monsters. Obviously, while in this arena with all these other teams, bonds are inevitably going to be formed. Even if they're loose and there with the knowledge that people could die, they're there. So what happens when the party of PCs return from a victory... to find that the team they'd been friends with was killed? Is there a feud between them and the team that killed their friends? Will they get the chance to settle it in the arena? Better yet - and this is where the title comes in - what happens when the PCs are forced to fight the team or teams they'd been calling their friends? Is there a way out of that? Do you have to fight to the death? If the players kill the NPCs, how does that affect them later?

At that moment, that NPC party is both friend and foe, and that idea, I think, could make for a really great, really thoughtful game in a very combat-heavy setting.

WSS Summary: World 8, Dear Father Time - Session 5

Present Party: Aria (Avery), Claudia (Alex), Emori (Amelia), and Steve (Hugo.)

Setting: Typical medieval fantasy world with various Greek elements, seen mostly in temples. The gods in this world are part of the Greek pantheon. They are at their home in Blackpool.

At this point in the campaign, Ike - the titan of time - and his spouse Jin just adopted four new infants. These infants are the party, who have been de-aged and retain none of their memories from their past selves. Although they've been renamed, I'll be referring to them by their normal PC names for consistency. The names that they were given by their parents are beside their names above.

The party's family, as it stands right now, is comprised of:

Ike

- Changeling Barbarian

- Your dad

- Also the god of time, but you know, that’s cool.

Jin

- Changeling

- Your other parent - goes by Mom or Dad, your choice

Jonah

- Drow

- Ike’s friend, Hadrion’s dad

- He lives in the barn and doesn’t come out really like… ever.

Phoebe

- Changeling Barbarian

- Your older sister - Twin sister of Achaeus

- Primordial of Day

Achaeus

- Changeling Rogue

- Your older brother - Twin brother of Phoebe

- Primordial of Day

Nyx

- Human

- Your older sister - Twin sister of Hekate, but in her late teens

Hekate

- Human?

- Your older sister - Twin sister of Nyx, but still somehow only 2 years older than you

- She’s really good at magic

Hadrion

- Aasimar, late teens

- He lives in the barn

Soren

- Changeling

- Your older brother

- He is king of Sinner’s Den, and lives with his husband, Adonis

Soaring “Blue” Jay

- Tabaxi

- Your older brother - 12 years older

Lotor

- Dragonborn

- Your older brother - 8 years older

Aryllan

- Sea Elf

- Your older sister - 5 years older

Alaion

- Wood Elf

- Your older brother - 4 years older

Other Members of Your Extended Family

- Uncle Lyre (Half-Drow)

- Uncle Echo (Human / Primordial)

- Uncle Conah (Aasimar / God)

- Auntie Lex (Drow)

- Cousin Avarielle “Ava” - Conah and Lex’s daughter

- Cousin Callan - Conah and Lex’s son

Excuse the 2nd person pronouns; I stole this from our NPCs chat on Discord so I wouldn't have to write it all out again.

There were two other things that remained consistent throughout their whole childhoods. The first thing was the House Rules:

1. Be fair.

2. Be polite. Say please and thank you.

3. Don't steal anything from each other. Ask if you can borrow it first.

4. If someone asks for something, share it if you can. If not, say no and tell that person why.

5. If someone refuses to share and gives a good reason, then they do not have to share with you.

6. See an adult if you have to. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

7. Respect privacy and boundaries. Always knock before entering someone else's room.

8. The following rooms / areas are OFF LIMITS for children UNLESS given permission by an adult:

8a. The center basement room, behind the two double doors. (aka "The Family Room")

8b. The barn

9. If Ike or Jin tell you not to go somewhere, there is a reason why. You are allowed to ask why. Please do not go there yourself.

10. Be nice to the animals and they will be nice to you.

11. Try.

The second thing was a poem that he would recite to them before bed, every night, even into their teens.

The sky will still be up there

The sun will always shine

The stars will keep on falling

For the ones who wish at night

The mountains won’t start moving

The rivers won’t run dry

Just say you’ll always be there

And so will I

Even if the sky is falling

And the sun don't want to shine

If the stars we used to wish on

Disappear into the night

I can move a mountain

But only by your side

Just say you'll always be there

I know you'll always be there

And so will I

(This poem is actually a series of lyrics from Ben Platt's song "So Will I." It's very good. Listen to it below)

The party is currently aging through certain brackets, mostly for the sake of time and fun.

First Bracket: Ages 3 to 6

New Siblings:

Silev

- Firbolg

- Arrives when you are 3 years old

- 7 years older (brother)

Quest

- Tiefling

- Arrives when you are 5 years old

- 4 years younger (brother)

This particular age bracket was spent mostly playing with their other siblings and exploring the house. The players were getting used to how life as one of Ike's many, many children would be. There were multiple shenanigans had, of course. The kids played hide and seek, tag, and had a climbing contest in the trees.

In terms of what they learned about their other siblings:

- Hekate has strange and extreme magical abilities, but nobody in the house seems disturbed, bothered, or worried about it.

- Blue has long scars on his back and despite being a tabaxi, has no claws.

- Lotor is a black dragonborn, and has always been particularly tall and large for his age. He's also protective of his younger siblings.

- Aryllan is a little bit competitive and always down for a game or some kind of activity.

- Alaion is a very easy-going kid, and goes along with most things.

- Silev is also, like Lotor, very big, but not quite as loud. He keeps mostly to himself, and enjoys reading.

Aria, Steve, and Emori spent a one particular night awake late when they were five. They tried to steal cookies from the kitchen. They were caught by Ike, who gently told them to go to bed, but when they refused, he didn't fight back. They played, brought some of their instruments upstairs, and had a concert. Emori went running to go wake up her other siblings, but found that when she knocked and tried to open their doors, she couldn't.

"They're sleeping right now," Ike told her.

Eventually, they all fell asleep due to some failed Constitution Saves. The next morning, Ike forced them all awake and off to school. 

This continued to be a pattern if they stayed up really late. Ike would remind them that they made their own choices. Now they have to face the consequences of those choices.

Steve had a particularly odd request for a set of loaded dice. Ike gave them to him with three rules: "If you're going to scam someone, get some money out of it. Only scam the people who deserve it. Don't get caught." So far, Steve hasn't done anything necessarily nefarious with his dice, other than conning six gold pieces out of Achaeus and Uncle Conah without them realizing the dice was loaded.

Claudia spent a lot of time reading, even trying to read books beyond her level of comprehension. Ike admired her determination, and helped where he could.

The party also attended school in the city. Their first few years went really well for their academics, but not so much in the way of making friends outside of their family.

Second Bracket, pt. 1: Ages 7 to 10

New Siblings:

Myev

- Half-Orc

- Arrives when you are 7

- 1 year older (sister)

We only just started this age bracket before our time was up for our game. There were a couple of things that occurred.

Myev joined the family - a new half-orc sister. Despite being a little older than the party, she didn't seem to quite understand the family dynamic when she arrived. She relies on them quite a lot during this age bracket. Quest is now old enough to toddle around, and frequently gets up to mischief with the party (specifically Emori, Steve, and Aria.) Blue has finished school, but as far as the party can tell, has no intention of leaving home quite yet.

Claudia and Aria were the first two party members to find some friends outside of their family. Both of them gained a mutual friend: Velma Hilless, a Yuan-Ti Pureblood girl in their class. Velma was a bit bookish and considered to be very smart. Aria also found another friend: Gavin Caskin. He's a human, and his best quality is probably his humor and his ability to kind of fit into multiple groups. Aria is always the one person that he circles back to. 

In terms of studies, Claudia seemed to struggle during these years of school. Ike sat with her, and told her that it would get better. She just had to keep trying. He frequently helped her study and helped with her homework. Emori, meanwhile, was top of their class. Ike was very proud of her.

Lotor also informed the party that he would be moving out - going to Norbury to work with their Uncle Conah for a while. Emori, in her seven-year-old logic, tried to convince Uncle Conah to stay here, so that Lotor could stay too. Unfortunately, as Conah explained, that wasn't something he was able to do. They said their goodbyes. Each party member received a short letter from their brother after he left.

Emori had one conversation with Ike when the party turned eight, about how to become a god. He told her essentially what Conah told them in the last session. Emori said that she was going to start practicing to be one.

Ike laughed, and he said, "Okay, but remember... I did what I did because I had to. I don't regret what I did, but there are days when I wish that I never had to do it."

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

Additionally, thank you to my friend @bandcat5313 - the original homebrewer and DM for the world of Eushora. This setting and some NPCs were inspired by hers.

TPW Summary: Act III, Scene iii - Session 4

Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation

Scene iii: The Summer Cotillion

Present Party: Boris, Venus, and Sylyeras

Setting: The Winter Court in the Feywild.

Lars, age 19
Changeling Archfey Warlock
(art by MAKKON on Tumblr)

The party just arrived in the lair of the Kumonga - a race of apparently sentient spiders that lived in the Winter Court. They'd been guided here by Lars - the young changeling who'd kidnapped their friend, Finn, but claimed he'd been forced to do it. Once inside, they met one of the Kumonga. His name was Khuva. He offered all of them some time to rest quickly before they headed out again.

The party opted for a short rest, and in that time, Venus spoke with Lars a little bit more. She learned that he was a warlock of an archfey in the Winter Court. Venus asked how he got to this point. How did he become a warlock?

"Well... according my patron, she said it was because she made a trade with my mother. Me for... something better. She didn't say which it was. I grew up, and once I was about five or so... my patron said that she was going to let me outside. But that if I wanted to go outside, I needed to say yes to what she asked me to say yes to. Or I would go outside and freeze to death." He shrugged. "I said yes. And then I was a warlock. And now I don't freeze when I'm out here, even if I'm not in the right clothes."

"But your feet still get cut up by the thorns on the ground? She still asks you to do things that you don't want to?"

Lars nodded. "But I don't even really feel the thorns anymore, so it doesn't matter."

Venus offered him a health potion, but he very politely declined. She asked why they wanted Finn. What was the purpose?

"The Summer and Winter Courts have been at war since... forever, basically," Lars explained. "My patron, the Lady of Darkness, she wanted your friend. Each Winter archfey is the exact opposite of one of the Summer archfey. The Lady of Darkness is the Sunshine Lady's opposite. The Sunshine Lady takes pleasure in the joy of others. My patron takes pleasure in the suffering of others, especially when she's inflicting it. She convinced the Queen that... taking a powerful warlock away from the Summer Court would help the war efforts in the long run. It'd also weaken the Summer Court's influence on the Material Plane. The Winter Queen doesn't much care about losing soldiers for a bigger goal. She agreed. The Lady of Darkness got a new toy: your friend."

After their rest, Khuva returned and told the players what the Kumonga needed and where to find it. There were these purple berries with little yellow spots that should have just grown in to the south. They prevent anyone who consumes them from getting hypothermia or frostbite. Khuva said that if the party went and got those for the Kumonga, then they could keep some for when they found Finn. Khuva also requested twigs from the bush. Apparently, that is what the Kumonga eat.

Lars went silent for several seconds, but then came to again, and told the party that he needed to go. He assured them that he would be back, probably by the time that they finished getting the berries.

The party set out and found the berries pretty easily. They picked as many as they could. Then, Venus went to take the twigs. She managed to get one before a cold wind blew through the part of the woods they were in. The trees around them seemed to get bigger. They almost seemed to lean forward menacingly. Boris readied his weapon while Syl and Venus yelled apologies.

A young girl appeared in front of them with pale skin, long white hair, and blue eyes. They recognized her as a winter dryad, and asked if this was her bush. As it turns out, it was, and they had just stolen her pinky finger. After some explanations about how they weren't from here, the dryad seemed to soften. She was far more sympathetic. She took a couple leaves from the bush and produced more twigs from it. In return, Venus gave her a comb that could turn into a dagger and a few hair ribbons. The dryad was very pleased, and the trees around them relaxed when she called to them.

After that, they returned to the Kumonga lair. They asked one of the other spiders if Khuva was around.

They said, "Khuva is in the infirmary. Lars has just returned."

When they arrived at the infirmary, they found Khuva on the wall, talking to Lars. Lars was on a bed made of thick webs on his stomach. His back and parts of his legs had been cut open and sewn back together with spider silk.

Venus insisted that he take the potion she'd offered earlier, and after some protesting, he did take it. 

When they asked him what happened, he simply answered, "It's like I said: my patron likes suffering. I suffer, she's happy."

This didn't sit right with the party, but they were still focused on finding Finn. Khuva let them know that "The Great Seer" found Finn. He's in the valley, just entering the mountains. Khuva offered to bring them there. Venus left one of her daggers behind in the Kumonga infirmary, planning to give the other one to Finn and have him teleport here, where he would be safe. Lars was well enough to travel and offered to go with them and help. Boris grabbed the skate on one of the ice skates he got from Kalicosio and expected to break it off. Instead, when he touched it, the skate turned into a boot with a cleat-like bottom.

"Kalicosio didn't tell you they did that?" Lars asked, a little surprised.

"Kalicosio told us fucking nothing and took three of my teeth," Boris replied.

"That sounds like him," Khuva sighed.

Lars was forced to wear the boots for now at least, and they left to get Finn. It wasn't too long of a trek and they did fine with Khuva leading the way. When they found Finn, he was surrounded by Redcaps - awful fey creatures that killed and ate other humanoids and fey. The party fought them off, and Venus was able to give Finn her dagger and he teleported away.

They met up back at the Kumonga Lair, and had a tearful reunion. Finn was freezing and suffering from hypothermia and frostbite, but it wasn't anything that warmth and magic berries couldn't cure. The party took a long rest, happy to have Finn back.

The next morning and with Finn back to them, the party turned their attention to helping Lars, who was quite surprised that the party would bother. They learned a few other things about Lars in their endeavors.

- Lars could not leave the Winter Court on his own. The only time he did was when the Winter Court attacked Summer, and he was only able to do that because his patron was there.

- If Lars was to break his pact, his immunity to the extreme cold of the Winter Court would break. Lars believes that if that was to happen, he'd freeze immediately, based on the exposure that he's had for so many years. He'd die.

Many ideas were thrown out over the course of an hour and a half in real time. The party even contacted Lady Sunshine, hoping that she could help. If Lars was to swap patrons with someone from Summer, there would need to be an equal trade: person for person. Finn told them that was likely. Lady Sunshine confirmed it. 

Sylyeras is a warlock of Cthulhu. Once, earlier in the campaign, the party had accidentally killed a small child who had been charmed and had an illusion over her to look like the bad guy they were chasing. Sylyeras had prayed to Cthulhu (rolled a Nat 20), and she was brought back to life. She stays with Syl on his ship and her name is Vishara; she goes by "Vy." She says she is six years old. Sylyeras also learned that he'd effectively turned her into a warlock for another being of Cthulhu's family - his daughter Cthylla. Sylyeras was hoping that Cthulhu could do something similar with Lars.

He prayed.

~~~~~

Sylyeras was summoned to Cthulhu's demiplane. He fell back, and suddenly was floating in water. He stood, soaking wet, and marched to the glowing green eyes in a black void. He hadn't been here in a long time. When Syl explained the situation, Cthulhu gave him a choice.

"Pick the girl who you saved or the boy you have told me of."

Sylyeras, not wanting Vy to die, tried to find another way to help Lars. Cthulhu would not offer Lars to another of his kin unless Sylyeras promised Cthulhu something in return.

"I want your son."

"My unborn son?" Syl checked. "The son I physically cannot give to you?"

"Not yet. I want him when he breathes."

"Want him how?"

"I want him as I have you."

"Well... why can't you just take Lars then? You'd have two warlocks."

"Because I want this piece of you. You and your kin... You are my saviors."

Sylyeras's vision faded, and he began to sink into the water again.

~~~~~ 

With the news that Sylyeras's plan hadn't exactly worked, the party kept brainstorming. Sylyeras also called Ariel with his Sending Stone ring, to warn her. She was happy that Syl hadn't said yes. They'd talk more about what this meant when he got back.

The party even called Kalicosio, asking him what he was and offering gold and platinum for his answers (once they realized they could, and that he ate gold and platinum.) He had a similar answer to Lady Sunshine, but according to him, it was all about a prophecy - older than time. 

Lars, apparently, fit a piece of this prophecy at the current time. So did Finn.

Boris offered Kalicosio ten platinum for the prophecy and Kalicosio - unblinking, still grinning - replied, "For this... I would accept 50 innocent humanoid souls or your life ten times over. If you can put an amount of platinum equal to that on the table... then I would accept it."

Instead they asked if anyone in this room could take Lars's place in the prophecy, conceivably.

Kalicosio ate the platinum, and said, "One."

Unblinking, still grinning, his head turned to Sylyeras. Apparently he was the only other option, being the only other creature here who was considered even remotely fey-kin as a half-elf. However, Syl wasn't sure how Cthulhu would react - especially given the conversation they just had. He feared for Vy and his son.

At the moment, there wasn't much they could do, the party decided. They'd need more help, but they resolved to get Lars out of this.

"But..." Lars said, "if you can't, then-"

"We will," Venus insisted.

"But if you can't-"

"We will," Boris declared.

"You don't deserve this," Venus told him. "You didn't ask for this, and you were too young to know what you were saying yes to. This isn't your fault, and we're going to help you."

~~~~~

ART CREDITS

https://makkon.tumblr.com/post/188553058118/recent-commission-playable-character-of-a