An Abominable Fancy

Sometimes, I'm exactly in the mood for the classic simplicity of defining characters entirely by D&D's six attributes, as Knave does. But sometimes, I want the players have have just a little smidge more to fiddle with.

In the name of gudgeons and ginger-cakes pull those oars—pull until you crack your spines! Pull and start your eyes out, my darlings! We're on a shakedown cruise!

 Avast, me swabbies, bilge-rats, scallywags, and salty dogs of every stripe! A new campaign has appeared on the horizon. 

 As Fort Enterpirse burns, Ye Dogs of Destiny face the implacable power of the Imperial Elites!

5e Statblocks for the last big fight of the campaign, the dreaded Imperial Elites!

Ye Dogs of Destiny—captured and at the mercy of their enemies!

 One last flashback before the campaign wraps up: A father and daughter share a moment of joy and reverence before an approaching storm, but there are more than clouds on the horizon.

Can ye Dogs of Destiny escape the Unfathomable Underworld?!

The party plots their final moves of their sojourn into the Unfathomable Underworld!

Before she was a lich, Greta was Granny. She traded magical tattoos for gemstones. But you needn't worry if you had none. Granny was sure to offer you some other bargain.

More monsters and NPCs for the Bottled Sea!

 Here is the pitch document I made for the Bottled Sea.

With the Unfathomable! campaign coming to a conclusion, I'm starting to think about the next one. I won't have nearly as much time to prep, so I'm picking rules and settings that lend themselves to improv:

Mutant mutatis mutandis!

 What's cooler than cool? A frozen ice lady!

Ye Dogs of Destiny decide the very fate of the Universe!

  Ye Dogs of Destiny are befuddled by the Oracle of the Pit, disgusted by the life cycle of Chaos Flies, and tantalized by a mysterious frozen cave!

Thrantrix is a godling newly born of Primal Chaos. Like most godlings, her colossal ego cries out for approbation and the worship.

 Ye Dogs of Destiny leap from the Nullite frying pan into the Chaos godling fire!

 When a player was out for several weeks, we wrote a little play about his time away.

More statblocks from the Underworld's fastest growing cult/franchise operation!

Ye Dogs of Destiny make bloody mayhem in the Temple of Nul! Plus, bonus encumbrance shenanigans!

 The Cult of Nul is a quickly-expanding Underworld religion, with its appealing promise of reliable delivery from the miseries of consciousness. It has many local franchise temples throughout the Underworld, and maintains roadside Graven Images along major Underworld thoroughfares.

  Ye Dogs of Destiny fight the Cult of the Mindless God in they very heart of their subterranean Temple!

 Ye Dogs of Destiny encounter the Cultists of Nul and travel the Devil's Highway!

I think your campaign might benefit from a preamble, read at the beginning of each session.

The Department of Cosmology at Omni-Cosmic University (go, fighting Pulsars!) seems to have an inordinate interest in the politics of a particular section of the Underworld in the impossibly remote Age of Swords and Sorcery.

Ye Dogs of Destiny must choose sides... and the fate of all futurity hangs in the balance!

   Ye Dogs of Destiny contend with a psychic predator, horrible mutations, and academic rivalry.

Our most recent session began with the PCs facing a horrible, brain sucking monster, the Psychephage. It was a tricky scenario to set up for the following reasons: There were 7 PCs and 3 NPCs versus 1 creature, so they could easily wipe out even a very tough monster before it ever took a turn. The PCs are only second level, so if I beef up the monster too much, it could end up one-shotting a bunch of them. The PCs have some very strong magic items, although they tend to forget about them. If used creatively, these could produce all sorts of unforeseen battle conditions. I'd started out with a fairly standard statblock for the Psychephage. I think it was about a CR3? or maybe 5? I don't tend to pay a lot of attention to CR. This is how I adapted it to try and give my players a sustained challenge: Psychephage  A debased strain of Blind Antler Man that has devolved into a specialized intellect eater.  Medium Creature AC 14     HP 100     Speed 30' STR +2    DEX +1    CON

  Ye Dogs of Destiny bully a jerk, explore some ruins, and chat with an extraplanar entity.

 The Dogs of Destiny visit the far-flung future and relics of the ancient past.

Here are some of the fabulous enchanted items to be found in the unfathomable Underworld.

The Dogs of Destiny run away and fight and run away again.

 Mind-Bats, Giant Pill Bugs, Giant Ape Myrmidon, Eyes of Shaggath-Ka, and Worm Soldiers!

 In which the players prove themselves malicious liars and ruin my life.

 The PCs celebrate the successful resolution of the murder mystery and finally make it to the dungeon!

 The Apis Irregulars are a band of adventurers seeking employment in and around Fort Enterprise, and have been set up as the rivals to the PC party.

I made cocktails for my gaming group, and we all lived to tell the tale. The Action Economy: One is good, two is better, but three will break the game. The Subdual Damage:  (Mocktail) When you're not actually trying to take someone out.

 The Party confronts murder in its den! Death swoops from the skies! A victory is twisted into deeper doom!

 The party delves deeper into the mystery of Two Bushel's murder! Adola the Barmaid, with murder weapon and victim

Adola the friendly barmaid is being dragged away by guards, accused of murdering a laborer named Two Bushels!

 Of the 8 people I invited to my new Operation Unfathomable campaign , I was surprised to have landed 7 of them. We got together for character generation.  We made standard 5e characters with a few exceptions: The playable lineages are humans, wooly neanderthals, and citizen liches (although I was open to negotiating exceptions). Details in the Player's Packet. I offered the players the option of Walking The Iron Path As Crom Intended: roll your ability scores in order and start with a magic item. (Only one player took me up on this, and received the Sword of Demolition.) I asked a few questions to help flush out the characters and the world: What is your character goal? What is your player goal? What is a secret your character keeps? What is a secret kept from your character? What is a place in the campaign world that is significant to your character? Who is a person that is significant to your character, whether friend or antagonist? I think that's a pretty good, relatively s

Starting up a new campaign, I sent a menu of options out to a bunch of perspective players: Operation: Unfathomable! Civilization stinks—an eternal tyranny of Immortal Sorcerer-Kings and undead nobility. Freedom is found on the borderlands, such as the primeval frontier of Upper Mastadonia. Here, rebels, misfits, and fugitives might scrape together a life on their own terms. Unfortunately, your band of rebels, misfits and fugitives have been press-ganged into a dangerous mission in the vastness of the uncanny Underworld. System: D&D 5e Initially available playable lineages: Human, Wooly Neanderthal, Citizen Lich Tone: blacklight-poster gonzo fantasy Monster Hunt The freshly-ennobled Lord Saewig has been granted control of a long-abandoned castle of Hithercourt, provided he can fix it up, clear the monsters out of the wilderness, and keep a decent population of peasants alive. Saewig has recruited two bands of monster hunters, and the other band are a bunch of jerks. System: D&a