Session 5 Recap: The Haunting of Crossland Manor
The party gains access to the mysterious and feared Crossland Manor. Rumored to be the source of the town’s misery, cursed by the thirst for power and other unspeakable deeds by the Crossland family, what will they find? Can they overcome the dangers that have claimed the lives of every other person who dared investigate?
The party gains access to the mysterious and feared Crossland Manor. Rumored to be the source of the town’s misery, cursed by the thirst for power and other unspeakable deeds by the Crossland family, what will they find? Can they overcome the dangers that have claimed the lives of every other person who dared investigate?
VIDEO: Session 5 Recap: https://www.justwriteforme.com/session-5-recap
Session 4 Recap: The Mysteries of Crossland
After entering the strange pool of bubbling black goo found in the depths of the underground ancient temple, the party now find themselves in a horrifying forest of doom. As they run for their lives from the horrific creatures within the foggy, deadly woods, they stumble upon a mysterious village at its center. The village, known as Crossland, hides many secrets. The party works to unravel some of the mysteries, starting with facing a powerful and murderous phantom.
After entering the strange pool of bubbling black goo found in the depths of the underground ancient temple, the party now find themselves in a horrifying forest of doom. As they run for their lives from the horrific creatures within the foggy, deadly woods, they stumble upon a mysterious village at its center. The village, known as Crossland, hides many secrets. The party works to unravel some of the mysteries, starting with facing a powerful and murderous phantom.
VIDEO: Session 4 Recap: https://www.justwriteforme.com/session-4-recap
Session 3 Recap: A Portal Discovered!
The party has discovered a secret alcove and more examples of hideous experiments from Rahsamoric's ancient origins. They also continue to encounter more deadly traps as they attempt to unravel the mysteries of the dungeon. Powerful artifacts cross their path, but they come at a price - and a permanent one. Ultimately, the horror deepens further as a mysterious and foreboding portal is uncovered.
The party has discovered a secret alcove and more examples of hideous experiments from Rahsamoric's ancient origins. They also continue to encounter more deadly traps as they attempt to unravel the mysteries of the dungeon. Powerful artifacts cross their path, but they come at a price - and a permanent one. Ultimately, the horror deepens further as a mysterious and foreboding portal is uncovered.
VIDEO: Session 3 Recap: https://www.justwriteforme.com/session-3-recap
Session 2 Recap: Delving Deeper into Dungeon
Refreshed and recharged, the party returns to the dungeon, where they discover an ancient shrine dedicated to the Lord of Darkness himself and several of his first priests. Before they can investigate the meaning, however, a skeletal army, led by a mysterious undead figure, attacks. Animated sarcophagi bar the exits from the shrine room as the battle ensues, adding to the mysteries yet to be solved in this ancient dungeon as the party seeks the origin of the blue beam of power.
Refreshed and recharged, the party returns to the dungeon, where they discover an ancient shrine dedicated to the Lord of Darkness himself and several of his first priests. Before they can investigate the meaning, however, a skeletal army, led by a mysterious undead figure, attacks. Animated sarcophagi bar the exits from the shrine room as the battle ensues, adding to the mysteries yet to be solved in this ancient dungeon as the party seeks the origin of the blue beam of power.
VIDEO: Session 2 Recap: https://www.justwriteforme.com/session-2-delving-deeper-into-the-dungeon
Session 1 Recap: The Secret Council of Common Sense & A Perilous Quest
And so it begins! The adventurers arrive one by one at the clandestine meeting among the shrouded-in-secrecy Council of Common Sense. The party volunteers for the quest receive their orders, and are led to a chamber hidden and forgotten by time and progress. After being barred in, the game is now afoot!
And so it begins! The adventurers arrive one by one at the clandestine meeting among the shrouded-in-secrecy Council of Common Sense. There it is revealed who is among their ranks - surprising reveal, indeed! The Council outlines the thankless and perilous task before them, itself an outrageous task to restore balance to the realm of Xenia. The party volunteers receive their orders and are led to a chamber hidden and forgotten by time and progress. There, the remnants of an ancient civilization cling to existence. This place holds great power and greater secrets. After being barred in, the game is now afoot for our band of curious and brave adventurers!
VIDEO: Session 1 Recap: https://www.justwriteforme.com/session-1-recap
You Look Like You Could Use a Miracle.
We introduce the Miracle / Disaster Die system to our D&D TTRPG adventure in the homebrew land of Xenia. When the player finds their character in a dire situation, their deity can lend a hand (i.e. a Miracle die), but their deity’s enemy will also have something to say about that! Add fun and chaos to standard check rolls!
With the recent kicking off of my TTRPG group’s third journey into the homebrew world of Xenia, I have lots of fun and new twists and mechanics I am introducing.
When you have been gaming consistently with the same group for more than 20 years(!) and around the table sits more than 200 years(!!) of collective TTRPG experience, you gotta come up with ways to keep them engaged.
Now, mind you, this is a fabulous group of guys I get to play with, so rather than having any worries about them being bored, it’s more like their engagement gets me more engaged, which gets them more engaged, and round and round we go.
One such mechanic I am introducing in this campaign is the Miracle Die.
The Miracle Die: How it Works
Whenever a player character finds themselves in a truly dire, life-and-death, no-way-out situation, they can hope for a miracle to save their bacon.
If you haven’t been following along since the beginning - and that’s okay! - my homebrew world of Xenia is heavily influenced by the gods. Their pettiness, animosity, and constant competition for followers and influence always impact society, and generally not in a positive way. Mankind is truly a pawn in a sadistic chess match that has spanned millennia.
The Miracle Die allows the player to ask for their deity to hopefully influence their roll.
For instance, when the player is making a Death Save, they can ask for the Miracle Die. It is a smoky white D20 they can roll along with their own D20. The Miracle Die can allow them to succeed on their roll, even if they fail the check on their personal die.
If I left it at that, it’s a cute mechanic but not really a very interesting one.
That’s where the Disaster Die comes in.
The Disaster Die. How it Works Against You
Every deity has a polar opposite who doesn't particularly want to see their enemy’s followers survive and potentially increase their influence. So, when the player rolls the Miracle Die, they also must roll the Disaster Die.
The Disaster Die is a smoky black D20, and it can cause dire consequences even if the player succeeds on their roll. And if the player fails on their roll? Rub your hands together menacingly, DMs. It’s time to get medieval on their ass.
The Miracle / Disaster Dice System
Here are the rules if you ever want to incorporate the Miracle and Disaster Dice into your campaign.
Remember: The player must roll both D20s along with their own D20. The player’s D20 and corresponding bonuses or negatives ultimately determine success or failure. None of that changes with this mechanic. The Miracle and Disaster Dice just add flavor.
Outcome #1: Success and also the Miracle Die is Higher than the Disaster Die
Player is not just successful, but wildly so. The god’s influence adds extra benefits. For instance, they not only make their Death Save but heal a certain amount of hit points.
Outcome #2: Success but Disaster Die is Higher than the Miracle Die
Player is successful, but some sort of negative side effect occurs. For instance, they make their Death Save but they are temporarily blind or mute or lame. Tailor it to their class for ultimate impact!
Outcome #3: Failure but Miracle Die is Higher than the Disaster Die
The player is successful because the Miracle Die overrode the failed roll, but the impact is less than expected or there is a negative side effect. For instance, a player makes their Death Save, but they remain unconscious or have some side effect.
Outcome #4: Failure and Disaster Die is Higher than the Miracle Die
Bad things happen. Get wicked, DMs. These are the scenarios we dream about!
For now, since this is my first time using this mechanic, I have not put any rules around what situations or how often the player can call upon their gods for a miracle (and therefore the Miracle Die). I am leaving it open-ended but told my players I’ll monitor it’s use and may cap it to once per session or once per level or something down the road if need be.
What do you think of the Miracle / Disaster Dice system? Send me your thoughts. I’d love to hear from other players who have experimented with it to know what you experienced and how you might have adapted its usage or outcomes.
Buy your own Miracle / Disaster Dice
I bought these off Amazon. Very inexpensive, good quality, and you get both your Miracle and Disaster Dice in the same package: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N4VJY9Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Twas the Night Before Session 1….
Twas the Night Before Session 1…so the DM released a prologue video to set the tone for the campaign kick-off!
As stated numerous times heading into the kick-off of my homebrew campaign, “Tales of Xenia 3: Resurrecting Rashamoric,” I love this group of friends I get to play with and DM for so much that I am going absolutely all out this time around.
Going all out includes leveraging AI tools to create artwork, video, and audio to create teaser trailers and visually represent the Council of Common Sense, the primary quest givers in the campaign.
So, with that in mind and to keep building on the anticipation, I created a prologue video that was released on our group’s Discord channel the night before Session 1. It encapsulates everything that has been teased thus far, including the personalized invitation scrolls each person had mailed to their physical homes and addressed to the character.
Here is the kick-off video: https://www.justwriteforme.com/a-mysterious-invite
Look for a Session 1 recap soon. It was a ton of fun, and we have already dug into the bag of tricks I have planned for this latest epic tale set in Xenia (i.e., someone almost died and needed…a Mircale)!
Enjoy! And thanks for the follows!