Dungeon Master - Tumblr Posts

So I am starting my own campain soon and i want everyones advice. It's inspired by the crimson egg/blood egg on the dream smp. Most things are diferent from the role play, but I am naming based on the names of people, places, items, and even pets.

The story is in basic form this: the players are at the starting town, because they are hired to guard some people or event that is moving to the next town. They don't know why they are hired. Later they find out that they npc's or event has to pass near a dungeon to get to the next town. They get attacked on the way to town and fond out the only way to safely deliver the npc's or event to the next town they have to take down the dungeon. They do this and get to the next town.

Once there they decide that they are staying a group. So the keep going on advetures to gether, and as they do they start to notice strange things. These strange things are being caused by the egg, as they find out soon after.

So they set out to destroy it, and battle the eggs generals, after fighting about 1/4th 9f the generals they find out they have to destroy something else before they can destroy the egg. After fighting 2/4th's of the generals they find out what they have to destroy looks like. After fighting 3/4th's of the generals they find out where it is. They then rush there and destroy it. Then they fight the final general who is guarding the egg. After defeating the general they destroy the egg. Everything after that is tying ip loose strings.

Please tell mean how well you would think it would work. I appreciate any non-toxic feed back.

I love the design of the goblin camp. The level design in general is top notch in this game, it's given me a ton of ideas on how to make battlemaps for my games.

Let's say I want to use this staircase for an encounter:

Using theater of the mind, you could describe this to your players as "ahead of you is a crude torch and small set of staircases that loops back to the higher level. The ground is made of old stone. Where the stone has given out, between the stairs, is wet and muddy."

You can maybe throw in that the mud slows you down, or you have to trudge through it when the players move forward, but it sets the stage for the rest of the encounter. It could be that the torch was lit, and now a goblin is coming by and they need to extinguish the flame so they aren't seen. Maybe a bunch of goblins are chasing them, so they have to choose between getting in the rough terrain, which would now be drawn on a battlemap, or risk getting knocked prone by jumping the ledge (potential athletics or acrobatics check).

Overall, the game is so well crafted and lovingly made that it's inspiring me to actually play DnD again. It bridges that gap between tabletop and video game so well without many of the drawbacks of it. DnD and BG3 are still wildly different systems and play as their respective medium, but it's such a good marriage of the mediums

A poster I made for my current DnD campaign

first DM

so I play dnd and I’m thinking about doing my first campaign to dm and I’ve been thinking of doing the cruse of strahd. Is that good, do any of you recommend another campaign. Cause I’m in another campaign which is the dragon isle one so I don’t want to do that one and I’m also doing the campaign with brand new players except for one who has just a little experience. Do any of you have any good tips on what I should do, how I should do the campaign and any recommendations on stuff I should get?

I try really hard to make Dungeons & Dragons sound fun to non-players.

“It’s like an interactive campfire story!”

“You get to be the creator and master of your own adventure!”

“There’s normally food!”

“You can literally make up whatever you want!

…Well, within reason. There’s like rules or whatever. Don’t worry about that right now…”

“Big fan of a character or celebrity? Shipping two with all your soul and being? Bribe your DM!”

But, I’m pretty sure all they hear is, “Blah, blah, blah, I’m a friggin nerd, there’s excitement in my voice, and I’m grasping at straws- you should walk away now!”

Commission done :D!

The warlock: Adaephon Turathanai, this time as an alter ego of the commissioner himself: Charredlore

...now I feel obligated to make a similar version for my own DM（;・・)ゞ...

Hi everyone! I’m back from a lovely holiday!

This good looking dragonborn sorcerer is called Maranask. Commissioned by the cordial: Charredlore.

Ally and friend of Warlock Adaephon, he’s surly, grumpy and has simply stopped aging, thanks to a blessing from Bahamut that he never wanted any part of. 

"I saw entire cities enwreathed in dragonfire, their denizens melting as great winged shapes exulted amidst the pillars of smoke and ash. A great civilization crushed beneath unending war, drowning in a tide of blood that could not, would not let itself be stemmed. I've lost more than you could ever dream of having, hatchling." ~ Charredlore

If you like, you can read more about him at Charredlore’s story page. 

This is quite random. Our weird Wizard Liam adopted two loud disgusting evil mole-rat babies…Our DM didn’t expect that. 

They are lovingly called Mel and Ford. Don’t ask me which is which….

Liam gets in serious protective dad-mode when in battle (ง’̀-‘́)ง. So far so good. (He even sacrificed his new cape to make a baby sling).  

Not sure if this illustration is finished yet, but I have other stuff to do. We’ll see. It was supposed to be practice anyway, but again, as usual, it got out of hand. Just like Liam’s caring nature :/.  

Ananke: our local wizard spy. She is my brothers soon-to-be Dnd character. I call her Moon Moon. Her personality would be best described as ‘bored’ with a pinch of ‘tired of your shit’.

I am hoping to start a Dnd campaign with myself as Dungeon Master. Highly inspired by a mix of traditional Mongolian, Chinese and Arabian culture & mythology. Predominantly because fashion-wise I am totally into that stuff. 

Presenting Ashra, the bad-ass half-orc blood hunter! Commissioned by one of Charredlore’s adventurers. 

"Hailing from the somewhat inhospitable swampland near Cormanthor, this half-orc has taken up her steel to rid the world of monsters... if people can pay her fees, that is. As an order of the mutant blood hunter, she has undergone rigorous training and had her body modified to become more resilient, swifter and better able to track her quarry. Her social skills are somewhat lacking, if not to say almost non-existent. But as long as she's getting paid and her best friend (her horse Ludwig) remains at her side, she'll cheerfully tackle any mission that she can get her hands on." 

~Thank you Charredlore for providing me with some great character lore ;)!

Random modern AU, with some made up professions and backgrounds. Mostly just an excuse to doodle some clothes… 

Our Dungeon Master, the Paladin’s squire & all 7 adventurers.

‘Araya Flamefist hails from a monastery deep within jagged and forbidding Spine of the World mountains, where discipline and attaining balance of all four elements is valued above all else. Her eagerness to prove herself in battle and tendency to seek out combat whenever she could was what ultimately saw her sent out into the world to recruit new acolytes for the monastery. Together with her raven Tenzin, her elvenphant Kyoshi and a group of adventurers that are almost family to her, she now battles the Cult of the Dragon... or Dragon Club, as she has taken to calling them.’  

~ This engaging fire genasi Monk was commissioned by the gratuitous Charredlore, for one of his adventurers.

‘Located within the North Ward of Waterdeep, just off to the side of the High Road, lies Lingrim's Lustrous Loot – a shop that sells magical weaponry, armor and trinkets. It is owned by Grimhildur Goldenshield and Aralinathra Syolkiir: an incredibly enthusiastic Dwarven lass with the most marvelous of crimson beards and her long-suffering, tall and graceful moon Elven wife, respectively. They were all too glad to finally find a group of adventurers that they could sponsor in return for a hefty increase to their revenue. Contracts were signed, garbs and armor enchanted with their insignia, and off into the world Araya and her friends went to foister faintly sparkling pamphlets onto just about everyone.’   

 ~ This fancy shield belongs to the OC’s of Charredlore. A crest design in the distinctive golden ‘Dwarf-Deco’ style in combination with a stylish purple ‘Elf-nouveau’ (or ‘Elvendstil’ if you like) eye, if I may be so bold to label the styles myself ;)...

‘Where Fix has the inspired inkling that his friend Carianne might be a pirate, but is too drunk to care.’

Or ‘Where Carianne gets her wish and is surrounded by shinies and sexy people.’

My dear rogue Captain Fix and his old navy friends: pub-owner Nelsora (fighter human) & loot-connoisseur Captain Carianne (bard tiefling), celebrating the new year with booze, shinies and good company. 

Have a great 2017 and may all your wishes come true!!

Tyniana of Orthrond, The Glass City

‘Tyniana grew up in a city made mostly of glass in honor of the moon goddess Selune. Left to pursue her dreams she landed in the industrial city of Milestyr and trained under a dwarven master blacksmith named Ti'Del. Tyn became the talented equal of her master. Together they invented the revolver and earned their permanent tenure in the artisans guild. Tyniana decided she had expended all the tinkering knowledge that the continent had to offer, and so she sailed east with only rumors of knowledge to follow...’

Character belongs to & was commissioned by Collin!

Well hellooo! New commission finished!

Kyle, the Dungeon Master of the group, commissioned this piece for his adventurers as a parting gift. He wanted the real life people portrayed in their character’s get-up and acting in character. Designing the costumes and getting their expressions juuuust right was a lot of fun! So I’ve added some detail shots as well. 

Left to right (clockwise): Giro: water Genasi and a cleric of Vogan. A quiet fellow with a troubled past / Durbin: human monk and drunken master. Never found without a drink in his hands / Shadow: an Arakorka Rogue. A  sinister guy. Likely not to be trusted  /  Volanir: a Human noble warlock. Finds himself quite the leader. Has a logical mind and calm disposition. / Marcus:  Human Cleric of the god of society. Annoys Volanir to no end with his proper and social ways / Pierce: a human bard who enjoys attention. ‘Go big, or go home’ attitude. / and Kyle: the DM, their evil overlord :)

‘Shudder is a stern tiefling rogue/fighter, originally hailing from the desert city of Calimport. Stepping through a portal mirror, he descended into the Underdark alongside other adventurers to drive back the demon lords. Their quest was successful, but Shudder suffered greatly: He aged by thirty years in the span of a second, was driven insane multiple times, lost his halfling friend and apprentice Fargas Rumblefoot (who turned out to have been Fraz-Urb'luu, demon lord of deception, all along), witnessed the death of his god Kelemvor and - compelled by a demonic gnoll flail - gobbled down a chunk of the corpse of Orcus, demon lord of undeath. The Raven Queen, having taken Kelemvor's place, saw it fit to separate Shudder from Orcus' essence... by slaying him. Having been granted a new chance as an aasimar, he now serves her alone. 

Likewise caught up in the Raven Queen's judgement was Dawnbringer, Shudder's sentient sun sword. Her vessel - a golden hilt set with a brilliant ruby - was shattered, and Dawnbringer's spirit now shares Shudder's body. When called upon, she manifests as a blade of pure radiance in his hand. Both in the madness of the Underdark and beyond, Dawnbringer ever strives to be a relentless wellspring of cheerful hope for the often dour Shudder.’

Thank you Charredlore for providing the excellent background information, as usual :D! Commissioned by Charredlore (indirectly by one of his adventurers).

New character, who dis?

My soft-hearted and wispy Smoke Genasi: Endeavour Yves. (They/them, his/him pronouns. Yves is a smoky skeleton most of the time anyway…) They are a Blood hunter, with a mysterious past. When tired of agitated their skin becomes more transparent, showing their bone structure more clearly. This tends to scare people a tad bit… 

Yves is also very much blind. Their more “darker” abilities and excellent hearing compensate for their lack of sight.

Niko is the best Dm! I am so happy Charredlore convinced me to join up, ‘cause my new fellow adventurers are the BEST.

New character illustration finished!

The lovely & badass lavender Yaniir is a Tiefling Arcane Trickster rogue and she is always prepared to accept any challenge. Yaniir is mighty clever, but she can be irreverent and quite impatient. Her body is covered with glowing white markings from an arcane experiment gone wrong and she smells constantly of brimstone.

Commisioned by Noah, for one of his fellow adventurers.

“This is my boyfriend Arnuel, and this is Arnuel’s girlfriend Moree, and that is her boyfriend Yves, and that is their boyfriend Raudraith and that back there is Rau’s GOOD BIRD Lady Chandrahas.”

^The Dm’s Dwarven merchant NPC: Anatoli explaining the result of a late night discord conversation, where the Roll20 group decided to marry each other. 

I’m not procrastinating! You are! 

Something in between commissions. A bunch of portraits I sketched for our Tal’dorei D&D group (Also known as Moree & the Genasi band). Drawing faces relaxes me….I will add more in the future.

In order: Arnuel and Raudraith, the snooty elven brothers before they turned into an air and fire Genasi. They were a bunch of a-holes.

- Our dear cleric Moree and my Blood hunter Yves, a reverse AU. Where Moree is a plant Genasi this time and Yves a plain ol’ noble human (quarter elf). 

-Two NPC’s played wonderfully by our DM Niko: Captain Thiasli and the very holy dwarven Lady Anatoli

-And then the two dads of Yves, Maturin (Halfling rogue) and Aubrey(Dwarf captain) -yes that’s a reference- and the mysterious Nelsora (human fighter).