There are a lot of things I love about Midgard. Whether it’s the beer domain clerics, Per-Bastet the City of Cats, the Kobold Ghetto in Zobeck, or the Margreve Forest, there are so so many brilliant aspects of the world that make me go “wow” and secure Midgard’s place as my hands-down favorite campaign setting. But when I try to nail it down to just one aspect of the world that really stands out for me, that makes Midgard what it is, I always say it’s their elves.

A Visit to the Courts

Now, I love me some Tolkien, don’t get me wrong. I love the default assumptions of Dungeons & Dragons. I love the standard human, dwarf, elf fantasy races that permeate most expressions of roleplaying and fantasy fiction. And I employ those in my own fiction. But the fact is that pre-Lord of the Rings elves were very different from how we tend to think of them today as just another fantasy “race.”

The concept of elves comes from Norse mythology (the word in Old Norse for elf was álfr), and once upon a time, they were almost synonymous with the Vanir, the mysterious gods who at some point joined with the Aesir to become the Norse pantheon. In fact, the Norse god Freyr is actually lord of Alfheim (or “elf home”). So in some tales, the elves are just gods. Or maybe the Norse equivalent of angels. But they are divine beings, not “people” at all. But then other tales treat the elves as distinct spirits or demigods, separate from the Vanir (but not necessarily different from dwarves). Elves come in two varieties: light and dark. And this division is roughly synonymous with the Celtic ideas of the Seelie and Unseelie courts of the fairy. In fact, while the term “fairy” can often include a wide variety of creatures, including goblins and gnomes, the fae courts and their humanoid, elf-like denizens are most definitely influenced by the Norse ideas of elves and their divisions.

And here comes Midgard, returning elves to a pre-Tolkien, Norse/Germanic-inspired role as fae or fae-like beings who are more capricious and inscrutable than Legolas or Thranduil ever were. In fact, in my own Midgard campaigns, I don’t even let my players play elves. I want to keep them at arm’s length, a mysterious “other,” at least until we’ve explored the world for a while. (That’s not a recommendation for your table, just my own preference).

Enter Courts of the Shadow Fey, the one-hundred-forty-five-page hardcover adventure that takes characters from 7th to 10th level while sending them into the heart of the Shadow Realm and into the deadly politics of the Invisible Courts. Now the Shadow Fey are elves who have moved into the Shadow Realm and become altered by it. And they have Summer and Winter courts that alternate ruling. And a history with Family Stross.

The adventure kicks off when the shadow fey decides to act upon a longstanding assumption that the ousting of Family Stross from the city of Zobeck negates ancient treaties. The shadow fey come to claim the city as their own, laying a most unusual siege to the City at the Crossroads. From there, the story is divided into four parts, which see the characters seek out the fey ambassador in Zobeck, find a way to travel into the Shadow Realm, enter the Courts of the Shadow Fey, and work their way up through the social hierarchy of this status-driven wonderland to a final confrontation with the king and/or queen.

And it’s perfect. Courts of the Shadow Fey absolutely nails the capricious and otherworldly nature of these fey elves. They’re more likely to try to trade you for a memory or maybe an ability score than for gold or platinum. These elves are going to serve you something a lot more dangerous than Lembas bread—the old stipulations about not accepting food or drink while in the fairy lands hold true here. The adventure blends hints of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream alongside scenes that tickle that very same nerve that the ballroom scene in Labyrinth does, while other, creepier parts of the adventure are perhaps more like something out of Pan’s Labyrinth. Oh, there are opportunities for combat aplenty but also the wooing of fey courtesans, dueling for honor, partaking in a magical hunt, dancing and dining at a very elaborate and unusual banquet, and always always the chance of a disastrous misstep at every turn that could prove deadly or just cost your character a precious point of status.

The book itself is beautifully laid out, the information inside wondrously detailed, and every encounter has a guide for scaling the difficulty up or down from Medium to Hard (and often “Deadly” at a higher level). I’m personally going to run this as a follow up to Wrath of the River King (with whom it shares some characters). It will make for a fantastic campaign oscillating between urban adventures in the Free City of Zobeck and long story arcs in the Summer Lands and Shadow Realms. But I think the information herein could easily port into any setting, and given the sheer size of the book, this is something of the “adventure path” for Midgard that folks have been clamoring for. Personally, I cannot wait to run Act III, Scene 2, “The Courtesans’ Dance”. (I just hope I don’t give into the temptation to bump my players up levels too fast just so I can get there sooner rather than later!) Get the book. You’ll see what I mean.

But if you still need convincing, and even if you don’t because there’s no such thing as too much Midgard, I chatted with co-designer Dan Dillon about his work bringing Courts of the Shadow Fey to 5E, and naturally, we ended up talking about Midgard-in-general quite a bit too…

>>To be continued!

Pre-order your copy of Courts of the Shadow Fey today!

___

Lou Anders is the author of Frostborn, Nightborn, and Skyborn, the three books of the Thrones  & Bones series of middle grade fantasy adventures, as well as the novel Star Wars: Pirate’s Price. You can find out more about him and his works at www.louanders.com, and visit him on Facebook and on Twitter @LouAnders.

You told us about your characters!

What a blast. Thank you all for submitting to our My Hero contest. It was a ton of fun to read all your characters (whether PC or NPC) and throw them all in the virtual fight machines of our minds to duke it out. Ultimately, five stood victorious, surviving the Kobold judges’ first round…

And congratulations to those five finalists: Scott Dillin, Jeremy Young, Rilke Crane, Anna Baltayan, and Neil Palmquist! Your characters have all survived to battle before the world as the finalists.

So now, the public gets to decide who wins. Below is a poll where you should choose your most favorite-est character from the list of five. You only have through next Wednesday (March 6, 2019) to vote.

• Drabmorton Rattleshirt: This friendly charm-clad gnomish necromancer spent his family fortune purchasing indulgences from religious orders to permit lawful reanimating of evildoers for good. (from Scott Dillin)
• Drogas Greycastle: Half-orc paladin of Lathander. Intended to avenge his fallen wife, instead saved the world. His teenage daughter’s a blood hunter – it’s complicated. (from Jeremy Young)
• The Librarian: A skittish Flameskull, impatiently utilizing a clockwork frame to locate information in his lost library. Hopes to one day be visited by Mephistopheles. (from Rilke Crane)
• Vola: A half-orc life cleric who charges you gold for healing. Is she greedy? Or is she sending the money to her thirteen siblings. (from Anna Baltayan)
• Lady Ambassador Sariel Firehair: Half-elf warlock of Queen Titania. Tolerated at court in case Titania really exists.  At night, burgles the rich for thrills. (from Neil Palmquist)

The druids of the Northlands tend to more than the land. Some see to the health of the spirits. Druids of the Circle of the Stones build immense circles of standing stones where they commune with both the spirits of the land and the souls of the departed.

SPIRIT GUIDE

Starting at 2nd level, you gain the service of a minor spirit guide. You can cast find familiar as a ritual. As long as you and your spirit guide (familiar) are within 100 feet of each other, the spirit guide can maintain concentration on a druid spell you cast. You must choose whether to maintain a spell yourself or make your spirit guide responsible for it at the moment the spell is cast, and the decision can’t be changed on a later turn. This doesn’t change the target or the caster of the spell. You can still have only one concentration spell in effect at a time; if you concentrate on a different spell or effect, the spirit guide’s concentration ends. You can still share your spirit guide’s senses and cast touch spells through the spirit guide normally while it’s maintaining concentration. The spirit guide makes concentration checks when it takes damage, not when you take damage.

CIRCLE SPELLS

SPIRIT DANCE

Starting at 6th level, as a bonus action you can engage in a dance to channel the power of the spirit world. If you cast a druid spell on your next turn, one target of the spell has disadvantage on its first saving throw against the spell. You can’t use this ability again until you finish a short or long rest.

SAVIOR SPIRITS

At 10th level, the spirits rush to your aid when you’re grievously wounded. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you are reduced to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

SPIRIT WALK

When you reach 14th level, as an action you can dissolve your flesh into ectoplasm for up to one minute. For the duration,

• you gain a fly speed equal to your base walking speed;
• you are resistant to acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, and nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage;
• you can’t be grappled, petrified, prone, or restrained;
• you can move through creatures and solid objects as if they were difficult terrain, but you take 5 (1d10) force damage if you end your turn inside an object.

Maintaining this ability requires concenctration the same as if it were a spell. Once you use this ability, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest…

___

But this is where we must stop for now, my friend. My mind, it wanders so at times. Do come see me again, though, for more of the wonders and surprises of Midgard. (OGL)

You can continue on this adventure in the Midgard Worldbook, Midgard Heroes Handbook, Creature Codex, and Creature Codex Pawns!

<<PREVIOUSLY

After years of heroic labor in the Kobold mines, 5th Edition designer Dan Dillon has moved on to a much bigger, shinier mine—Wizards of the Coast—where it’s just been announced that he’s joined the D&D team!

Dan’s credits at Kobold Press are mighty indeed. Here are the 5th Edition titles he either led the charge on or significantly contributed to:

• Midgard Worldbook
• Tome of Beasts and Creature Codex
• Midgard Heroes, Midgard Heroes Handbook, and Unlikely Heroes
• Deep Magic (Void, Ley Lines, Angelic Seals, Ring Magic, Elemental Magic)
• Genies Great and Small: 21 New Genies of Zakhara at DM’s Guild
• Midgard Sagas, The Raven’s Call, and Last Gasp adventures
• Articles in Warlock issues 1, 2, and 8
• Courts of the Shadow Fey (available for pre-order)
• The Margreve Player’s Guide (coming soon!)

We’re incredibly excited for Dan and can’t wait to see what he creates as a member of the D&D team at Wizards! You can follow him on Twitter at @Dan_Dillon_1

The Wasted West is known to be host to myriad dangers, from the tribes of dust goblins to vicious sentient plants to the ravening undead that seem to be everywhere. Best known of this region’s hazards, however, are the Dread Walkers, the alien Great Old Ones summoned in the final days of the Great Mage Wars by wizards unaware of the ruin their hubris would bring. The Walkers sleepwalk now, time-trapped for the time being, largely unable to affect Midgard directly, but their legacy remains, and some of them have spawned new horrors upon the Mortal Realm.

The dread spawn presented here are just a few examples of the enduring ruin the Dread Walkers have wrought upon Midgard. These creatures are not all malicious, and they are rarely clever, but like their progenitors, their existence is an affront to nature itself, and they must be expunged by any stout-hearted person who values freedom and sanity.

GRIMMLET

A jagged shard of smoky translucent crystal, approximately the size and mass of a housecat, hovers before you. Despite its seeming lack of interest in anything that lies around it, something about the creature’s non-symmetrical appearance feels offensive to the natural order.

BORN OF THE VOID. Grimmlets arrive in the Mortal Realm from the same portion of the Far Reaches that spawned the Waste Walker Kb’r’ck of Crystal. Grimmlets were named in honor of the unfortunate tracker who discovered them, Aleksei Grimmczyk, who did not survive this initial meeting but whose demise was recounted by his friend, the elfmarked mage Alethrie

STRANGE FAMILIES. A grimmlet’s method of reproduction, creating near clones of itself when injured by arcane energy, can cause them to quickly gather in large familial swarms. Strangely, a grimmlet can only swarm with other grimmlets created from the same progenitor grimmlet and with the progenitor itself, and after about an hour, these swarms disperse and move away from each other to create new swarms through magic injury.

WHISPERING MENACE. Grimmlets do not speak. In fact, they never communicate with other creatures via any known form of language or telepathy. The air around a grimmlet, however, mutters and whispers at all times in a foul-sounding invocation. When the creature uses its innate magic, these whispers rise in volume slightly, giving canny listeners a split-second warning that something, likely unpleasant, is about to occur.

GRIMMLET

Tiny monstrosity, unaligned

Armor Class 11
Hit Points 52 (15d4 + 15)
Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

Damage Immunities psychic
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons.
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, petrified, poisoned, stunned, unconscious
Senses blindsense 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. The grimmlet’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 12). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

• 3/day each: maddening whispers*
• At will: crushing curse*, minor illusion

Reproduce. If the grimmlet is dealt damage by a spell that does not reduce it to 0 hit points, a number of new grimmlets equal to the level of the spell slot used to cast the spell are created in the nearest empty spaces to the injured grimmlet. If the grimmlet is injured by a spell cast using innate spellcasting, the number of new grimmlets created is equal to the level of the spell cast. Grimmlets injured by cantrips or at-will innate spells create one new grimmlet.

When sixteen or more grimmlets are within 30 feet of each other, they become a grimmlet swarm.

ACTIONS

Crystal Edge. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) slashing damage and an additional 1 psychic damage.

REACTIONS

Self Destruct. When the grimmlet is reduced to 0 hit points, it explodes in a spray of void-infused crystal shards that deals 3 (1d6) slashing damage and 3 (1d6) psychic damage to all creatures within 5 feet of it. Creatures that make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw avoid taking the slashing damage.

GRIMMLET SWARM

Flowing over the landscape like a glass carpet, this mass of smoky crystalline shards moves in a manner most unnatural. Occasionally, a bolt of black or purple energy arcs between two or more of the shards in the swarm.

GRIMMLET SWARM

Large swarm of Tiny monstrosities, unaligned

Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 199 (21d10 + 84)
Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

Damage Immunities psychic
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons.
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, petrified, poisoned, stunned, unconscious
Senses blindsense 120 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Innate Spellcasting. The grimmlet swarm’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

• 1/day each: hallucinatory terrain
• 3/day each: hypnotic pattern, major image, void strike*
• At will: crushing curse (as 11th-level cantrip)*, maddening whispers*, minor illusion

Reproduce. If the grimmlet swarm is dealt damage by a spell that does not reduce it to 0 hit points, a number of new grimmlets equal to the level of the spell slot used to cast the spell are created in the nearest empty spaces to the injured grimmlet swarm. If the grimmlet swarm is injured by a spell cast using innate spellcasting, the number of new grimmlets created is equal to the level of the spell cast. Grimmlet swarms injured by cantrips or at-will innate spells create one new grimmlet.

New grimmlets created by the grimmlet swarm are not subsumed into the swarm. They instead form a new swarm once sixteen or more new grimmlets have been created.

Maze of Edges. A creature that attempts to move out of or through the grimmlet swarm must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 19 (3d10 + 3) slashing damage.

Shroud of Whispers. As a bonus action, the grimmlet swarm can cast crushing curse* or maddening whispers* on all creatures that share its space.

Swarm. The grimmlet swarm can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a single grimmlet. The swarm can’t regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The grimmlet swarm makes three attacks with its crystal edges.

Crystal Edges. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 19 (3d10 + 3) slashing damage and 20 (3d10 + 4) psychic damage.

REACTIONS

Enervating Maelstrom. When the grimmlet swarm is reduced to 0 hit points, it explodes in a plume of ennui that deals 42 (12d6) psychic damage and 1d3 levels of exhaustion to all creatures within 20 feet of it. Creatures that make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw take only half of the psychic damage and one level of exhaustion…

*See also Deep Magic: Void Magic.

___

Read more of this and other great articles in Warlock, only on Patreon!

Intrigue & Adventure in the Shadow Realm!

Courts of the Shadow Fey is a 5th Edition planar adventure for 7th- to 10th-level characters.

The Free City of Zobeck has thrived since overthrowing the tyrannical Stross family. But an ancient bargain gives the Queen of Night and Magic a claim to the city—and now the shadow fey have seized Zobeck as their own. The city’s only hope lies with a band of heroes who can outfight and outwit the shadow fey in the heart of their own realm: the maze of treachery and deceit that is the Courts of the Shadow Fey.

This 5th Edition adventure takes you from the mortal world to the heart of Shadow, where you’ll:

• Fight your way through the dangers of the Shadow Realm to reach the shadow fey’s courts
• Engage in dangerous courtly intrigue, trying to increase your status to win an audience with the Queen herself
• Duel for honor, and perhaps win the hand of a lover among the fey nobility

Can you free Zobeck from the grasp of the shadow fey? Or will your fate become a tale told in hushed tones as a warning against angering the Queen?

Get your copy of Courts of the Shadow Fey today!

And the Winner Is…!

Drogas Greycastle: Half-orc paladin of Lathander. Intended to avenge his fallen wife, instead saved the world. His teenage daughter’s a blood hunter—it’s complicated.

Congratulations to Jeremy Young, who has won our very first My Hero contest. And congrats to all the other finalists. It was grand fun, and I’m sure you haven’t seen the last of this competition.

Copies of Midgard Heroes Handbook and Unlikely Heroes will soon be on their way to the winners.

Dear Osvaud,

This is Osvaud. I let myself start with illusion (colloquially known as the best school of magic) and then gave myself some time off after the whole mental breakdown after conversion thing. Well then, I guess I’ll move on with my least favorite school of magic… evocation.

Guess what? It is still both horrendously dull and incredibly, annoyingly amazing.

Every arcanist wants to at some point blow up a bunch of unaware enemies from space. Deep down, the second we can cast fireball, we begin dreaming of doofuses clumped up like emperor penguins. Winning in some fraction of six seconds is a surreal, godlike rush.

The difference between most arcanists and evokers is we only recreationally cast fireballs. I mean, not all the time… but, you know… every once in a while. Like, maybe when you are with a bunch of friends, and they are all doing it, and they pass you some bat guano already rolled up into a nice, tight ball. You don’t want to be the one person in the party who isn’t lighting the place up!

Evokers, though, are always chasing the high. It can get real out of control, real quick. Back in the day, we old-timers used to call it “Chasing the White Dragon” because evokers go to crazy lengths to fight a monster with vulnerability to fire. Of course, these days, the saying doesn’t really work. (And chasing the mummy lord doesn’t have the same ring to it.)

I sometimes feel like… maybe if my life had gone a little differently, I could have ended up an evoker too. I am also sure there are a lot of evokers who regret their bad decisions but can no longer see a way out.

Instead of judging, maybe next time try helping. Show them there is more to magic (even evocation) than optimizing damage output against monster resistance and immunity Go slow, and be patient. Here are a few possible ways to get them started on the long road to recovery.

• A continual flame spell looks like normal fire, and it isn’t an illusion. As a wizarding fashion accessory, making your clothes look on fire is hard to beat. You can also sell people fake flame tongues, or even make an entire room seem on fire. Bonus points if there is a trap dealing cold damage or camouflaged fire elementals.
• The sending spell is underutilized as a means of psychological warfare. Is it between the hours of 2 and 5 a.m.? I guess it is time for your nightly attempt at mental scream-yodel karaoke. It’d be a shame if your enemy’s subjugated masses kept hearing all those limericks you wrote about Dear Leader.
• Contingency is, as always, amazing. Here’s a brief list of fun options:
  • False life, (greater) invisibility, mirror image… etc., to activate when the same spell ends or is dispelled.
  • Fire shield, when a creature is about to hit you.
  • Legend lore, when you talk about a legendary thing you don’t already know about.
• I hope everyone understands the incredible defensive potential of tiny hut, but it might not occur to most that you can daisy-chain the domes. It springs up around you and ends if you move outside. So walk to the edge and begin ritually casting. You can move while casting, so bolt out right before you finish or take a single step if it’s really bad out there. The spell ends, and the new one begins. If you are careful, you can “turtle” your way through a lot of impossible situations. After all… you can always stop and take a nap.

<<PREVIOUSLY

An enormous bronze and iron statue filled with fire towers above the ring of chanting, frenzied worshipers.

Tophets are used by worshipers of fire gods, who toss sacrifices into their flaming maws to incinerate them. A tophet has a large opening in the front where the flames can be seen; sometimes this is an enormous mouth, and at other times it is a large hole in the tophet’s belly. Horns and expressions of anger or wide‑mouthed laughter are common.

Eager for Sacrifices. Among fire cultists, it’s widely known that when a tophet’s hands are raised above its mouth, it is demanding a sacrifice to roll down its palms and into its fiery maw.

Heed Musical Commands. Flutes and drums can (sometimes) be used to control the actions of a tophet during sacrifices. They have the fortunate side effect of drowning out the cries and screams of living sacrifices.

Magical Fires. The fires within a tophet’s bronze body are largely magical and fueled by sacrifices. They don’t require more than a symbolic amount of wood or coal to keep burning, but they do require sacrifices of food, cloth, and (eventually) living creatures to keep them under control. A tophet that is not granted a sacrifice when it demands one might go on a fiery rampage, burning down buildings, granaries, or barns until its hunger is satisfied.

Constructed Nature. A tophet doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

TOPHET

Huge construct, neutral evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 184 (16d12 + 80)
Speed 30 ft.

Saving Throws Str +10, Con +8, Dex +3
Skills Perception +3
Damage Resistances necrotic
Damage Immunities fire, cold, poison
Condition Immunities exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed,
petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 200 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Common
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)

Fiery Heart. A tophet’s inner fire can be ignited or doused at will. Its heat is such that all creatures have resistance to cold damage while within 30 feet of the tophet.

Burning Belly. Creatures inside a tophet’s burning core take 21 (6d6) fire damage at the start of each of the tophet’s turns. Escaping from a tophet’s belly takes 10 feet of movement and a successful DC 16 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. A tophet makes two attacks, no more than one of which can be a gout of flame.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack. +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage. The target is also knocked inside the tophet’s burning belly if the attack scores a critical hit.

Gout of Flame. The tophet targets a point within 100 feet of itself that it can see. All targets within 10 feet of that point take 22 (4d10) fire damage, or half damage with a successful DC 16 Dexterity saving throw.

___

But this is where we must stop for now, my friend. My mind, it wanders so at times. Do come see me again, though, for more of the wonders and surprises of Midgard. (OGL)

This creature comes from the Tome of Beasts. You can continue on this adventure in the Midgard Worldbook, Midgard Heroes Handbook, Creature Codex, and Creature Codex Pawns!

<<PREVIOUSLY

I chatted with co-designer Dan Dillon about his work bringing Courts of the Shadow Fey to 5th Edition, and naturally, we ended up talking about Midgard-in-general quite a bit too.

Lou: So this is a 4th Edition product—that was quite celebrated when it came out—now updated and significantly expanded for 5th Edition. What were some of the major changes in this version?

Dan: Yep, originally 4E, though it went through a conversion to Pathfinder Roleplaying Game as well, and that was the version I worked with primarily.

Overall, the structure of the adventure is unchanged. Obviously, individual elements like magic items and ability checks are all worked through the 5E lens.

Some of the individual encounters have been sanded and tweaked to make them run more smoothly. There were some things that worked okay in previous editions but weren’t quite right for 5E and also a few places where already being converted from 4E to Pathfinder left some seams showing.

Narratively, there are updates that reflect the newer version of Midgard as presented in the Midgard Worldbook. As a quick example, there’s a bearfolk ambassador from the Moonlit Glades at the courts proper, added to the roster of over a hundred NPCs there.

Lou: I love the bearfolk ambassador! We have a bearfolk in our current campaign, and I can’t wait for him to meet the ones in the Shadow Realm. Speaking of, let’s talk about the shadow fey. My understanding is that they’re not “really” fey because they are elves that have migrated into the Shadow Realm.

It’s a bit like Celtic mythology where the Tuatha de Danann came from elsewhere (probably Norway). At first, they were a people, and then they were heroes and even gods of a sort, and then they moved into the fairy realm and became the sidhe (though other fae lived there already).

Dan: That’s very much the kind of evolution you’re looking at with Midgard’s elves. They originally come from the Bright Lands, a place or plane not well understood by anyone. When their Midgard empire fell into decline, the vast majority of them left and fled back to their home, and they closed the fae roads behind them.

The shadow fey were elves who didn’t stay behind on Midgard but also didn’t return to the Bright Lands. They fled into shadow and made pacts with Sarastra, the Queen of Night and Magic. They took the darkness of the Shadow Realm into themselves and were changed by it.

They’re not fey creature type; they are still elves, but they are creatures of the Shadow Realm. They’re masters of shadow and illumination (starlight) magic and one of the few who understand the secrets of living and thriving among shadow without being completely consumed by it.

The 5E takes on eladrin and shadar-kai as elf subraces are similar concepts in many ways.

Lou: How much of this is common knowledge? Or at least known to elves? You’ve got a shadow fey character on The World Tree Burns livestream. (I always want to add an “As” to the front of that—holdover from my days watching soaps.) I don’t allow my players to play elf characters in Midgard (only elf-marked) because the world is still new to us, and I like keeping elves as “other,” but for GMs who do, how do you keep Courts of the Shadow Fey mysterious for a fey PC? Is this new to them, or are the courtiers just going to see them and go, “Oh, it’s you. You’re back.”

Dan: Kari, our shadow fey PC in Season 1 of World Tree (and yeah, the “As” creeps in there a lot, you aren’t alone), isn’t a courtier.

There are many shadow fey from many places outside the courts proper. There are villages, entire cities, wilderness outposts of shadow fey, all of whom would be entirely out of their element if thrust into the Courts of the Shadow Fey.

Kari spent most of her formative years loosely affiliated with the forest hunters in the Sable Court, a minor vassal holding in the forests a good ways from the Shadow Court itself.

The elves have always been here, mostly in the Arbonesse forest, but at the current point of time glimpsed in the Worldbook, they are returning. No one quite understands why.

Lou: Ooo… now I want a Sable Court one shot.

That’s the problem with Midgard. I’m so captivated by the lore, I have to have every product, and not just each one Kobold puts out, but each one I can imagine them putting out.

Dan: Oh, I feel that one big time. I’m pining hard for a planar supplement at the moment.

I keep it in mind, though, when I decide who the players are interacting with and running into. Elfmarked NPCs are rare, and currently nearing the end of Season 2 of our campaign, the only other elves they’ve seen were in Kari’s backstory, in the shadow fey embassy in Zobeck, or a dead body in the Margreve.

Lou: I get that. Just reading through the populations of the Arbonesse, you see how small the percentage of elves in Midgard is.

Dan: And there are the windrunner elves on the Rothenian Plain, but again, they’re a small population and mostly keep to themselves.

Lou: So 7th level is a long time to wait. What can a GM do to begin sowing seeds for Courts? I’ll probably run Wrath of the River King before this—and the king makes an appearance in Courts, doesn’t he?

Dan: The River King himself doesn’t make an appearance, but there are three representatives of his River Court in attendance. They are potential allies that visitors from Midgard might find among the convolution of shadow fey politics. Though they come with their own pitfalls.

Looking forward, I’d say seeding information about the history of Zobeck itself, particularly its liberation during the revolt that overthrew House Stross, is an important foundation piece.

Learning about the Stross family’s connection to shadow magic and possibly to their pacts with the powers of shadow directly—that’ll help set the stage for the fey pressing their claim over the city later.

There are several merchant concerns that travel to and do business with the shadow fey, so maybe an early adventure that has the characters interact with shadow fey merchants or traveling guards from such a caravan.

Lou: I think Wrath, Courts, and (finally!!) Return to Castle Shadowcrag would make for a hell of a campaign.

Dan: Oh yeah, they’d be a great look at different angles of power exerted over Midgard.

Lou: I see there’s a shout out to Zombie Sky Press’s The Faerie Ring in Courts too. (I was puzzled by this until I saw the design credits.)

Dan: Yes, indeed! Wolfgang and I both contributed some fun bits to The Faerie Ring. Great resource for expanding the scope of powerful fey beings.

Lou: I know portability is a big thing with a lot of GMs. Being in the Shadow Realm, this could easily be used anywhere. Just another demiplane off the Shadow Plane. (I personally don’t cross the streams. But I know it’s important to a lot of folks.)

Dan: Oh, most definitely. You can easily port this to any D&D world as a faerie court in the Shadowfell. Change a few names, maybe swap out the shadow corruption rules for the Shadowfell despair from the DMG, and boom, you’re good. If you wanted to go hard on it, you could even replace or add in shadar kai as well.

Lou: That’s actually germane to my next question—which is, what do you think is unique about Midgard? For me, it’s a tone more than anything else.

Dan: Yeah, tone is the big one. The way certain things are handled, like deities. Gods in Midgard are closer to those presented in mythology. The stories from one region don’t necessarily match with tales of the same god from another, yet both sects of followers seem to be entirely empowered by divine might. Who’s correct? Could be both. I love the concept of divine masks. It keeps an extra layer of mystery between the characters and the gods.

And the idea of magic having these mysterious, powerful, but dangerous aspects, represented by the concept of deep magic that characters can choose to seek out and study.

Lou: Yes to all that! Though for me, it’s the way it tracks real world mythology. Somehow, it makes the setting feel both more mysterious and fantastical and at the same time more credible than other settings. It’s hard to think sometimes that Midgard isn’t a real place that we might stumble into if we accidentally trip through a door into a ley line or follow the wrong cat down a cat slide alley.

Dan: That’s the goal of any world builder, to have people getting lost in the idea of the world on a moment-to-moment basis.

I also like that Midgard has this looming threat of war or conflict on every side. In Midgard, nations and city states might erupt into hostilities at any time.

Lou: Yes, exactly. Sometimes other settings start to feel to me like a land of Anarcho-Syndicalist Communes. I like the presence of nations with all of their rivalries and complex interactions.

Dan: Wolfgang refers to that as “piling gunpowder.” We make sure there are a few gunpowder piles on every page, and it’s up to the individual GMs and players to decide where to drop a match.

Lou: Drop matches everywhere! (And Matt Colville’s Strongholds & Followers seems tailor made for Midgard’s powder piles, by the way.)

Dan: (I realllly need to dig into that.)

Lou: (Yes, you do.)

Dan: Though one of my favorite things is a relatively simple inclusion. The final encounter of the adventure involves an NPC asking some interesting questions, some of which are all implication and don’t have actual answers.

I wanted to pin down one of those answers, which Wolfgang let me do, and that ended up being a massive Midgard world secret revealed in Courts that the players might stumble across.

I’m excited at the potential adventure that one simple question represents.

Lou: Yes, I am excited about that! And everything in Courts. Thank you, my friend!

Dan: My pleasure!

<<PREVIOUSLY

Pre-order your copy of Courts of the Shadow Fey today!

__________________

Lou Anders is the author of Frostborn, Nightborn, and Skyborn, the three books of the Thrones & Bones series of middle grade fantasy adventures, as well as the novel Star Wars: Pirate’s Price. You can find out more about him and his works at www.louanders.com, and visit him on Facebook and on Twitter @LouAnders.

Midgard’s Western Wastes are a wound that will never heal, festering in the wake of the Great Mage Wars. Fine dust chokes the blasted landscape, swirling across dunes, craters, and ruins held in the grip of deadly unpredictable magic. Empires lay buried in the wasteland’s dust, and beneath even those remains, echoes of lost Ankeshel rest in the cold dark.

In the shadows of the Dread Walkers and their spawn, few creatures could survive, let alone thrive. And yet, even in the wastes, life endures and flourishes. Pilgrims and priests travel to the Seat of Mavros. Scholars and explorers brave the ruins in search of power and knowledge, and the dust goblins slowly grow into a formidable power.

Druid Circle: Circle of Dust

Groups of dust goblin shamans, druids, ruin hunters, and explorers once banded together, united by their lives spent crawling the Western Wastes. These canny survivors eked out a living among the dust and unpredictable magic as they searched out lost relics from empires long buried. The Circle of Dust is the result of their study. Today, most of the Circle of Dust are dust goblins, but druids of other races brave or foolish enough to venture into the wastes to earn the circle’s trust have joined their ranks.

Druids of the Circle of Dust align their magic with the unpredictable mystic nature of the wastes. They draw sustenance from it, protect against otherworldly creatures, and gather lost knowledge hidden beneath the ancient sands.

Circle Spells

The shattered magic of the wastes infusing your being grants you knowledge of certain spells. At 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level you gain access to the spells listed for that level in the Circle of Dust Spells table.

Once you gain access to one of these spells, you always have it prepared, and it doesn’t count against the number of spells you can prepare each day. If you gain access to a spell that doesn’t appear on the druid spell list, the spell is nonetheless a druid spell for you.

Circle of Dust Spells

Bonus Proficiencies

At 2nd level, you gain proficiency with Ankeshelian medium armor, relics, shields, and weapons. You can wear and use Ankeshelian armor and shields made of metal.

Resonating Shroud

Starting at 2nd level, you gain the ability to create a field of magical energy around yourself that warps ambient magic to your benefit. As an action, you can expend a use of Wild Shape to create an aura, which fills the area within 10 feet of you. While this aura is active, you gain the following benefits:

• Your melee weapon attacks deal an extra 1d6 force damage to any target they hit.
• Your AC increases by 2.
• When you cast spells with a range of touch, your reach extends to anywhere within your shroud. Other aspects of the spells are unchanged.
• When you, or an ally within your shroud, cast spells in the Western Wastes, you don’t risk unstable results from your spells (see Midgard Worldbook).

The aura lasts for 1 hour or until you use your Wild Shape again.

Otherworldly Resonance

At 6th level, your mind transforms due to the twisting energies of the wastes. While your Resonating Shroud is active, you can no longer be charmed or frightened, and aberrations must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC to attack you. An aberration that fails this save can choose a new target, or it wastes the attack.

Mystic Absorption

At 10th level, you have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Additionally, when you take damage from a spell, you can use your reaction to absorb some of the energy. You can expend Hit Dice to regain hit points as if you finished a short rest. The maximum number of hit dice you can expend is equal to half your druid level. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Shroud Disruption

At 14th level, your Resonating Shroud now extends to the area within 30 feet of you, and your foes treat the area within your shroud as difficult terrain. A creature hostile to you that ends its turn in your shroud takes 1d8 force damage.

___

Read more of this and other great articles in Warlock, only on Patreon!

This slight creature resembles a goblin, but its blue skin and the icicles hanging from the tip of its long nose speak to the chilling truth.

The fraughashar are a race of short, tricky, and cruel fey who inhabit cold mountainous regions. Fraughashar have light blue skin, short pointed ears, and needlelike teeth. Delighting in mayhem, they always seem to have devilish grins on their faces.

Sacred Rivers. They view cold rivers and river gorges as sacred places in which their wicked god Fraugh dwells, and they likewise revere the snowy peaks where the Snow Queen holds sway. Fraughashar are fiercely protective of their territory, and their easy mobility over frozen and rocky terrain lets them make short work of intruders.

Chilling Tales. The origin of the strange and deadly fraughashar is unclear. Some druidic legends claim the fraughashar were born out of a winter so cold and cruel that the spirits of the river itself froze. Bardic tales claim that the fraughashar are a tribe of corrupted goblins, and that they were permanently disfigured during a botched attempt at summoning an ice devil. Whatever the truth of their beginnings, the fraughashar are cruel and merciless, and they will kill anyone who enters their land.

FRAUGHASHAR

Small fey, neutral evil
Armor Class 15 (leather armor, shield)
Hit Points 18 (4d6 + 4)
Speed 25 ft.

Skills Stealth +4
Damage Immunities cold
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Sylvan
Challenge 1/2 (50 XP)

Frost Walker. The fraughashar’s speed is unimpeded by rocky, snowy, or icy terrain. It never needs to make Dexterity checks to move or avoid falling prone because of icy or snowy ground.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The fraughashar makes one bite attack and one dagger attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.

Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.

Sling. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) bludgeoning damage.

___

But this is where we must stop for now, my friend. My mind, it wanders so at times. Do come see me again, though, for more of the wonders and surprises of Midgard. (OGL)

This creature comes from the Tome of Beasts. You can continue on this adventure in the Midgard Worldbook, Midgard Heroes Handbook, Creature Codex, and Creature Codex Pawns!

<<PREVIOUSLY

Magic is the lifeblood of fantasy. Arguably the dividing line between fantasy and other types of fiction, magic can be strange, mysterious, frightening, comical, or anything in between. And if you’re looking to explore the applications of magic in a fantasy roleplaying campaign, you want to visit the Sorcery Stop!

Slime (Is On Your Side)

An aspect of classic fantasy (and magic) that is oddly underrepresented in the current rules is true summoning. On the one hand, it makes sense since more creatures participating in any aspect of an adventure grossly complicates the job of the player and the GM. On the other hand, it would be nice to have more summoning options. While adding more complexity to a combat scenario is unlikely to make anyone’s life easier, there are ways to make a character feel a little bit more like a summoner just by reskinning some existing spells. Almost any spell can be re-flavored to involve summoning a creature, whether that creature is used to attack, carry a message, or even move the caster around.

Perhaps the simplest demonstration is with fire spells. As written, virtually all fire spells follow the same framework: you cast the spell, your target is enveloped in flames and is burned to a greater or lesser degree, depending on how their saving throw went. But as with so much, when it comes to atmosphere, simply changing the description of the spell can make it feel completely different.

What if these spells didn’t conjure fire but summoned a creature of elemental fire? When you cast fire bolt, for example, you summon an elemental fire creature that immediately attacks one creature of your choosing within the spell’s range and then returns to its plane of origin. The spell’s mechanics remain unchanged, but the atmosphere of the spell shifts dramatically.

You can accomplish much the same with most spells: move earth, for example, summons a creature of elemental earth that reconstructs the terrain at your command while reverse gravity summons a legion of air creatures to push items and foes upward. Find the path summons a tracker, and sending literally brings a courier to relay your message. With a little imagination, it’s easy to rework the description of almost any spell to describe summoning a creature and having it do your bidding. Best of all, since there are no changes to the mechanics of the spells, the game effects of this approach are purely cosmetic. If you implement this tactic, a character with the Elemental Adept feat becomes a master summoner able to conjure more powerful allies!

Another option to add a summoning feel to the spell list is to consider non-creature aspects of the game. The rules on dungeon hazards and wilderness hazards provide some tantalizing options: conjuring razorvine to block off a hallway or summoning quicksand to fill a pool or even an interior room. You could also reskin grease as slippery ice, so instead of making a floor slick with oily goo, it becomes slick with dangerous ice. We can work back to an appropriate spell level by looking at the damage each hazard type inflicts and weighing it against the Spell Damage table.

If you decide to use such spells in your campaign, you could rule that these strange dungeon dressings originated from the spells. You could also rule that the hazards came first and that the spells represent powerful magi learning to harness their power. Here are a couple of example spells in this vein.

Green Slime

1st level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: V,S
Duration: Instantaneous

You summon a 5-foot square patch of green slime, which appears anywhere within range. A creature that comes into contact with green slime must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 5 (1d10) acid damage. A creature that fails its save takes the damage again at the start of each of its turns until it uses an action to scrape off or destroy the green slime. Against wood or metal, the green slime deals 11 (2d10) acid damage each round, and any nonmagical wood or metal weapon or tool used to scrape off the slime is effectively destroyed.

Sunlight, any effect that cures disease, and any effect that deals cold, fire, or radiant damage destroys one 5-foot square patch of green slime.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you summon an additional 5-foot square patch of green slime for each spell slot above 1st. The patches may be adjacent but cannot overlap.

Freezing Scum

3rd level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 90 feet
Components: V,S
Duration: Instantaneous 

You conjure a patch of brown mold, which sucks the warmth out of anything around it. Choose a 10-foot square within range. The mold covers that square, and the area within 30 feet of that spot is extreme cold.

When a creature comes within 5 feet of the mold for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) cold damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. If a source of fire is brought within 5 feet of the old, it immediately expands in the direction of the fire, covering a 10-foot-square area (with the source of the fire at the center of that area).

Any effect that causes cold damage destroys the mold immediately.

<<PREVIOUSLY

Rummaging through the worn backpack, Strass pulled out and counted each potion of mind-shielding—three remained. Sharing a knowing glance with his friends, Strass passed out the potions: first to Kara, next Azreal, and then he motioned for Val to take one, but the rogue waved it away. Quaffing their remaining potions, the heroes prepared to enter the dark cave that stood before them. Strass ignored the feeling of dread that ran down his back.

Welcome to the table. During a particularly dire battle, one of the player characters died. It was a somber moment at the table and prompted some conversation about death. Today, let’s talk about death and how it can be handled in your game.

What is player character death and how can it appear at the table?

Sprinting down the darkening tunnel, Strass could hear the eerie shuffling of the cloaks behind him. Where was Val? Did his potion wear off? Strass could hear Azreal and Kara catch up to him, their faces cast by shadow. Gesturing to the nearby rock outcroppings, Strass whispered, “Get cover. We’ll ambush them when they come this way.” A minute later, Strass saw Val haggardly running to their hiding place.

Character death seems pretty straightforward. Something goes awry, the dice don’t go the player’s way, and the character dies. Yet there is a nuance to the way characters might bite the dust. In the article, “Death Sucks” (linked here), the Angry GM describes death by breaking it into three classes:

• Class 3 deaths are those deaths where players had little choice in their death, and these often can be blamed on the GM (e.g. “a trap activates, you’re dead”).
• Class 2 deaths are reasonably fair deaths; you die fighting a monster, the dice are unlucky.
• Class 1 deaths are where players buy into the death, knowing that their decisions or actions are risky, and they’ve made peace with the possibility of death.

Considering death in nuanced ways reveals how death can be handled and what preparations should be made prior to character death. Caught in a deadly fight, Val’s death fell in the range of class 2.

Death almost always slows down the game. Players try to change their actions, wonder about the character’s fate, and sometimes, disconnect from the game altogether. For both players and GMs, death needs to be carefully considered. If you are the GM, consider how death plays a role at the table. Often, deaths can help create change in the other characters or prompt a new mission for the characters to go on. If you are a player, consider any plans you’ve made for death. If your character is dead, how will you still participate in the game, even if this means just watching, while your friends fight for survival or seek a way to bring you back?

What can both GMs and players do to prepare for death?

Shouting in rage, Strass tried to break through the wall of combatants between him and Val. The rogue had stumbled just before passing their ambush point and was now surrounded. The creatures fought ferociously, and Strass knew that he couldn’t save Val. In the dim light, Strass watched as one creature stooped over the still form of Val. The sickening crunch that echoed in the dark caves a moment later filled Strass with fear and rage. Redoubling his onslaught, Strass called out vainly to Val.

Whether you are a GM just starting out or a veteran GM, I recommend talking to your players about death before it happens. In my games, some of my questions are:

• Do you want your character to be resurrected?
• Has your character written a will?
• Would you like to play a new character even if resurrection was possible?

By asking questions like this, either before the game or before a particularly dangerous session, both you and your players can prepare for death, reducing the surprise and potential problems that arise when a character dies. These questions do not need to be posed only by the GM; players may also consider these questions and many others well before a death occurs. For games that are focused on roleplaying, these questions can be converted into in-game questions, posed by NPCs or the players, often resulting in rewarding, character-building experiences.

How can death be beneficial?

Strass’ axe slammed into the side of another abomination. Just ahead of him, the unmoving form of Val lay underneath the foot of one well-armored. Strass glared at it, raising his axe in challenge. Val’s murderer raised their own sword in response, and a voice entered Strass’s mind, “The last thing your friend thought was, ‘I’m sorry Tyrash.'”

When Val died, I asked Val what his final words would be: Val’s final words were an apology to Tyrash, a character who died in an earlier session. It was a great roleplaying moment and added greater significance to Val’s death. Creating space for a character’s final words helps players have one last moment of importance before dying and helps everyone at the table have closure over the loss of an ally.

Careful planning and preparation can make any death, even those that surprise you, run smoothly. The turn of fate may even be embraced by the players. If players have a chance to consider death before it happens, class 1 and class 2 deaths become more frequent and may become valuable moments of roleplaying. Class 3 deaths, as noted above, often create less space for opportunities of roleplaying and require much more attention to the pace and atmosphere of the table. Since class 3 deaths can be attributed to GM mistakes, these kinds of deaths likely require pauses at the table, apologies inside or outside the game, and flexibility on the part of both player and GM. I will cover these types of deaths in a later article.

Bloodied and weak, Strass knelt over Val’s body. All around him lay defeated or killed opponents. As Strass looked down at Val, he couldn’t help but feel regret. If he were faster or stronger, could he have saved Val? Should he have taken that last potion? Azreal’s hand comfortingly fell on Strass’ shoulders. “Take him with us. We’ve got to get out of here.”

Let’s sum up,

• Preparing for deaths at the table can help keep the game moving and make dying something that although sad can be still enjoyable for both the dying player and the others at the table.
• Try not to rush a character’s death. Allow time for a final word or a moment of closure. Doing this helps emphasize the death, respecting both the player and the fallen character. It also gives the rest of the table opportunities for roleplaying.
• Prepare, prepare, prepare. Surprise deaths happen, and when they do, both players and GMs should have a sense of what to do. Setting expectations helps the game run smoothly when the worst happens. For players, start thinking early about what happens if your character dies and make plans about what you would want to have happen.

In the comments below, share your best character death experience. What made it so good and what would you have changed?

See you at the table!

<<PREVIOUSLY

The Free City’s austere feudal history explains the city’s current freedom‑loving citizenry. After suffering under the long, harsh reign of the aristocratic Stross family, the people of Zobeck have little love for nobles or the institution of feudalism. They have vowed to never again accept a lord’s yoke. Instead, commerce and the ability of every man and woman to grab life’s wealth with gusto rule the Zobecker spirit. Free to make their way in the world, Zobeckers work to secure a living in whatever manner they see fit—though some occupations clash with the city’s laws—and answer to no one but themselves.

Still, certain citizens are not as free as others. The kobolds fought alongside the rebels to emancipate Zobeck and thus gained a seat on the Free City Council, but the kobolds remain very much second-class citizens. They do not experience the same uplifting spirit of freedom as their dwarf or human neighbors, or even the gearforged. Those formerly flesh-and-blood beings now living in metal bodies hold more privileges than any kobold in the greater city. For all their help in the Great Revolt, the kobolds have been relegated to their own little ghetto and the most menial professions. Life remains harsh for the small folk who once steered their own destiny and mined freely in service to a proud kobold king of these lands. Kobold politics is obsessed with the futile effort to reassert their ancient claims to rule the city.

GOVERNMENT

The Free City Council, consisting of the Free Mayor Constantia Olleck and 11 other consuls, rules Zobeck. The sitting consuls choose the mayor from among their peers to serve a 10-year term, though some have held the position for life (either dying in office, or refusing to yield the position). Consuls serve 5-year terms.

The Free Mayor oversees the administration of justice by appointing Zobeck’s judges, establishes and provisions the army, appoints all knight-commanders of the Citadel, and commands the Free City’s militant orders—except the paladins of the Order of the Undying Sun. The order predates the city’s independence, and this chapter of the organization serves only on the condition that their commander answers to no one “not of noble blood.” In practice, the Order of the Undying Sun acts as an independent military force.

Mayor Olleck

The newly chosen Mayor Constantia Olleck represents the growing dwarven influence in the city, though it has limits; she has sworn to serve a single 10-year term. She took over after the old mayor, Karillian Gluck, was asked to step aside by the shadow fey (and did, fearing for his life). Constantia showed great courage in commissioning several efforts to drive the fey out or at least limit their influence to the undercity and a few of the outlying districts. She speaks with the shadow fey ambassador, but the two will never be friends.

Mayor Olleck is a cheerful, smiling, and hardworking dwarf who knows every alley, every tavern, and every honest (and less honest) person of influence in Zobeck. In her prior mercantile life as a mule driver, Olleck had a way of making any donkey follow her, gentle as a lamb, over rocks and declivities and through brambles; this, wags aver, was excellent practice for working with the Zobeck Council and the praetors (see the Zobeck Gazetteer).

As a younger dwarf, she spent twenty years making a small fortune as a muleskinner, leading mule trains up to the Obertal Freehold and through the Silbertal into the Ironcrags. Bandit attacks were rare as she marched into the Ironcrags loaded with grain and timber and fine brass gearwork; on the way back, bandits attacked for her mule train’s silver and metalwork and sometimes bars of gold, which she usually brought safely back to the city forges, shops, and mint. To this day, matters of trade and banditry are uppermost in her mind, though she also has forged a strong alliance with neighbors against the Mharoti after the fall of Illyira.

Consuls of the Free City

The other consuls serve 5-year terms, though many former office holders return to office time after time. Others remain until they receive a “silent office” (a retirement sinecure). Sitting consuls fill vacancies from among the city’s most prominent civic leaders, typically guildmasters, merchants, or powerful members of the priesthood— but once in a while, the consuls choose an adventurous individual seeking a quieter life.

Former consul Lord Volstaff Greymark, master merchant, has withdrawn from his seat on the Free City Council and is busily expanding the Greymark trade routes into Morgau, to supply the hungry maw of Lucan’s army. Others in the city mutter he is selling the shroudeaters the tools to tear down Zobeck’s walls. He has also taken a position as Zobeck’s Master of Coin, collecting its various river tolls, road tolls, gate fees, and other taxes to expand the city’s roads, bridges, army, and fortifications.

By tradition, the Free City Council includes the Guildmaster of the Arcane Collegium and the Kobold King of Kings.

Ondli Firedrake, a dwarven priest of Rava (and Volund), has served as First Consul, or Council House Chairman, for 30 years. His consul peers selected him to guide the meetings, recognizing him as the most patient and fair-minded among them.

Orlando, Guildmaster of the Arcane Collegium and Consul and member of the Free City Council, has withdrawn from many of the Collegium’s affairs and is spending many days of summer and fall with Aldona Silberhof (N female sorcerer 6), a whip-smart sorceress who serves as a Captain in the Runkelstad wands. While his enemies gossip about his lack of attention to Zobeck’s affairs, his friends seem pleased that Orlando has found an equal in arcane matters.

Lector and Consul Radovar Streck, the city’s most famous alchemist, has been promoted to Lector of the Collegium, a title usually reserved for times when the Guildmaster is otherwise engaged. Indeed, he has promulgated a number of edicts in Orlando’s name when the titular Guildmaster is out of the city. He also seems to be investigating the alchemical properties of shadow with a handsome young shadow fey apprentice named Frost, and occasional visits from a dust goblin bringing needful items from Maillon and the Goblin Wastes.

Sir Jorun Haclav, Field Marshall of the Free Army, Captain of the Zobeck Hussars, Consul, and Master of the Citadel continues to expand the hussars and has sent a company of 200 human light infantry to stand with the Magdar on the border of the Dragon Empire.

Quetelmak, Kobold King of Kings and Consul to Zobeck, seems like a kobold king who might stick around for more than a season; he has weathered 2 years since his ascension to the position and consulship. This seat’s consul fluctuates with the rapid rise and fall of the Kobold King of Kings in the Kobold Ghetto.

Melancha Vendemic is the golden‑voiced consul, capable of moving rhetoric in defense of causes of law and security. Her arguments are often carried out through mocking songs in the taverns, as much as discussion with other consuls. She has a great ear for what discomfits or worries Zobeckers.

Kekolina of the Derry Mine is a long-serving kobold; rather an oddity, but she represents the mine gangs that provide silver and wealth to the city. She is honored among the mine gangs as having the ear of St. Piran, the local patron saint of miners. She keeps kobold interests always in view.

Myzi I, called the Mouse King and Lord of the Undercity, is a consul and (most believe) a corrupt rogue. He has a drooping moustache and a twitchy nose, and he seems to always have the news from the docks, the smugglers, and the riverfolk. Few know that he is indeed a wererat, and lord of the rodents of Zobeck.

Lady Wintesla Marack is beloved as a priestess of Lada for her healing of the poor and the sick. She is also a well‑connected merchant, selling timber, wool, and tin from Zobeck to the dwarves, the Magdar, and especially in Perunalia. The amazons of the duchy find it more congenial to do business with a woman, and so her oxcarts and barges carry much of the Zobeck trade to and from Perunalia.

Halsen Hrovitz is the fourth of his name, and the Hrovitz family founder was once known as the “merchant to the noble House Stross” (an honor they’ve not mentioned in generations). Hrovitz deals in finished dwarven weapons and armor, as well as raw copper, flax, sheep, picks and mining tools, and (unusually for a human merchant) he also trades heavily with the kobolds of Lillefor for mithral, iron, and precious gems.

Selena Harbeck keeps the weaver’s guild disciplined and extremely productive, building weaving spider automatons to create cloth and tapestries at a rate no other town can match. Selena opens the guildhall each day with a prayer to Rava, and she is on excellent terms with Consul Hrovitz and Lady Marack, her principal supplies of raw wool and flax. Guild tapestries are especially popular in Bemmea and the Seven Cities; Consul Harbeck often visits both sites on extended business tours, and as an unofficial envoy for Zobeck’s interests in the south and west…

___

But this is where we must stop for now, my friend. My mind, it wanders so at times. Do come see me again, though, for more of the wonders and surprises of Midgard. (OGL)

You can continue on this adventure in the Midgard Worldbook, Midgard Heroes Handbook, Creature Codex, and Creature Codex Pawns!

<<PREVIOUSLY

With Courts of the Shadow Fey just released, the timing couldn’t be better for the debut of a special edition Warlock booklet, Guide to the Shadow Realms. The guide was a threshold goal on the Warlock Patreon. If you’re not familiar, Kobold Press is producing Warlock (24–28 pages for 5th Edition in PDF and print), full of world-expanding goodness and awesome mechanics for your game, and Warlock Lairs, short adventures playable in a session or two. You can be involved for as little as a dollar a month, and really, given what’s included, there’s no reason not to be. $3 gets you digital versions of both Warlock and Warlock Lairs. But for the $5 and up patrons, in addition to the print versions, Kobold Press produces additional supplements as a thank you for hitting certain numbers of supporters. They’ve already crossed two threshold goals. The first of these was a Warlock Bestiary, and now, we have the Guide to the Shadow Realms. And never fear, even if you aren’t a Warlock patron, you can still purchase them in the Kobold store.

A Candle in Your Darkness

The Guide to the Shadow Realms is exactly what it sounds like. From designer Kelly Pawlik, it features seven secrets of the Shadow Realm, describing the mysterious structure known as the Ring and its mysterious and very powerful Ringmaster, and gives us an overview of an encounter table for the Tenebrous Plain. The guide has tips on Shadow Realm etiquette, a table for adjusting Status in the Shadow Realm (losing a consort’s affection will cost you a point!). It includes new spells created by shadow fey and other denizens of the Shadow Realm—my favorite is the 1st-level conjuration spell pratfall. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like, and I can’t wait to have one of my player’s spellcasters discover it. But if you want something less comedic, the 8th-level transmutation spell child of light and darkness is really something to behold. There are also two new creatures of Shadow: the shadowspider swarm and orphans of the black. Imagine the susawatari, the dust mites of My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, only totally evil and hungry and wanting to devour the warmth of living creatures, and you have the shadowspider swarm. As to the orphans of the black, well, go watch Children of the Corn again. Weird, evil children always freak me out. But both are wonderfully creepy and will certainly enhance the macabre tone of a visit to the realm.

But the heart of this for me, the thing I’m personally most excited about in this guide, is the middle section all about Corremel, the City of Lanterns, Corremel-in-Shadow. This is a full on, 12-page gazetteer for the Shadow Realm’s mirror city of the Southlands city of Corremel. Corremel is a huge crossroads of the planes, a city with a population of 50,000 individuals, where both coin and memories can be traded for your needs and desires. And the guide to such a place doesn’t disappoint. There’s a beautiful 2-page map by cartographer Alex Moore, details on sixteen locations through the city, population statistics, NPCs, markets where magic items and exotic ingredients can be found (with actual rules for hunting them up!), a sidebar on the Laws of Corremel, and some great information on the rivalries and tensions in the city. Oh, and watch out for the Tumbles. The fabric of reality has grown so thin in this slum district that bits of architecture may slide in and out of other worlds. While wandering through its dilapidated tenements, there’s a chance that players may unwittingly stumble out of the Shadow Realm altogether. When a misstep can land you in the Eleven Hells or Klingedesh, you’ve got to be careful where you place your feet! I don’t know what’s worse, accidentally falling out of Corremel altogether or offending Hander Svenk, the Black Prince and ending up a prisoner in one of his palace’s six towers.

Trust me. Go pick up the Guide to the Shadow Realms now, and then sign up for the Warlock Patreon. I’ve just noticed that their next threshold goal is for a Warlock Guide to the Planes and they are less than 60 patrons away! I need that for when my players invariably blunder through a portal in the Tumbles. Otherwise, I don’t know where they’re going to end up! And neither do you!

<<PREVIOUSLY

___

Lou Anders is the author of Frostborn, Nightborn, and Skyborn, the three books of the Thrones & Bones series of middle grade fantasy adventures, as well as the novel Star Wars: Pirate’s Price. You can find out more about him and his works at www.louanders.com, and visit him on Facebook and on Twitter @LouAnders.

Among the dust-goblin tribes of the Wasted West, there exist some with traditions calling for certain tribal elders, spirit callers, and witch doctors to carry out enigmatic rituals among the wraith-haunted vales of the Flensing Gulch. Those who return, return changed—somehow less than alive, altered by deranged sacraments and the abhorrent, necrotic magicks of the wraiths and other deathless horrors still haunting Flensing Gulch. These warped petitioners called, bargained, and communed with undead horrors and now share the ravenous, nihilistic ambitions of the unquiet dead. Freakishly tall for any goblin, gaunt, famine eyed, and bone white, the stooped, fetish-draped form of the boneshard shaman easily stands out from its peers. Necromantic sigils, symbols, and runic script tattooed, cut, and burned across every inch of its hide makes discernment in the field all the easier.

Boneshard shamans live primarily in the northeastern fringe of the Wasted West, near the dust goblin tribes of the Bonewraiths and Sand-Bird’s Disciples. They rarely exist outside of those groups, due to the location of the only known transformation site in the Flensing Gulch, and do not seem to care for the recent “Beloved Leader of all Goblins.” Occasionally found alone, wandering, or establishing a lair in a lonely cave or ruined structure, boneshard shamans hate anyone but dust goblins and attempt to capture them for either sacrificial or other, far more terrible purposes.

BONESHARD SHAMAN

Small humanoid (goblinoid), neutral evil
Armor Class 16
Hit Points 83 (15d6 +30)
Speed 30 ft.

Saving Throws Dex +5, Wis +7, Cha +6
Skills Insight +7, Perception +7, Stealth +5, Survival +7
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from non-magical or non-silvered weapons.
Condition Immunities diseased, charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Goblin, Voidspeach
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Grave Gifts. Infused with the necrotic essence of unlife, the shaman shares condition immunities and damage resistances with undead (calculated above).

Spellcasting. The shaman is an 8th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks), it has the following spells prepared:

• Cantrips (at will): claws of darkness*, eldritch blast, resistance, wind lash*
• 1st-level (4 slots): bane, hex, protection from evil/good, shield of faith
• 2nd-level (3 slots): darkbolt*, frenzied bolt*, meld into stone,
• 3rd-level (3 slots): animate dead, eternal echo**, vampiric touch
• 4th-level (1 slot): blight, staff of violet fire**

* See Midgard Heroes Handbook
** See Warlock #8: “Undead”

ACTIONS

Grasp of the Gulch (3/rest). The shaman selects a target it can see within 30 ft., enveloping it in a magical whirlwind of scouring sand, salt, and caustic bone dust. The target must succeed at a DC 15 Strength saving throw or become deafened, blinded, and restrained while taking 18 (4d8) acid damage per turn until the save succeeds (repeated at the start of each of the target’s turns) or until the effect ends after 3 turns.

Multiattack. The boneshard shaman makes 2 attacks

Sandstone Stave (+2). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (3d6+4) bludgeoning damage and succeed at a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer Curse of Sand (50%), subtracting 15 feet of movement for 10 minutes, or Curse of Stone (50%), subtracting 3 from the target’s Dexterity score for 10 minutes. A target is affected by only one sandstone stave curse at a time. If the shaman dies or mentally wills it, the sandstone stave crumbles into sand.

Shardstorm (2/rest). The shaman conjures a lacerating maelstrom of knife-edged boneshards in a swirling cylindrical cloud (30ft. × 60ft.) centered on a spot the shaman can see within 90 feet. Targets within the area suffer 27 (5d10) slashing and 18 (5d4) bludgeoning damage or half as much on a successful DC 15 Dexterity saving throw.

***

“The phenomenon of the boneshard shaman was until recently thought the strict purview of zealots and holdouts from the Bonewraith and Sand-Bird’s Disciples tribes. Lately, however, ongoing scouting and scrying reports from the Seekers have begun challenging these discernments.”

—Archaelius Veck (Western Wastes “naturalist” and chief-anthropologist for the Oaken Ring in Savoyne)

STORY SEEDS

• Druidic agents of the Oaken Ring outside Salzbach hire PCs to travel 100 miles southwest to a particular destination within the Goblin Wastes. There, they will rendezvous with Seekers field operatives and take possession of a captured “spy” and then continue on the final 4-day leg to their final destination: a hostage exchange with a warband of the cannibalistic Bonewraith dust goblins and their boneshard shaman spirit caller. Complicating matters is the prisoner Thaeleon Zul—tiefling warlock (6th level, Old-Ones pact)—who knows full well what’s afoot and has made plans and provisions quite contrary to the PC’s mission objective.
• Representatives of the Seekers in Berenna hire the PCs to confirm reports that Kamelk Twice-Killed has dispatched an envoy currently bound for a goblin settlement led by an enclave of boneshard shamans. Kamelk’s “ambassadors and petitioners” bear gifts, bribes, and offerings in hopes of exchange for access to the transformative ritual magic of the Flensing Gulch. This caravan is to be located quickly and shadowed discreetly until reaching its destination, where PCs will clandestinely observe and record every detail of what transpires before traveling to Savoyne to meet with contacts. Unknown to the adventurers or the Seekers, Kamelk Twice-Killed has sent a second “envoy” two-days behind the first—this one comprised of dust goblin warriors, warlocks, and undead slaves also bearing “gifts” of iron, fire, and blood.

It’s April! So here’s a set of wallpapers for your computer, your smartphone, or whatever electronic device you’ve got. This month, we’ve got a peek at Richard Pett’s An Enigma Lost in a Maze for 5th Edition by artist Kiki Moch Rizki.

Let’s eat, adventurers!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Please, click on the image you want to download to expand it into a downloadable image.

“I’ve watched Gispara Ravensbark cast spells on several occasions, and I’ve never ceased to be amazed. The ancient gnome is almost nonchalant as she assumes a well-practiced stance, platinum ankh gently cradled in her left hand, her arm swinging loosely at her side.

“There’s a devilish twinkle in her eyes as she begins the incantation. The fingers of her free hand are a blur of motion, precision befitting a maestro. Then comes the somatic component: her utterances of ancient Elvish violating more than a hundred magocratic ordinances.

“But as with all spellcasting in Bemmea, mastery of the art is its own loophole.“

—Hortensia Athon

Archmages contemplate the machinations of old rivals and take elaborate measures as a precaution. Wizards of the middle ranks contend with peers whose meddling undermines ambition’s aims.

Even as they keenly watch for rivals’ schemes, most arcanists are laying out their own plans. Like puppeteers who never reveal how they string a marionette, the real satisfaction comes from how one masks the connecting lines, maintaining the illusion that an adversary is dancing of their own accord.

Bemmea is a cauldron of intrigue. It is a city of secrets and secret societies, of fraternities and guilds, of institutions of learning, and of apprenticeships with their own allegiances and vows.

There are plots and plotters aplenty.

Here then is a listing of some of the capital city’s most masterful mages, who are as often the pawns as they are the architects of some grand design.

Gelasien Kuskoom

Gelasien loves a room with a view. She’s not powerful enough to yet obtain a living space in the famed Kallimachus Spire, but she does have an apartment in the spire’s adjoining northwest support tower, connected by a skybridge.

The apartment is stylish and fashionable. Gelasien patronizes the arts. Even if Bemmea’s offerings pale in comparison to the high realism of the Seven Cities’ masters in sculpture and painting, they do reflect the city’s fascination with the fantastic: abstract representations of the elements make for a stunning mural.

If Gelasien continues to hone her skill, the Barsella-born illusionist might even attain a spot in the city’s most illustrious property, the ocean-front High Spires. Oh, to dream.

For someone who defines success by elevation, her ascended path is grounded in the trenches. By proxy and by favor, she has the allegiance of more than a dozen Feywarden officers. Many who patrol the Arbonesse border around Tintager depend on her patronage, which in the currency of Allain, compounding the influence she commands in Bemmea.

Gelasien’s “interest” in the Feywardens has not gone unnoticed. Malcot Ebonstaff and Feywarden Cothwidden have both called on her to assess her motivations and intentions. Both left her presence convinced the auburn-haired woman with a dusky complexion was a true patriot of Allain. They came warded against her enchantments, but they saw what she wished them to see.

She knows she may have to demonstrate her “patriotism” soon. Mages more powerful than that pair will be watching her carefully. Sometimes, the most powerful illusion is to undertake an action without magic.

Friends and Rivals: As a patron of the arts, Gelasien is enraptured with Imalian Jaskvitze’s style of storytelling. Imalian is not privy to Gelasien’s true designs on power, which is just as well for both, given their predilections. Gelasien has already picked a target to prove her trustworthiness. Prentervuul Ulst entrusted her with knowledge of his illicit activities. But she is willing to betray him.

Signature Spells: dark dementing (MHH), hallucinatory terrain, hypnotic pattern.

Glerung Ulberhast

Attired in woodland greens, the broad-shouldered Glerung Ulberhast looks more like a forester than a conjurer. From the earliest age, he was taught to appreciate growing things, especially old trees with thick, course bark that have stood the test of time. Like him, they endure.

Glerung frequently takes contemplative walks among the cluster of trees in the small park that contains the Nefarious Fountain. Despite the park’s size, it most closely resembles the sheltering boughs of his birthplace, the Old Margreve hamlet of Whistlehallow Village.

Unlike his Margreve kinfolk, Glerung no longer abides superstition. To him, magic is a formula as definitive as mathematics. As enchanting as old wives’ tales and folk wisdom may sound, they can never be taken at face value. The hokum must be peeled away to get at the concrete truth beneath.

That is why Glerung has no romantic notions about elvish magic. It is a commodity to be acquired and used; no more dangerous than any other brand of magic. Of course, so long as the magocracy’s authorities continue to use propaganda and laws to discourage (and in many cases, outright ban) the use or possession of anything elvish in origin, the appetite for it grows more ravenous.

Glerung feeds that appetite. He provides that which is forbidden, a lucrative and dangerous occupation. When he gets wind of an item “in the open” (as he likes to describe elvish artifacts on the cusp of discovery), he assembles teams of adventurers to make forays across the border.

Glerung always sends two teams. The first is of trusted confidantes, mostly rogues, druids, and rangers who have more loyalty to a freshly minted coin than to the nine-star banner of Allain. This first team is fully aware Glerung will have other agents on the case.

The second is through an assumed identity, an approach that produces interesting results. Glerung poses as Adrastes Fochetto, the ascended chamberlain of the ninth level of the Order of the Sunrise Shadow. The society, which has a charter to study ley lines, is headquartered just west of the White Citadel. Robed in white with a brilliant gold stole, Fochetto cuts an imposing authoritative figure. Relying on the society’s veil of secrecy, he assembles parties of inexperienced adventurers.

Friends and Rivals: As Fochetto, he depends on the tiefling wizard Lol’usoth Tashuz for information on potential buyers. The bard Imalian Jaskvitze is a constant thorn in Glerung’s side; she has tried to horn in on many deals, always waiting until an artifact has been brought into the city before bringing the pressure of blackmail to get a cut.

Signature Spells: black tentacles, shadow realm gateway (MHH), stinking cloud.

Imalian Jaskvitze

Imalian is a female human bard whose grandfather was a troubadour back in old Illyria. She has the same fine features as him, an alluring beauty shared by many folks born of the Winewood.

Her father, who had the same vagabond yearnings, was content to stay on the move. The family lived in a mule-drawn wagon that made a circuit of the Seven Cities. They performed in coaching inns along the way, were street-corner musicians in the larger cities, and played supporting roles for established theater companies. Only later did the Seven Cities’ war with the Mharoti Empire force them from their homeland.

Her mother insisted they settle down, preferably in a place where their daughter might yet receive proper instruction as a spellcaster. They put their trust in their team’s lead mule, Adagio, who guided them on a seemingly impossible trek. They braved rickety paths through the Pytonne Mountains and navigated the dangers of the Mage Road until at last Adagio clop-clopped into Bemmea.

The family opened a shop in the city’s northeast quadrant that made and repaired musical instruments. Imalian was enrolled in the Academies Arcana.

Imalian performed in all of the city’s finest inns and taverns. But the stage she considers her own is the Toppled Tower in the northwest quadrant. To her, there isn’t a better spot. The open archways of the building’s arcade serve as an amazing backdrop to her performance, the lightning blue of the Outermost Sea visible beyond. (Plus, local lore claims that the ley line called Leviathan’s Road passes through the tavern; always a plus should push ever come to shove in a magical showdown.)

It took a long time for the family to gain acceptance. Imalian endured taunts, jeers, and accusations because of her elvish-sounding name and delicate appearance. The family eventually won over their neighbors with good cheer and delightful music.

Imalian hasn’t always used a smile and a jest to see her way through. Magical charms and social leverage are in her repertoire; she gets what she wants with influence peddling and by playing off others’ desires. She has yet to penetrate the tight social circle of Allain’s most powerful mages, but she’s angled closer and closer with every gambit.

Friends and Rivals: She was delighted when the illusionist Gelasien Kuskoom became her patron and her friend (without resorting to charms to be enamored of her). Her enchantments haven’t endeared her to everyone. The calculating Glerung Ulberhast finds the practice distasteful, and he thinks many of her accolades are unwarranted. She thinks that Glerung is hiding many secrets.

Signature Spells: compulsion, dominate person, fear…

___

Read more of this and other great articles in Warlock, only on Patreon!

The Expanding Codex series fleshes out monsters from the Creature Codex, giving GMs ways to modify the existing monsters to surprise well-prepared players or to introduce monsters to a campaign.

Alternate Traits and Actions

The following changes allow GMs to alter moon drakes without modifying its challenge rating:

Shiftersense. The moon drake can sense the presence of shapeshifters within 30 feet.

The moon drake’s darkvision is reduced to 60 ft.

Mooncurse Slash (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: The target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or become cursed with lycanthropy (the moon drake chooses the type of lycanthrope). A creature that previously suffered from lycanthropy (even if it was cured) makes its saving throw with disadvantage. A lycanthrope has advantage on its saving throw. If a lycanthrope fails, it changes to the type chosen by the drake. This attack can’t affect a natural-born lycanthrope.

A GM who wishes to randomize the type of lycanthrope can do so as follows, on a roll of a d10: 1: werebear, 2: wereboar, 3: weretiger, 4–6: wererat, 7–10: werewolf.

The moon drake replaces the Moonlight Nip action with Mooncurse Slash.

New Magic Item and Spells

The following magic item and spells are inspired by a moon drake’s abilities:

Moon Drake Dagger

Weapon (dagger), rare

This dagger is fashioned from a moon drake’s fang. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

You can use an action to imbue this weapon with additional magic for 1 minute or until an attack using this weapon hits a shapeshifter. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 2d10 radiant damage. On a failed save, the shapeshifter instantly reverts to its true form and can’t assume a different form for 1d4 rounds. The dagger can’t be used this way again until the next sunset.

Alter Moon Phase

4th-level illusion
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (1-mile radius)
Components: V, S, M (a pinch of moondust)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You change the apparent moon phase for a 1-mile radius around you for the duration. If a creature within the affected area possesses abilities dependent on a particular moon phase, or change shape based on the moon phase, it must make a Wisdom saving throw to avoid being affected by this spell.

If you cast this spell at night, the altered moon phase can affect light. If you change the moon phase to full moon, light improves to dim light in the area. If you change the moon phase to anything other than full moon, light decreases to (or remains at) darkness. If you change the moon phase during the day, it has no appreciable effect on light.

Moonbeam Form

3rd-level transmutation
Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you take damage or are restrained
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: 1 round

You become an incorporeal beam of pure moonlight for the duration. While in this form, you have immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks. While in this form, you can pass through openings at least 1 inch wide and through transparent objects. You also gain a flying speed of 90 feet for the duration.

Tidal Manipulation

2nd-level evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 1 mile
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

This spell creates a gravitational effect similar to the moon’s effect on tides. You can create your choice of low tide or high tides in an area up to a 1-mile radius from the point you designate. A low tide strands vessels and reduces flooding in the area, while a high tide might create flooding in an area. Vessels in a low tide are gently lowered to the seabed and take no damage.

You can use this spell to reduce the height of the wall created by the tsunami spell by 50 feet. This also reduces the damage dealt by the wall by 1d10.

Moon Drake Adventure Hooks

• The leader of a clan of werebears asks the PCs to stop a creature that has been transforming her clan members into ordinary humans. The PCs discover a pack of werewolves have tricked the moon drake into curing the werebears and weakening the clan, leaving the former werebears open to attack by the werewolves. If the PCs manage to negotiate with the drake, they might be able to turn the tables on the werewolves.
• If the PCs research cures for lycanthropy after one of the party is bitten by a wererat, they discover the location of a moon drake’s lair at the top of a tall mountain. Reaching the drake is difficult. Once the PCs find the drake, it is amenable to removing the curse from the afflicted PC. However, it may ask them to help eradicate the wererat nest or perform a similar task as repayment.