Sunday 21 May 2017

Dolmenwood: Fairy Blades

I've started work on the next Dolmenwood Adventures module: a scenario for 1st or 2nd level characters revolving around a fairy banquet, dance, and market. Therefore, I'm coming up with information on what one can buy at a fairy market -- a fun project! Here's a little preview: the weapons that are available at one of the stalls.

The Blade Seller
Blades crafted by fairy smiths (known to be magical). By their nature, they carry a +1 enchantment and another glamour (see table)*. There is no way of perceiving a weapon’s glamour before purchase.


d12
Type (cost, damage)
Appearance
Glamour**
1
Knife (100gp, 1d3)
Delicate spiderweb engravings
Inflicts +2 damage to mortals.
2
Dagger (200gp, 1d4)
Fine tree branch lattice inlays of gold
Animals are suspicious of the owner (-2 to reaction rolls).
3
Dagger (200gp, 1d4)
Crackles with blue sparks when touched
When in darkness, glows like the moon.
4
Shortsword (400gp, 1d6)
Glistening with dewdrops
Once drawn, cannot be sheathed unless blooded.
5
Shortsword (400gp, 1d6)
Appears old and battered, but is actually perfectly sharp
3-in-6 chance of the owner not being recognised at a casual glance.
6
Rapier (400gp, 1d6)
Engraved with fine images of unicorns at play
Become obsessed with thoughts or mortality and entropy.
7
Longsword (600gp, 1d8)
Rimed with frost
The owner’s natural scent is replaced with that of blossom or cinders.
8
Longsword (600gp, 1d8)
Inlaid secret runes of fairy silver
+2 to saves vs cold.
9
Scimitar (600gp, 1d8)
Wreathed in moonlight
The owner suffers from sleeping irregularities -- sleeping for exactly 2d6 hours (roll per night).
(This may be too little or too much.)
10
Broadsword (600gp, 1d8)
Opalescent
See in moonlight as if it were daylight.
11
Bastard sword (800gp, 1d8/2d4)
Pitch dark metal
Alignment shifts one step toward Chaotic, over the course of a month.
12
Two-handed sword (1,200gp, 1d10)
Perpetually occluded by shadows
The owner develops a taste for the refined and decadent. (One who already has such tastes may tend toward depravity.)
* The proprietor says that “mortals call them magical”, but fairies themselves do not conceive of items such as these as being enchanted.
** True fairies (e.g. elves, grimalkin; not including demi-fey) are unaffected by these glamours.

Sunday 14 May 2017

Wormskin Issue Six: Coming Soon!

The sixth issue of the Dolmenwood zine, Wormskin, should be out in the next couple of weeks. At 75 pages, it's by far the biggest issue yet!

Contents:

  • The Fairy Lords of Dolmenwood, by Gavin Norman with hints of Gorgonmilk. Discusses sixteen fairy lords who have some interest in Dolmenwood.
  • The Brackenwold Calendar, by Gavin Norman. The accompanying article to the free Dolmenwood calendar PDF.
  • Prigwort and Surrounds, by Gavin Norman. Descriptions and points of interest in seven hexes around the town of Prigwort.
  • The Baker’s Dozen, by Gavin Norman. A little adventure scenario involving an enchanted bakery.
  • The Gingerbread Grimoire, by Gavin Norman. Four yeasty, gingerbready spells of enchantment.
  • People and Places of Prigwort, by Gavin Norman and Andrew Walter. Inns, taverns, brewmasters, wizards, and high-class tailors -- all can be found in the town of Prigwort!
  • Spirituous Beverages, by Gavin Norman. A little generator, in the fine Dolmenwood tradition, for the fine, spirituous produce of Prigwort.
  • Monsters of the Wood, by Gavin Norman. A Dolmenwood take on the kelpie of folklore (ignoring the AD&D version of the monster) and four local species of dragon (the black bile wyrm, phlegm wyrm, blood wyrm, and yellow bile wyrm).
Featuring illustrations by: Andrew Walter, Thomas Novosel, Sean Poppe, Kelvin Green, Rory Walker, Paul Gallagher.


Cover by Matt Hildebrand


Coming soon!