EN5ider loves a properly duplicitous group and the Graven Sculptors are among the most cunning, seeming to offer an amicable trade of gold for a reliable helper that makes the lives of common folk far easier to bear. What none of their customers realize however is that each is a spy that reports back all that it sees or hears, often leading to the downfall of a settlement as its secrets become the property of the sly doppelganger craftsfolk!
Lately on EN5ider:
Lately on EN5ider:
- #291. Intriguing Organizations: The Graven Sculptors. The life of a commoner is not an easy one and the offer of helping hands is most welcome, particularly when a helper is certain to stick around. It comes as little surprise then that the mysterious Graven Sculptors are always quick to find farmers and serfs eager to make use of their unique services, paying paltry sums to acquire their own hard-working homunculi to help till fields, prepare harvests, and assist about the house. None of them realize that the cheap price they pay is only part of the deal however—everything one of these small creations sees or hears is communicated back to its creator! Thus the group of doppelgangers responsible rapidly gain power wherever they travel, gathering up all of a settlement's secrets to better assimilate and take control of a village or town when the time is right. Written by Andrew Engelbrite; illustrated by Rachel Maduro.
- #290. Villain Spotlight: Dras'a Wolf. This entry into the Villain Spotlight series is all about the scourge of the seas men know as Dras'A the Wolf, a hobgoblin pirate with incredible ambitions and the cunning to see them through. Originally master of the Drelway Chain of islands, after capturing a learned shipmaker from afar the monstrous buccaneer has been preparing for when his abductee's drafts and designs lead to ocean-worthy vessels, boats that will unleash him and his underlings to become a scourge upon the open waves.
- #289. ZEITGEIST #8 - Diaspora: Part 1. The Great Malice. Five centuries ago the death of a goddess triggered widespread upheaval, setting the stage for the modern industrial revolution. But for the eladrin of Elfaivar, the tragedy left behind a crippled people who scattered across the world with little sense of common identity. In the ruins of Elfaivar the party must locate Kasvarina Varal, a founder of the Obscurati who has lost her memories. With the aid of an artifact that can manifest the past in physical form, they can retrace her steps across 500 years, restore her identity while gaining her trust, and recover secrets that will reveal how to thwart the conspiracy's grand design! This PDF includes Act 1 of the eighth ZEITGEIST adventure and is best suited for perdurable heroes of 13th-14th level. Includes three statblocks: Obscurati Researcher (CR 11), Ten-Headed Lion (CR 14), Elite Dreadnought (CR 13).
- #288. Wear & Tear. Material components, backup buckles, oils and whetstones, extra munitions, replacement straps—there's a lot of maintenance to do when adventuring. Most Gamemasters gloss over these things but for campaigns that have a more old school or gritty feel that's part of the fun! With that in mind this issue of EN5ider approaches adventuring gear the same way that Fifth Edition does exhaustion: there are several levels of maintenance and equipment naturally deteriorates over time. PCs can use their downtime or their coin to keep their blades, backpacks, tomes, and bedrolls in proper shape, and anyone that really invests their time or money to do so takes with them the best-crafted items (most able to take a beating). This handy subsystem is the design of Eran Aviram, illustrated by Renan Costa Morales!
- #287. Mini-Adventure: Angel's Bacchanalia. Legends speak of a solstice festival arranged by a mysterious angelic patron deep in the woods, an event where the angel forgives all sins and no depravity goes unindulged. The adventurers are approached by a grieving mother claiming that her daughter attended last year’s bacchanalia but never returned, and she offers a substantial reward if the missing girl's fate can be found. The PCs must attend the wild celebration, infiltrate the deranged patrons, and eventually confront the fiendish erinyes that lord over this revel and the degenerate cultists that attend it. Written by Andrew Engelbrite; illustrated by Savage Mojo and using cartography by Dyson Logos.
