Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3979611" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>I thought about PrCs for this group but none really jumped out at me for the casters. I experimented more with PrCs in my earlier stories.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I was shocked myself once I fully statted out the vamps. Allera is rather weak in terms of defense, but I've relied mostly on the dungeon for equipment and loot; I haven't completely developed Camar but I've conceptualized it as somewhat underpowered for its size in terms of magic item availability. I did allow them some upgrades through Alzoun but I admit I didn't spend a lot of time looking at new items for Allera. </p><p></p><p>In terms of spells, I'm mostly sticking to SRD-core. I have that open almost constantly in a PDF as I'm writing. For various reasons it's difficult to access more content while I've developing plots and outlining battles. I do have access to the psionics SRD files, as you'll see from today's update. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> </p><p></p><p>* * * * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 330</p><p></p><p>ENTANGLEMENTS</p><p></p><p></p><p>“Allera!” </p><p></p><p>Letellia’s exclamation came out as little more than hiss; one of the <em>chilling tentacles</em> had twined around her neck, and as the sorceress struggled it continued to tighten inexorably, cutting off her supply of air. But Letellia grimaced and managed to stretch out an arm toward the adjacent healer, who in turn tried to fight off her own clinging tentacles to reach her. </p><p></p><p>Their fingers brushed, only for an instant, but Letellia used that moment to unleash her magic. Her concentration wavered but held, and even as her vision began to swim out of focus, she opened a <em>dimension door</em> and transported the two of them out of the radius of the invocation. </p><p></p><p>Letellia collapsed to the floor, sucking in desperate breaths of air. “Are you all right?” Allera asked, bending over her. </p><p></p><p>“Yes... yes...” she managed, forcing herself to stand. </p><p></p><p>“Varo cannot get out,” Allera said. Letellia looked up and saw that the cleric had been all but wrapped up in tentacles, holding his legs, arms, and body immobile. In his heavy armor they could not hurt him seriously, but the draining effects of the cold were no doubt affecting him. </p><p></p><p>“I will get him,” Letellia said. “Help the others!” </p><p></p><p>Shaylara’s imprisonment had only lasted a few seconds. As the tentacle had tightened its crushing grip on her ankle, the vampire scout merely focused her will, dissolving into a column of vaprous mist that drifted easily out of the reach of the grasping tendrils. The other vampires followed her lead, and as they rematerialized she was already running toward Talen. </p><p></p><p>The fallen’s knight’s sword flashed about him in a blur, but surrounded as he was, he could not keep the grimlocks from getting to him. His armor was dented where he’d absorbed several telling hits, but he seemed barely affected, and as he lashed out another grimlock went down, oozing blood from several deep gashes in its torso. Shay lowered her spear as she rushed to his aid, but before she could reach him, he turned and pointed his sword across the room. </p><p></p><p>“Get the warlock!” he commanded. </p><p></p><p>Shay veered off, and the six remaining grimlocks pressed their attack, fighting without care or concern about their own lives. One got in a two-handed strike that smashed hard into the small of Talen’s back. The blow would have likely paralyzed a living man, but Talen merely grunted and spun around, delivering a blow that disintegrated much of the grimlock’s jaw. The creature fell back, but only for a few seconds, as blood fountained down its chest from the grievous hurt. </p><p></p><p>The vampire spawn came on now, but Talen again forestalled them. “Destroy the mind flayers!” he shouted, the command reverberating with power. All five vampires responded at once, shifting their course to rush toward the pillars. The blue glow surrounding them had intensified, and shifting forms were beginning to take shape between them, as the energies coming off the stone basin were directed through the living minds of the illithid attendants of the Overmind. </p><p></p><p>Four of the grimlocks fighting Talen sought to disengage, to intercept the vampires and protect their masters. Talen ran one through, thrusting the full length of his sword through its body. As it slid off his blade he flicked it out in a full extension, slicing the hamstring of another. The grimlock nearly fell, but it somehow was able to remain vertical, dropping its axe and leaping at Talen in a desperate effort to seize his swordarm. </p><p></p><p>The other two grimlocks rushed the vampires, but the girl, Calla, stepped away from the bandits to meet them. She did not reach for the small sword at her waist, instead slamming her tiny fists into the first of the grimlocks. The blows struck like hammers, and the grimlock staggered, its life force drained by the hit. The other one tried to get by her, to stop the others, but she shot out a leg as it passed, tripping it and sending it to the floor. </p><p></p><p>Dar snarled as blows rained down on his body, unable to do much to protect himself with the tentacles holding his arms tight. Zahera seized his leg and nearly tore off his right boot; yanking free, he smashed the zombie’s face so hard that he could feel its skull cracking. The dead woman stumbled back a few steps, but once it had recovered its balance it came forward again. Alderis—the damned <em>elf</em>, of all things—thrust a silvered knife into the meat of his leg just above the knee, and he grimaced at the sudden pain. Apparently the damned wizard was a better fighter in death than he had been in life. Dar had other matters on his mind, however, as Marcus, Nelan, and Alexion loomed over him, hands clawing at his armor as they sought out a soft spot to start tearing. </p><p></p><p>And then blue fire erupted all around him. </p><p></p><p>Allera had to remind herself that the zombies were no longer her friends, just empty husks. Still, it was disquieting to see the familiar forms spasm and collapse as the healing energies of her <em>mass cure</em> ravaged them. They were stronger than typical zombies, but her spell was more than powerful enough to destroy all five of them. She channeled more of the power into Dar, and to her other companions nearby, easing their hurts and restoring the warmth stolen by the chilling effect of the tentacles. </p><p></p><p>She was not especially surprised when a black bolt streaked out of the darkness toward her. Her <em>holy aura</em> flared as the <em>eldritch blast</em> struck it, and while she could feel the tumult of energies swirling in mad chaos around her, she was not harmed by it. </p><p></p><p>Turning toward the undead warlock, she again summoned her power. </p><p></p><p>But before she could unleash another healing spell, a sudden flash of light drew her attention around. The nimbus surrounding the pillars had strengthened to a wild, surging aura, which coalesced into tendrils of liquid energy that now came together into more substantial form. Between the pillars nine forms took shape, figures of blue light and psionic energy, roughly man-shaped although none stood less than nine feet in height. As they stepped out of the glow of the pillars they took on a more solid aspect, and the trembling of the floor under their feet indicated that these new foes were all too real.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 3979611, member: 143"] I thought about PrCs for this group but none really jumped out at me for the casters. I experimented more with PrCs in my earlier stories. I was shocked myself once I fully statted out the vamps. Allera is rather weak in terms of defense, but I've relied mostly on the dungeon for equipment and loot; I haven't completely developed Camar but I've conceptualized it as somewhat underpowered for its size in terms of magic item availability. I did allow them some upgrades through Alzoun but I admit I didn't spend a lot of time looking at new items for Allera. In terms of spells, I'm mostly sticking to SRD-core. I have that open almost constantly in a PDF as I'm writing. For various reasons it's difficult to access more content while I've developing plots and outlining battles. I do have access to the psionics SRD files, as you'll see from today's update. :) * * * * * Chapter 330 ENTANGLEMENTS “Allera!” Letellia’s exclamation came out as little more than hiss; one of the [i]chilling tentacles[/i] had twined around her neck, and as the sorceress struggled it continued to tighten inexorably, cutting off her supply of air. But Letellia grimaced and managed to stretch out an arm toward the adjacent healer, who in turn tried to fight off her own clinging tentacles to reach her. Their fingers brushed, only for an instant, but Letellia used that moment to unleash her magic. Her concentration wavered but held, and even as her vision began to swim out of focus, she opened a [i]dimension door[/i] and transported the two of them out of the radius of the invocation. Letellia collapsed to the floor, sucking in desperate breaths of air. “Are you all right?” Allera asked, bending over her. “Yes... yes...” she managed, forcing herself to stand. “Varo cannot get out,” Allera said. Letellia looked up and saw that the cleric had been all but wrapped up in tentacles, holding his legs, arms, and body immobile. In his heavy armor they could not hurt him seriously, but the draining effects of the cold were no doubt affecting him. “I will get him,” Letellia said. “Help the others!” Shaylara’s imprisonment had only lasted a few seconds. As the tentacle had tightened its crushing grip on her ankle, the vampire scout merely focused her will, dissolving into a column of vaprous mist that drifted easily out of the reach of the grasping tendrils. The other vampires followed her lead, and as they rematerialized she was already running toward Talen. The fallen’s knight’s sword flashed about him in a blur, but surrounded as he was, he could not keep the grimlocks from getting to him. His armor was dented where he’d absorbed several telling hits, but he seemed barely affected, and as he lashed out another grimlock went down, oozing blood from several deep gashes in its torso. Shay lowered her spear as she rushed to his aid, but before she could reach him, he turned and pointed his sword across the room. “Get the warlock!” he commanded. Shay veered off, and the six remaining grimlocks pressed their attack, fighting without care or concern about their own lives. One got in a two-handed strike that smashed hard into the small of Talen’s back. The blow would have likely paralyzed a living man, but Talen merely grunted and spun around, delivering a blow that disintegrated much of the grimlock’s jaw. The creature fell back, but only for a few seconds, as blood fountained down its chest from the grievous hurt. The vampire spawn came on now, but Talen again forestalled them. “Destroy the mind flayers!” he shouted, the command reverberating with power. All five vampires responded at once, shifting their course to rush toward the pillars. The blue glow surrounding them had intensified, and shifting forms were beginning to take shape between them, as the energies coming off the stone basin were directed through the living minds of the illithid attendants of the Overmind. Four of the grimlocks fighting Talen sought to disengage, to intercept the vampires and protect their masters. Talen ran one through, thrusting the full length of his sword through its body. As it slid off his blade he flicked it out in a full extension, slicing the hamstring of another. The grimlock nearly fell, but it somehow was able to remain vertical, dropping its axe and leaping at Talen in a desperate effort to seize his swordarm. The other two grimlocks rushed the vampires, but the girl, Calla, stepped away from the bandits to meet them. She did not reach for the small sword at her waist, instead slamming her tiny fists into the first of the grimlocks. The blows struck like hammers, and the grimlock staggered, its life force drained by the hit. The other one tried to get by her, to stop the others, but she shot out a leg as it passed, tripping it and sending it to the floor. Dar snarled as blows rained down on his body, unable to do much to protect himself with the tentacles holding his arms tight. Zahera seized his leg and nearly tore off his right boot; yanking free, he smashed the zombie’s face so hard that he could feel its skull cracking. The dead woman stumbled back a few steps, but once it had recovered its balance it came forward again. Alderis—the damned [i]elf[/i], of all things—thrust a silvered knife into the meat of his leg just above the knee, and he grimaced at the sudden pain. Apparently the damned wizard was a better fighter in death than he had been in life. Dar had other matters on his mind, however, as Marcus, Nelan, and Alexion loomed over him, hands clawing at his armor as they sought out a soft spot to start tearing. And then blue fire erupted all around him. Allera had to remind herself that the zombies were no longer her friends, just empty husks. Still, it was disquieting to see the familiar forms spasm and collapse as the healing energies of her [i]mass cure[/i] ravaged them. They were stronger than typical zombies, but her spell was more than powerful enough to destroy all five of them. She channeled more of the power into Dar, and to her other companions nearby, easing their hurts and restoring the warmth stolen by the chilling effect of the tentacles. She was not especially surprised when a black bolt streaked out of the darkness toward her. Her [i]holy aura[/i] flared as the [i]eldritch blast[/i] struck it, and while she could feel the tumult of energies swirling in mad chaos around her, she was not harmed by it. Turning toward the undead warlock, she again summoned her power. But before she could unleash another healing spell, a sudden flash of light drew her attention around. The nimbus surrounding the pillars had strengthened to a wild, surging aura, which coalesced into tendrils of liquid energy that now came together into more substantial form. Between the pillars nine forms took shape, figures of blue light and psionic energy, roughly man-shaped although none stood less than nine feet in height. As they stepped out of the glow of the pillars they took on a more solid aspect, and the trembling of the floor under their feet indicated that these new foes were all too real. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
Top