Sunday Scrying 05-01-25
So begins the New Year!
Hello everyone!
As some of you will have noted1, I have just made the life-changing and world-altering decision to add the date to my Scrying posts, which is because there is no easy way of knowing which one is which, and as I have mentally committed myself to write this for Always and Eternity2, this issue will likely only get worse as time goes on!
To the Orb!
Some day I must make my own bit of artwork for this!
Where We’ve Been
This week has had a world-first3 with a 2-part article for Folklore Friday, because I wrote too much and Substack decided that there’s a limit, so I had to split it up. The Tale of Olbanor the Traveller is one of the big ones in the history of my world, and I enjoyed finally fleshing it out!
It has also seen me writing4 about what sort of world Arenstar is. Both of these are in response to answers to my favourite note I’ve ever published:
Which (at the time of writing) has garnered 14 responses, some of which contained multiple questions, giving me fuel for my creativity for many articles to come, so thankyou for that!
I also wrote a bit about a homebrew monster called the Shadowstalker, which I made forever ago to populate a particularly terrifying region of my world!
It’s been an excellent week - There are 38 of you following me now, which is amazing, and I hit 616 views in the last 30 days, which is phenomenal! “What sort of a world is Arenstar has 46 views at the time of writing, which is by far and away the highest yet! It’s amazing to know that people out there are reading what I’m writing, so thank you all for the support! It’s safe to say that I’d have stopped by now if there was nobody listening!
Where We’re Going
This week I also decided to elegantly and quietly dispose of Trinket Tuesdays5. I have already written this week’s instalment - so that will still be going out - but I have opened discussions with you all about what to do to fill the space (head to the chat to chat about it! I’d love to hear your ideas!)
The current winning idea is Tactical Tuesdays, for traps, tactics, and encounter ideas for DMs to plagiarise shamelessly be inspired by. But it is not yet locked in, so please, give me more ideas to plagiarise shamelessly be inspired by!
Also coming this week is Third-Party Thursday, where I will be talking out my own publication, “Does my Horse Level Up?”, which is all about steeds in D&D, which currently suck, except at dying easily. I tried to fix that! To jump the gun, you can find it on DrivethruRPG Here!
The Cheese Chase part 4
Last time (2 weeks ago!) the party discovered that the cows of Steepfield were multiplying whenever they were damaged. They found multiple exploded carnivores as well, which they realised were from the animals trying to eat the cows, and the new cows forming in their stomachs.6
The party set out back to Steepfield, all riding their mounts (the paladin has Find Steed, and the Barbarian insisted he didn’t need one, as he could move fast in his bear form).
On the way back, they were set upon by a pack of Goblins riding Wargs, and had a good scuffle with them7, ultimately overpowering them and leaving them all dead. The goblins seemed to be raiders, and the party dismissed them as an unfortunate and random encounter.
They returned to Steepfield, riding (and running) hard, and decided to find out where the cult of Vey’Gahan were headquartered. The Cleric decided to consult the Mayor, and to tell him that there was a cult in the town. The Mayor explained that yes, there was this group worshipping Vet’Gahan, and that they were renting one of the old slaughterhouses to do so. Their actions, he explained, had all been above-board, and he gave them an address to find them. He also said that the cultist was in prison, and that the book had been returned to the Library for protection. This puzzled the party a little, but they were content to use the directions to find these evil cultists.
Upon arriving, they discovered that the cult was in fact a commune of Vegans who, true to their beliefs, were growing vegetables and trying to convince others to avoid animal produce entirely. They seemed entirely happy and healthy and helpful, and when the party confronted the leader8, he was keen to try and get them on-side, as the party were famous for their actions at the Steepfield Cheese Chase, and he felt that they would have more sway over the town, and he tried to show them his political manifesto9, which they politely declined. Inside the warehouse the cult was renting was a jungle of lush vegetables, and the soup they were serving to anyone who asked was delicious. Clearly, they were supremely evil, and had to be stopped.
One of the party10 distracted the leader with questions, whilst the rest of the party looked for clues. They ultimately found very little - Grizz the Barbarian had to jump out of a window to avoid detection, landing on Marva the Warlock, and all dropping into the compost heap below. There Grizz found a stick which rung when struck - B Flat - and concluded that it was a magical stick which makes a musical tone, and never explored it further.
After sufficient mucking about, they discovered (by asking) that the cultist who had used the book had gotten it from the trio of Halflings who caused all the problems in the Cheese Chase, and that the book had come from the library, so they decided to go there. They met Iris and Brynzda, the two librarians11. Both are halflings, and quite elderly. Iris is sat at the main desk, a circle of polished wood-opal. She directs them downstairs to the vault, where Brynzda is researching the occult books, which are locked away for safety. There they learn from Brynzda (frizzy hair, thick glasses, very energetic for her age) that the book contains a curse called the Curse of Multiplication, which would have the effects they are describing, and that they need an artefact to break the curse.
More research in the library has them asking Iris, who mentions that she once saw a hero named Arra the Klutz, a Goblin, come through town, perhaps 200 years ago. He wielded a sword which had the power to cut through spells and enchantments - a legendary blade called the Cursebreaker. However, the blade was lost - Arra went to seek out a blue dragon and slay it, and was never seen again - Steepfield was the last place he was seen.
The party dug deeper and discovered that the legendary blade was once wielded by a famous paladin, and was accidentally picked up by Arra when he was staying in the same tavern. They found out that the dragon he went to slay was a blue dragon called Kerlenthraz, and that his lair was in a place called the Hylemoor, to the North-West of Steepfield.
The party went to Enzo, the inventor who had hired them to look after his daughter, and left her with him. They also asked him to help arm them to fight a dragon - after all, his Hashbows were advertised for such a job. He made them a series of Hashbows, and a cart to carry one. Thunderbrand the Paladin-Artificer took a wrist-mounted one, and Grizz the barbarian took a shoulder-mounted one which fired javelins. So armed, they set forth to the North-West, to seek out the blade of Arra the Klutz.
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Until next time, happy Slaying!
There will be a quiz!
5 internet points if you read this with the correct voice.
For me. Not for the world. The world has likely seen this at least half a dozen times.
would you believe it?
My preferred method being to put it in a box, put that box in another box, and then mail it to myself, and when it arrives, smash it with a hammer. However, postage is quite expensive, so I found an alternative method.
Yes, it has been commented before that I am a slightly strange and unusual individual. The usual terminology for this is “sick madman”, or “evil genius”. My players seem happy, though, so I continue to write dark things into the world!
a right old dust-up, featuring no shortage of moxie and derring-do!
2 years ago, I knew his name. Now I don’t. You may be able to determine the importance of the name from this short, interesting anecdote.
This amounted to “stop eating meat and cheese” and “Eat vegetables instead”, with a side of “Vey’Gahan worship to be encouraged at schools”.
Again, my memory escapes me as to who, but if it proved plot-critical, I will try to remember even harder.
They are also a very cute couple, if you like eccentric bookish people!