DECEMBER

2019

NEWSLETTER FOR ADVENTURERS OF FANTASTIC REALMS

 Scroll XXIX
After two years of my home campaign (City of Mazes/Age of Requiem), a character has hit 20th
level. The others in the party will likely reach max level within a month or two. What a milestone
this is, to have seen the D&D 5E system played out in its entirety. As we enter into the final
adventure arc of the campaign, I'm thinking about many different moments from the campaign.
From the characters beginning as low-caste gladiators in Bazagon, the City of Mazes, to
adventuring in the sprawling labyrinths beneath the metropolis, to working with the factions that
controlled the districts, to venturing to another continent where they discovered a whole different
environment and storyline, to being partly responsible for a world-scale war that broke out, to
battling in said war, to the climatic singularity event that brought about the reincarnation of an
ancient dragon god. These plots points and many, many more have filled two years with fantastic
tales, perilous encounters, and wondrous exploration. And many very late nights of gaming.

One thing I have learned is that 5E is a wonderful system for ultra-high fantasy adventure, though
only a moderately-decent system for a low-magic setting. The great thing is that 5E is so flexible,
and you can easily houserule or modify it, but you had better keep an organized document of all
your houserules, because there are so many things you will be tempted to tinker with. As for this
campaign and my online one (The Land of Dreams and Nightmares), I have stuck with a setting
that is high magic and uses very few houserules. They have both been two of the greatest
campaigns I have ever had the pleasure of DM'ing, with some of the coolest players I have ever
gamed with. While I will remain focused on these campaigns until they come to proper
conclusions, my mind is starting to percolate with ideas and rough concepts as to what my next
campaign(s) will be. And what an awesome feeling that is ...

We shall not cease from exploration,

and the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.
—T.S. Eliot

This month's soundtrack:

"Pull Me Under" Dream Theater (progressive rock/metal)
"Crystalline" Dahlia's Tear (ambient)
 The Old Woman of the Mountain
The Old Woman of the Mountain
Huge giant, neutral evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 218 (19d12 + 95)
Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
STR 25 (+7)   DEX 13 (+1)   CON 20 (+5)   -LEGENDARY ACTIONS-
INT 10 (+0)   WIS 14 (+2)   CHA 15 (+2)
Saving Throws Con +9, Wis +6, Cha +6
Skills Nature +4, Perception +6, Survival +6
Damage Resistances cold
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Giant
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the Old Woman fails a saving
throw, she can choose to succeed instead.
Innate Spellcasting. The Old Woman's innate spellcasting ability is
Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). She can
innately cast the following spells, requiring no components:
3/day: speak with animals
1/day each: dominate beast, fear, sleet storm
-ACTIONS-
Multiattack. The Old Woman makes two slam attacks or one slam
attack and one bite attack.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 16 (2d8 + 7) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is a Large or
smaller creature, the Old Woman can grapple it. She can have no
more than two creatures grappled at same time.
The Great-Grandmother of Mount Numbria. The valley was
once a wild place, home to beasts and a single tribe of swine-men.
A protective giantess kept watch over all from her mountain peak.
As time passed, humans came into the valley to work the fields,
lumber the trees, and mine for ore and precious gems. The
giantess grew more and more displeased with each settlement that
subdued the land. Pozo da Vermilion, Ponta Bast, Paladia-Mors,
and other towns were erected over the course of a few
generations, bringing their industry and their human ways.
The Old Woman of the Mountain laid her troubled head down,
hoping to sleep and not wake up for a long, long time, after the
human race had passed unto extinction.
But after some years, her little great-grandchildren, the wolves,
awoke her with their howling and yipping.
Art and Design by Esper
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 18 (2d10 + 7) piercing damage. The Old Woman has advantage
on bite attacks against creatures she is grappling.
Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, range 60/240 ft., one
target. Hit: 29 (4d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage.
The Old Woman can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the
options below. She can take only one legendary action at a time
and only at the end of another creature's turn. She regains spent
legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Foul Breath. The Old Woman exhales breath in a 30-foot cone.
Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution
saving throw or be poisoned until the end of the Old Woman’s next
turn. A creature who succeeds on this save becomes immune to
foul breath for 24 hours.
Stomp. The Old Woman makes the following attack against a Large
or smaller target: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d8 + 7)
bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 19
Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Suckle (Costs 3 Actions). The Old Woman squeezes one Medium
or smaller humanoid that she is grappling. The target must choose
to take 29 (4d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage or suckle from the Old
Woman. If the target suckles, it must succeed on a DC 17
Constitution saving throw or be permanently transformed into a
swine-man. All of its statistics are replaced by those of an orc (MM
246), and it becomes loyal to the Old Woman. Its equipment is not
transformed, other than resizing if necessary. Greater restoration
and wish can return the target to its prior form.
"The humans have slain most of the swine-men and destroyed
the temple where they gave you worship!"
"The humans hunt us for our pelts and for sport!"
Great-Grandmother could abide the agitators no longer. Her
rage sent foul winds and bitter weather throughout the valley.
Once she had replenished her strength, the Old Woman
descended from Mount Numbria and sacked one town after
another. She toppled the buildings. She swatted, smashed, and
stomped the puny humans. And those who pleaded with her like
weeping babes, she suckled with her mother's milk, and they
became swine-men, squealing to serve her will.
Her might was too great for the mortals to resist. There was
only one—the witch Agnaldes—who knew the Old Woman's true
name. As long as she guarded this secret, none could strike down
the giantess. Soon the valley would return to as it was before.
-LAIR ACTIONS-
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Old Woman can
take a lair action to cause one of the following effects; she can't
use the same effect two rounds in a row:
* Call the Pack. 1d4 + 2 wolves appear at a distance of at least
80 feet from the Old Woman. They roll initiative and are her allies
in battle.
* Howling Gust. A very strong gust blows from the Old Woman
in a 15-foot-wide, 120-foot-long line. All creatures in this area must
succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed back 20 feet
and fall prone.
* Chilling Mists. A heavily obscured cloud appears within 120
feet of the Old Woman. The fog has a 20-foot radius and spreads
around corners. A creature that enters the fog for the first time on a
turn or starts its turn there must make a DC 17 Constitution saving
throw, taking 14 (4d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half that
amount of damage on a successful one. The fog lasts until the Old
Woman uses this lair action again, though it can be dispersed with
a strong wind of at least 15 miles per hour.
She appears as a spindly giantess, naked and
wrapped in the wild tendrils of her hair.
-REGIONAL EFFECTS-
The region near the Old Woman’s lair is a valley dotted with
villages that has brooding mountains encircling it. Her ire against
the encroaching settlements creates one or more of the following
effects:
* Wolves are unusually populous and active in the region. Packs
howl to one another, informing their lupine brethren and the Old
Woman herself of the happenings in the area.
* Chilly drizzle and fog lightly obscure the land within 6 miles of
the Old Woman’s lair.
* An odor like that of bodies burning in a pyre fills the region. Folk
who live here are restless, grumpy, and often feel a desire to move
somewhere more pleasant.
* Thunderstorms come from the mountains, pelting the land with
sleet, hail, foul winds, and lightning strikes.
 YouTube Livestream Campaign:
The Land of Dreams and Nightmares
Episode 41
World: Ichoria
Realm: Drekkengrim
Locations: Grennedoa,
Sea of Dreams

Carderock (Human,
Vengeance Paladin
2/Blades Bard 9) 
Noxiqual (Human,
Hexblade Warlock 11)
Lykar (Half-Elf, Storm
Sorcerer 11)
Drake (Elf, Shadow Monk
9/Rogue 2)
Robin (Half-Elf, Arcane
Trickster Rogue 11)
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December 2019 Special Thanks
to get in on the action.
 Lorekeeper: (Adam Wood; Everyone
remember to check your email!)
  Adventurers: Adam Wood, 
    Warsor, Dennis Cropper,
Vince, Nick

Additional thanks to MyFreeTextures.com for the background texture.

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Esper. Permission granted for personal, non-commercial use.