A recent post on r/rpghorrorstories has raised a question about the alignment of a character whose party executes a prisoner. But first, Batman Begins! At the climax of Batman Begins, Batman fights and beats his old mentor, R’as al Ghul. They are on an elevated train headed for the center of Gotham with a deadly…
Author: derek
Silvery Barbs — Official RLBA Commentary and Analysis
With the release of Strixhaven School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, much ado has been made about the new spell Silvery Barbs. This is a first level Enchantment spell with a casting time of 1 reaction available to Bards, Sorcerers, Wizards, and of course, Fey Touched. The spell reads as follows: You magically distract the triggering…
Chill Touch – Invisibility Tracker?
The party has been out in the wild tracking a leprechaun for a month. They’ve managed to find it a couple times, but it routinely turns invisible once attacked and makes its escape. They’ve guessed that it probably doesn’t have a lot of hit points, but turning invisible with plenty of room to run has…
Heat Metal – Does This Work As Intended?
The party reaches the top of the tower where they finally expect to free the captured princess only to find she must be hidden in another castle, for in her place stands Dagorath, a menacing warrior in full plate armor and wielding a massive two-handed greataxe. Rather than being terrified, the bard Avonia steps forward,…
Heat Metal – Do Red-Hot Arrows Work?
The party is facing off against a massive stone giant. Aidan, the group’s fighter, fires from his longbow while the giant is still at range. The attack hits, thwumping the giant in the leg for a few points of early-combat owwie. Next to go is the bard, Avonia who rolls to seduce the giant casts…
Encode Thought – Idea-Powered Flight?
The adventurers are trekking cross-country when they see an odd shape in the sky some distance off. As it draws closer, they see it is some kind of airship, a massive balloon with a much smaller basket below. Several lengths of rope suddenly drop down with a note attached to the end of one: “Pull…
Spectral Hand – Who’s a Good Boy and/or Mimic?
The party is up to the ol’ heist shenanigans again, attempting to break into the home of a local merchant. They peer through a window and spot a dog that looks maybe guard-doggish, but maybe just a nice dog. “I cast Mage Hand,” says Honey-bells. “Then, very gently, I use the magic hand to pet…
How Fair is a Fair Coin?
The party has come across a devil and an NPC locked in a dispute about how to resolve some technical language in a deal struck between the two. This is an actual solution a group of players (not my own group) came up with to resolve the Vault of Devil Frustration. Upon learning of the…
Minor Illusion – How Many is an Object?
Once again the party has been discovered mid-heist and is running from the local guards through the city streets, trying to evade capture. They round a corner, momentarily disappearing from view, “Honey-bells stops once around the corner, turns back and casts Minor Illusion, creating an image of a row of sharpened stakes stretching across the…
Vault of Devil Frustration
Caldwell the Clever has entered into a pact with a devil: in exchange for magical powers in life, he has agreed to give ownership over his soul to the devil after his death. Caldwell is now dead, but the contract has a bit of a hiccup for the devil. Caldwell died in a vault warded…