05 July 2021

Secluded Cove Battlemap + 8 Encounters

 It’s been far too long since we’ve released any kind of content on this blog, and that needs to change! The last couple of months have been hectic, and trying to establish a work-life balance has proven difficult. I’ve recently started working on a couple of new campaigns for my own groups, one of which will hopefully be getting streamed in the next month or so. As such, a lot of my spare time has been taken up by the worldbuilding that comes with writing a brand new campaign setting.


  For now, I have decided to share a few of the maps that I have created for these new campaigns, along with a large number of encounters to run on them. For this first map, I have chosen one of my favourites, the Secret Cove. This was originally made with a pirate ship anchored in the waters of this cove, but I have since removed it to allow for a wider range of encounters to be run.


  The main idea of this map is to severely limit the amount of dry land the party can stand on. The point of limiting the land is to force the party to either work from a limited area, or to fight in less than ideal circumstances - in the water. The map has three main levels, the ground, underwater, and on top of the cliffs. Each of these levels provides you with an opportunity to introduce different elements to your combat, with the cliffs providing cover and high ground for ranged fighters, the land providing a base level for your party, and the water providing an area for aquatic monsters and foes.


Fishy Jellies (Level 1-3) Average


As they are walking through the town, the party hear a woman shouting for her son. She seems frantic, growing more irate as time goes by. She will begin approaching people asking them if they have seen him anywhere. As she approaches the party to ask them, another passerby will rush over to intercept her, informing her that he saw her son playing down by the cove, and saw him fall into the water. Panicked, the woman will ask the party if they can help her retrieve her child, as there are dangerous creatures living in the cove waters.


Should they accept, the woman will offer something of value in recompense (some piece of jewelry, or similar). They will find their way down to the cove, either by climbing the cliffs, by following the coastline, or by using the cave system that leads to it, and when there will see a young boy splashing in the mouth of the cove, clearly scared. Surrounding him, the party will notice some faint shapes moving in the water, as 2d3+2 Jelly Fish (statblock below) begin to make their way towards the child.


Smugglers Cove (Level 1-3) Average


Tasked by the lawmakers, or some similar authority figure within the town the party find themselves in, they have been tasked with the removal of a gang of smugglers from the cove. These Smugglers (statblock below)  are currently moving some of their stock into the cave within the cove, and will fight from two different vantages, some from the ground level, and others from the cliffs above firing down with their crossbows. Roughly 1d3+1 on each level.


This encounter could also prove to be a great introduction to the Smugglers Cave adventure, should the party use the “dry” entrance to get into the caves.


Weird Weird Waters (Level 4-6) Average/Hard


For whatever reason, the party need something underneath the water, and they have clearly just traversed through a cave system to reach the location where it is. When the find themselves on the beach in the cove, they can see the item they need clearly at the bottom of the bay. Unfortunately, as soon as one of them enters the water, a single tendril of water will rise out and strike them. Two Water Weirds will make themselves known, and fight to prevent the party from gaining access to whatever the item is.


Piratical Problems (Level 4-6) Average/Hard


Unfortunately, the town has recently developed a problem with Pirates. They have been raiding the town, attacking all incoming ships, and even hiding out in the local cove. The party have been tasked with removing the threat, and to do so, they must find their way into the Pirates Cove.


One Pirate Captain (using the Bandit Captain statblock), and 1d3+2 Pirates (using the Thug statblock) will be in the area, with the Captain and half the Pirates on the beach, and the remaining pirates above, firing crossbows down at the party.


Secret Cove-n (Level 7-9) Hard/Very Hard


Local legends talk of the hideous creatures that make their home within the cave in the secluded cove nearby. Residents occasionally hear strange noises, and see haggard old women with scarred and twisted faces moving around in the bay. This has never been a problem, but now some local children have started going missing, and the residents know where to look.


Tasked to deal with these Hags, the party head down to the bay, only to find three Sea Hags (in a coven) coming out to meet them. One will take the beach, and two will dive into the water, attacking the party from underneath, attacking whatever vessel they used to sail into the bay.


Serpentine Situation (Level 7-9) Average/Hard


Recently, a lot of ships have been entering the harbour with heavy damage, covered in jagged bite marks, acid burns, and heavy cracking to their wood from being slammed by something heavy. The sailors who return tell tales of a local sea monster, a Lesser Serpent (statblock below) that has made its home in the nearby cove, and spends its days harassing and attacking the local seafaring population. The adventurers are drafted in to deal with the threat, and must head into its lair to do so.


A Marid Man (Level 10-12) Very Hard/Deadly


Within the cove to the south of the town, lives a powerful Marid. For years, he has not been a problem for the residents of the village, but something has caused his temper to turn. The once peaceful elemental creature now threatens to use his powers to destroy the town. When the party approach, they will find the Marid along with two Water Elementals preparing to move towards the settlement. Should they attempt to reason with him, they will learn of the recent pollution that has been happening to the waters of the bay, and how the townsfolk had ignored his warnings. The party can resolve this peacefully by negotiating with the townsfolk, or they can resort to violence, either killing the Marid, or helping him attack the town.


Shell Shocked (Level 10-12) Very Hard/Deadly


Out of its proper environment, and somehow stuck within the waters of the secluded cove, a gargantuan Dragon Turtle resides. This creature is fiercely protective, and will attack nearly anything that approaches it. The only ways to resolve the issue are to either kill the creature, or find some way of freeing it back into the ocean proper. How they manage this is up to them (and you) but would without a doubt be a dangerous undertaking, and potentially end in one or more taking a high amount of damage.


As mentioned before; I have a new premium adventure out! For a chance to win a free copy of A Crap Job simply share an experience that you have had running one of my adventures/encounters or using one of my monsters with me (either by commenting on this post, or sending me a message on Reddit). I will pick my favourite in a week (on July 12th) and get in touch with them with a free copy of the adventure! (make sure you include an email address or some way for me to contact you to win)






04 July 2021

A Crap Job - Redux is now on sale!

  So this is it! My first premium only adventure is now live on Ko-Fi and DriveThruRPG! This is a reimagining of my first ever adventure here on Osrynn's Oddments, with new statblocks, more detail, better maps, and so much more! If you like the content we create here on the blog, you will absolutely love this, as it has everything you expect from an Osrynn's adventure, and then some.

  The PDF contains 12 pages, packed full of information about the adventure, from monster statblocks, paired with information about the monsters themselves, to brand new maps, designed in an HD style. You can find a preview of the first two pages on both the Ko-Fi shop page and the DriveThruRPG link above.

  Tomorrow, I will be releasing a new map, along with a number of themed encounters, and along with it a chance to win a free copy of this adventure. Along with this, in the next week or so I will be posting new information regarding a new D&D stream I'm in the process of setting up. So until then, stay tuned!

22 June 2021

Updates!

  In a somewhat "Good News/Bad News" situation, I have found myself working a lot more hours in my regular job, as well as taking on some more responsibility. The bright side is that I'm working and earning more than before. The negative side is that I barely get the time to plan my own games, let alone write adventures for the blog...

  I have gone from running two games on a weekly basis, to running roughly three sessions a month. Whilst this is certainly not a bad thing, it does mean that I'm having to prioritise the time I get to make sure those sessions are the absolute best they can be. I have recently started a new campaign with my Wednesday group, in a brand new setting, which has been eating up a lot of my time, though in the most enjoyable way! I'm getting a chance to write a new world, with fresh lore, brand new races, subclasses, and more and incredibly interesting new plotlines. It's been so interesting as a project, that I'm actually in the process of writing the setting up to release for other people to use!

  Another current project of mine has been writing a campaign for this new world. I have been slowly building a team/cast of players and crew to put together a live-stream and podcast of this new campaign, made up mostly of players from my regular groups. The hope is to be running fortnightly sessions on Twitch (more info coming soon), and then releasing said sessions in an audio form (and probably uploaded to youtube too). I really hope that some of you will tune in to watch when said games are underway, and help support us in any way you can!

  Finally, I've been working on adventures. Both old and new. I haven't had the time to test out any of the new adventures/encounters yet, and as such do not feel comfortable releasing them for public consumption at this point. As for the old adventures, I've been rewriting some of my older adventures in a new format! I have, so far, just finished the first draft of my first ever adventure: A Crap Job. This sewer delving adventure was my first ever foray into adventure writing for public use. It was received relatively well at the time, but is nowhere close to the quality of content I now try to put out. As such, I have rewritten it in its entirety; none of it was copied and pasted from the original. New wording, new statblocks, new maps, and more. It will be getting released over on DriveThruRPG and on my KoFi Page on the Fourth of July (the first anniversary of this blog's founding!), as a premium product.

  I plan on hosting a giveaway competition for a free copy or two of the full product for some of my readers closer to the time, so keep watching this space! It is just going through a proof reading and analysis procedure at the moment, to make sure it is at it's absolute best for when it is fully published. For now; here's a preview of the first three pages;

03 April 2021

Desert Path Battlemap + 8 Encounters (6 New Creatures)

This week, we decided to revisit the desert setting, and make another sandy battlemap. Instead of focussing on manmade structures or an oasis, however, we wanted to keep the attention firmly on the sandy dunes themselves. As usual, we have included eight unique encounters, using a mix of both brand new, and pre-existing monsters, and hope you will find something interesting or fun for your games!

The main features of this map are the two raised cliff faces, and the worn path through the desert. The cliff faces should represent areas that the party either cannot reach, or have to work hard to get to (DC 14+ strength (athletics) check to climb, maybe taking 1+ rounds to do so). The path should represent the only safe way through the map. Leaving the path would be a mistake for the party, as the sand becomes softer/deeper where travellers avoid walking. Any area over 5 ft. away from the path (the slightly darker area on the map) would count as difficult terrain, reducing a creature's speed by half.


The Map:

The Map

27 March 2021

Smugglers Cave - Level 3-5 Adventure

We love to create adventures that are completely different sometimes, and subvert expectations. Sometimes, however it’s great fun to revisit a classic plot and play into the stereotypical adventure. This month's free adventure is just that, a classic plot, given the Osrynn’s treatment. There are hundreds of Smugglers Cave type adventures available, but a lot of them are quite boring, and very samey. In this re-work of a classic, we want to provide a really fun adventure, that makes the old theme feel fresh again.

To this end, we have focussed on creating memorable new creatures for your players to encounter, a couple of devious traps for them to get caught in, and a fun dungeon layout with a good mix of underwater and land based areas.


The Quest

The party are hired through their usual quest-giver (be that a local authority, an adventurers guild, a note on a jobs board, or simply a rumour from a friendly NPC) to help clear out a band of smugglers who have recently begun operating in the area. The party are charged with clearing out the caves in which the Smugglers have begun to operate from, and have been asked to attempt to bring the leader in alive, to face justice.

The job posting/quest giver will inform the party as to the location of the main cave entrance, along the coastline. If the party enquire further, they will learn that there is a second entrance, which is located offshore, and can only be accessed by boat. If the party want to enter this way, they will need to find someone to either lend or sell them a boat. None of the local fishermen or sailors will be willing to enter the caves, due to the danger of the Smugglers, but one will be willing to allow them to borrow his rowboat if they can pass a DC 14 charisma (persuasion) or charisma (intimidation) check.

Another piece of information you may give to your players, should you decide it to be pertinent, is that the smugglers are known for setting up traps within their base, and that the party should be careful. If, however, you’re more like me, let it be a nice little surprise for them instead!

The Area


This adventure is, for obvious reasons, best set in a coastal town or village. The population will be mostly fishermen, sailors and merchants, and will not be an overly wealthy area. If you want to run this adventure for a group based in a less coastal area, you could easily have the quest involve travelling to the area. Maybe even throw in a random encounter or two along the way? If you’re looking for maps for the journey, I definitely suggest both my Modular Plains map pack, and my Plains and Cliffs map pack.


The Map: