rootring
rooted in blogs, linked in a ring52 Monsters
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On the ring since 2026-04-24
Latest activity 21mo ago
326 posts
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It’s all too common in the adventuring life that a troll settles in and makes life difficult for everyone. Given their size, vast hunger, and general unwillingness to pack up...
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I started to write “magic” there, but given that I’ve already shifted to awarding nonmagical but better-than-average weapons in my games, figured we’ll go with “enhanced” here....
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Sometimes a thought persists at an awkward time, but you can’t escape it. This one was getting to me recently, and this time of year being as busy as it is, it waited, scrawled...
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Is it really the end of November already? And did I get so caught up in the rest of life’s duties that I didn’t post squat? Yes. Also yes. November’s maps are an odd mish-mash,...
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Ah, October. Busy, still busy, but we’re so close to making it through the year that I’ve got to press onward. Then, after some time to breathe deeply, scour these odd scrawls...
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Stoneskipper Stoneskipper HD 0 | AC 3 | MV 20 / 30 fly | Flying leap, droning buzz Not all monsters are nightmarish things. Some are small, relatively low-danger critters,...
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Yes, we’re almost halfway into October, and I finally remembered I should post this thing. Dungeons shifting into demonic themes, with summoning circles and signs of horrors...
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The tuskling, the Mulberry version of an orc. Crude, prone to violence, not especially threatening except in numbers. They know this, of course, and always travel in greedy,...
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Thanks to a last-minute schedule shift and a few willing players at the table, we had a first playtest with the Mulberry rules. One hastily-scrawled map, keyed out in about...
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It’s an alligaboon! Or possibly a babbigator. I really haven’t locked that part in yet. At the request of my middle-schooler, I have drawn up a creature that is part alligator,...
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From the early draft rules for Mulberry: All magical spells have a casting time, a cost in Resolve/WITS, and a specific effect. Some spells may have a shorter casting time at a...
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A well-rounded party appreciates the value of a tank, that tough, hard-to-hit front-liner who can deflect or absorb harm that might fell frailer members of the team. The term’s...
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Magic! The good, the bad, and the ugly, sometimes all at once. My goodness, wasn’t Eli Wallach just phenomenal in that film? Our players might want to be Clint Eastwood, or Lee...
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August down, scribbling bits for September. With just a snippet a day, these things get weird. And with the crushing onset of new academic years – on numerous fronts! – it’s a...
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Constraints are helpful when everything is wide-open before you. It’s helpful for players at the table – I find offering three options is good for discussion, along with a...
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I had a small group not long ago, a session planned but not enough to run it comfortably. It’s not uncommon in the summertime, when there are vacations and family visits and...
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July: complete. Sure, we’re well into August, but sometimes these update posts linger a while. Wrapped up the vole war camp, including the priest of peppers who trains his...
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Dragon’s Breath Elixir Quaffing this effervescent golden liquid fills one with an uncomfortable, expanding gas for up to 10 minutes, after which the noisy, sudden release of...
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When considering monsters – true monsters – the notion of their essential nature arises, in a way that has reasonably fallen out of favor with the natural, evolved inhabitants...
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Myric Elixir (drug) A resinous, aromatic gruit ale brewed with bog myrtle and a variety of other herbs. When consumed, the user feels an upwelling of wild rage for 10 minutes....
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Winter’s Bloom (drug) This foul-tasting powder, often mixed with various other ingredients to mask the intense bitterness, allows the user to pass as dead for up to an hour....
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Adder’s Tongue Ointment (drug) This aromatic ointment uses a mix of adder’s tongue and the sap of the dragon’s blood tree, with a mixture of aromatic herbs, rendered into...
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It’s only a quarter of the way through July when I’m getting to this, so that counts as improvement, right? A haunted ruin, now the study of a mouse wizard, a necromancer of...
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Rusty Milkcap Drops (drug) Taken under the tongue, these bitter-tasting drops give the user a burst of speed for up to an hour. Users gain +1 to initiative rolls and an extra...
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Many creatures can rightfully claim the vague title of beast-folk, depending on your game’s setting. These are mine. They fit my world. I want my players and their characters...
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We’re more than halfway through June, and I’m just getting to posting my scribbles from May. Clearly, I’ve been busy elsewhere, even as I manage to keep up with the...
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Where would our players be without a potion of healing? At least halfway to dead, for sure. It’s one of the most basic, minorly-magical, shows-up-everywhere consumable items,...
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Demonsbreath (drug) Inhaling this stimulant enhances your reflexes for 1 hour. You go first in combat, make all saves with an improved roll. Each fumble rolled while affected...
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Trolls are monsters. Pick your details, your taxonomy, your fantastical niche, but they aren’t of the natural, evolving world. Trolls are a danger, a force, a thing which...
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The Japanese band, of course. Lots of metal and experimental noise and sometimes shimmering pop and I’m not going to bother attempting to characterize a trio that seems to...