Workout Recap - Week of October 24, 2021
I had intended to do five workouts this week, but my schedule was wonky on Saturday, and it ended up being more sensible to cut back to four than try to force something. Fortunately, to be sure, but I'm pretty happy with what else I was able to do. Sunday Type: Pass/Fail Uneven Pull Ups - 2 sets of 6, each side (pass) Stand-to-stand Bridges, one wall touch on the way up - 2 sets of 6 (pass) Archer Push Ups - 2 sets of 15, each side (pass) Bonus: 4 sets of 3 plyometric push u
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: Fear the Night
Premise Some townsfolk pay off the party to deal with a vampire nest, unaware that a necromancer has usurped control. Good As always, I like a horde of minion cultists. The cobalt serpents have an interesting and very unique feel in combat, being mobile, durable, fairly damaging when they have combat advantage, and capable of inflicting disabling statuses from a massive range. Despite my general misgivings about boxed text, I do approve of area 2 breaking up its boxed text in
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: Deceitful Descent
Premise A diabolical cult has infiltrated a temple and proven too much for the local magistrate and militia to handle. Good The first and second ideas for expanding the adventure are decent in broad strokes, though the first especially would benefit from veering into political play instead of being a straight case of exterminating the remnants of the cult. The stalwarts’ stat block does a good job of baking in their tactics (they want to flank, attack often [particularly by c
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: Poisoned Shadows
Premise Assassins are holed up in a sewer hideout beneath a curio shop. Good The ideas for expanding the adventure all have some merit. The first is a decent baseline for getting the party involved with less temptation to pass it off. The second gives a number of example creatures that could be used, either as substitutes for the detailed creatures or for additional encounters, though I’d be selective about which are used instead of grabbing all of them. The third is a way
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: The Catacombs of Koptila
Premise A group of ogres displaced in time are prophesied to return to their colony soon without much regard for the city built on top of it during their years of absence. Good The premise is wonderful. It pushes close to funhouse dungeon territory, admittedly, but it retains enough wonder and whimsy that I can get on board with it as a variation of a Strangely Specific Horoscope treading between Portent of Doom and Rule of Cool. Having the creatures in area 1 phase in momen
My Take on the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy: The Rise of Skywalker
I cannot recall any movies ever making me as mad as the Star Wars sequel trilogy did, and I am not even a big Star Wars fan. It is not just that they had objectively flawed plots, that they went out of their way to contradict previously established canon, or that they were basically retreads of past movies with the barest paint job added on top yet lacking any semblance of their substance, but that they did all of that without giving viewers anything worthwhile to make up for
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: Temple of the Zealots
Premise Some serpent cultists are hanging out in a partially-sunken temple. Good While I dislike the second idea for expanding the adventure overall, having one of the cultists wear a strange amulet that can lead the party to another adventure is a nice way of integrating future adventure hooks. Modeling a group of cultists going through training exercises by having fully-statted instructors and minion-statted students is a nice idea. It’s nice that the details for area 2 hav
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: Tomb of the Tiefling Empress
Premise A necromancer is plundering an ancient tomb for a ring needed to perform a ritual. Good Assuming the players have a way to find out about the necromancer in time to intervene, this is a strong hook (casts a wide net for which types of PCs would be interested and adds time pressure on top). The ideas to expand the adventure by having the necromancer escape with the ring or to have the ring tempt the PCs into releasing some evil beings are great, as long as they come ab
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: The Raiders' Hideout
Premise Some gnoll raiders are hiding out in a sandy lair. Good The hook that “[t]he PCs have come to exact a measure of justice for recent brutal caravan raids” works for heroic, aloof, and villainous PCs alike; the former can avenge amoral violence with moral violence, the aloof can do something that will earn them rewards on top of the spoils they find, and the latter can either ignore the “justice” bit to turn it into a recruitment drive or deal with the gnolls to gain po
Looking Over Dungeon Delve: Orc Stronghold
Premise Some orcs are crashing the local lord’s stronghold. Good The various interpersonal situations between the various orc groups that stop them from reinforcing each other gives some roleplay fodder. The random dead prisoner with a ruby in the hollow heel of a bit provides a potential jumping-off point for adding flavor to the adventure and/or tying it into greater context. Though rather minor, the interactivity with the beds in the barracks is a neat touch. The sidebar a
