Dicey Stories

Mariah and Cleve explore Cliff Island with a ranger and an ensign. Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 Scene 11 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa return home with presents and news of the wider world. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and South Guard. There are also references to A War of Life and Death, a User-Made Content campaign. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Cleve and Mariah leave the Garden of Chiron aboard Xiao’s ship. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric continues to clash with his mother but grows closer to Kachen. Scene 16 Scene 17 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Datajack Prime holds talks with the Stepdaughters of Chiron council to work out the details of the new alliance. Scene 18 Scene 19 Scene 20 Scene 21 Scene 22 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The cleanup of South Tower begins. Scene 13 Scene 14 Scene 15 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah reflects on recent events and what they have taught him about himself. Scene 14 Scene 15 Scene 16 GM Notes This episode depicts a mental health counseling session. Mariah has recently been through an incredibly traumatic experience. While he makes progress in a single session here, in real life, a breakthrough can take months or more. Therapy can be constructive in many situations; don’t be reluctant to seek help. Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa clash with the Rats again. Scene 12 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

After helping train a xenodragon, Mariah and Cleve visit Sal to learn about some prophecies. Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The city of South Tower burns. Scene 10 Scene 11 Note: This episode uses mechanics detailed in Skill Adventures by David Shamp, available from the Genesys Foundry on DriveThruRPG. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

An attempt to view the prophecies of the Cult of Chiron does not go as intended. Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa learn more about Kachen’s recent activities and his past with Rhaessa. Scene 6 Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah holds a wide-ranging conversation with Deirdre’s son Jack. Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Alric, Heppa, Tric, and Glammur entertain themselves at South Tower’s After Harvest Festival. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 GM Notes The players really enjoyed the Full Bloom festival early in our campaign, so I decided to give them a chance to experience another. Inspiration came from a lot of places. For one, there are the youtube videos by Pupsi where he carves vegetables into ocarinas and then plays pop music. Check out his performance of Africa by Toto. Another inspiration was a renaissance faire, where Danielle and I saw a melon catapult years ago. The shoveling part of the pitchfork competition was inspired by a sand shoveling competition we saw at another fair. The throwing part was because in the Battle for Wesnoth video game the Peasant unit has a ranged attack with the pitchfork in addition to a melee attack. This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaign Eastern Invasion. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Cleve and Xiao meet with the mysterious rangers. Scene 1 Scene 2 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Additional allies arrive to join the fight against shadow mage Godol and his Rat confederates. Scene 21 Scene 22 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The Prophet of Chiron and some followers pay Mariah a visit at the hospital. Scene 39 Scene 40 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The elves and their allies clash with Godol the shadow mage and his. Scene 20 GM Notes Most of the NPCs in the fight today are units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game that we’ve already seen in earlier encounters, like Ruffians, Shadow Mages, and Efa the Bandit. The only new one here is Tric’s merfolk friends, who are based on the Netcaster line. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Cleve and Marina secure proper care for Mariah. Scene 35 Scene 36 Scene 37 Scene 38 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Rhaessa and Heledd join Tric and Heppa in their investigation of necromancers underneath South Tower. Scene 17 Scene 18 Scene 19 GM Notes The exploration of the space under South Tower was heavily inspired by combat maps from the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Cave terrain frequently has mushroom tiles, mining cart tracks, and old fortifications. And if you see a big stretch of water, you can be pretty sure a Tentacle of the Deep is lurking in it to attack any of your units that get too close! Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

With the help of a mysterious ranger, Mariah’s friends keep him out of harm’s way. Scene 34 GM Notes Rangers, in our game, are actually based on embassy guards. Some countries require their guards to all have a uniform appearance, even down to strict height limits. Inspiration really can come from anywhere. Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric catches up some with Kachen and gets to know the new server at the Parting Glass. Scene 13 Scene 14 Scene 15 Scene 16 Note: This episode uses an adaptation of our Fight Night rules. Find them here. GM Notes In this episode, we finally get a scene that closely resembles our campaign artwork! When we commissioned the piece from Del Borovic the tableau was chosen simply to get a bunch of our major characters all together in a location that was important to us. It was six more months before I was able to orchestrate all the pieces coming together at the game table. The only inaccuracy is that Kachen has his staff in the illustration. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The briar beasts make their move to consume Mariah. Scene 33 Note: The battle started in today's episode continues in next week's. From a writing standpoint, it made sense to combine Mariah's viewpoint into one scene, and the exterior viewpoint into another. So if you read this write-up, you'll get some spoilers for next episode and you'll also notice things from this episode are missing if Mariah didn't observe them. Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric recruits the white mage Rhaessa to help with whatever foul magics are afoot beneath South Tower. Scene 12 GM Notes In the Battle for Wesnoth video game, there are undead units whose attacks have the plague quality. Any unit killed by one of these rises again as a Walking Corpse—unless they were standing in a village when it happened. I’ve taken that video game mechanic and translated it into some more magical philosophy, to appease the constantly questioning Hepalonia. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah is finally reunited with his friends, but that doesn’t solve all his problems. Scene 27 Scene 28 Scene 29 Scene 30 Scene 31 Scene 32 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Kachen shares a little of what he was up to over the summer. Scene 10 Scene 11 GM Notes In the Battle for Wesnoth video game, the only mainline unit with teleportation is the Silver Mage. They are able to move between villages that their side controls. In terms of the battle map, that means any villages flying their side’s flag. I’ve translated that mechanic into the bit of magical philosophy we encounter here: that for risk-free teleportation, one must travel between places of safety. The video game’s artwork for the staff of the Silver Mage is also what inspired the description of Kachen’s staff we gave the artist. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

All of Dr. Yerin Gupta’s plans come crashing down around her. Scene 23 Scene 24 Scene 25 Scene 26 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa deal with a late night intruder. Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Briar beasts run rampant in the Garden of Chiron. Scene 20 Scene 21 Scene 22 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric reconnects with some of the Dunefolk of South Tower, but neither his mother nor Damal are terribly impressed with him. Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah remonstrates with his captor. Scene 18 Scene 19 Note: In this episode, you’ll once again hear us using social material and maneuver mechanics that come from a Genesys supplement called I Declare! Adjudicated Social Encounters for Genesys by Micah-Shalom “FatCrab” Kesselman. You can find it on the Genesys Foundry at DriveThruRPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/349232/I-Declare. Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Upon returning to the Parting Glass, Heppa delivers to Alric the message from his parents in Weldyn. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and Liberty. There are also references to Dead Water. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah’s reunion with his old friend Deirdre does not go as smoothly as Cleve’s reunion with Roze did. Scene 13 Scene 14 Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 GM Notes When we describe Mariah’s view of the sunset-lit world as featuring diamonds, and an ocean of islands, and a forest deep and silent, we’re quoting there from Mariah’s theme song, which is “Rivers in the Light” by Tide Lines. Cleve’s player does not tend to associate songs with her characters, but when asked about one, she jokingly suggested “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, a very apt song indeed for the fatalistic Cleve. Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa bid farewell to Terwaen’s household with several revealing conversations. Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Marina takes Cleve and Mariah to the Stepdaughters of Chiron council building. Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 Scene 11 Scene 12 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric duels Dame Merriver. Scene 14 Note: This episode uses our Fight Night rules. Find them here. GM Notes The Battle for Wesnoth video game inspired a lot of specific events and NPCs in our tabletop campaign. I leaned heavily on the closing events of the Eastern Invasion campaign, even quoting from the epilogue where Gweddry and Owaec are granted their rewards. But one specific part of the video game’s lore that stood out to me was that the period after the war with Mal-Ravanal is considered Wesnoth’s Silver Age—but it only lasts the length of King Konrad II’s reign. Why did the Silver Age end? Why did Wesnoth fall to ruin again after that? Well, one outlandish theory from my players was that Konrad II had actually died long before history records it, and various nobles were keeping that a secret. That idea is what led to Merriver’s righteous rage about the treatment of her father in court. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Some among the Stepdaughters of Chiron prove less easy to get along with than craws are. Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa talk with Dame Merriver about threats to the kingdom… and her illicit weapon shipments. Scene 13 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Mariah, Cleve, and Marina visit with some farmers on the outskirts of Stepdaughters of Chiron territory. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 GM Notes The description of the farm in this episode is actually inspired by alter eco chocolate bars. The inside of the packaging has a labeled graphic of regenerative agriculture in practice, which we thought fit very well with the ethos of the Stepdaughters of Chiron. Creative inspiration for TTRPGs can come from anywhere! Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Sir Anyc shows Tric and Heppa around and presents them to Dame Merriver. Scene 11 Scene 12 GM Notes Dame Merriver is a character we’ve had floating around our campaign from way, way back. All the rumors and theories about her is what inspired me to give her the special ability Ominous Reputation. She also has a theme song in my campaign playlist, which I would play on repeat while pondering what makes her tick. It’s Ye Jacobites, specifically as performed by the group Scocha. The energy it has—the feeling of righteous anger at a political situation—fits her quite nicely. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The team debates how to handle the remaining demon craw. Scene 14 Scene 15 GM Notes In humans, hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is a crucial treatment for situations like menopause or gender transition. Personally, HRT helped me become myself for the first time. For Checkerboard, the proposed HRT regimen might help her undo the Progenitor abuse. Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa learn of some tensions within Terwaen’s household… and within her people. Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 GM Notes There are a number of mounted units in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. In preparation for this arc, I reviewed their descriptions and artwork for inspiration. Terwaen and Anyc are Knights, and Rugg and Inyc are Paladins. While not every unit type has an NPC in our game, there are still discussions of Grand Knights, Horsemen, and Lancers to give more flavor to the culture of the Horse Plains. And for orcish forces, the mounted units are the Wolf Rider line. Those are just talked about around the dinner table here, but don’t worry, we’ll see them eventually. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The team deals with the repercussions of Dr. Citali’s errant pistol shot. Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa are welcomed to Terwaen’s home. Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Demon craws attack. Scene 10 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

As they approach Terwaen’s village, Tric and Heppa befriend a knight after observing a duel. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 This arc contains spoilers for the Battle for Wesnoth campaigns Eastern Invasion and Heir to the Throne. There are also references to Northern Rebirth. Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The Progenitor research facility holds a few surprises. Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Heppa and Tric study Mal-Vektor’s staff—which is almost as dangerous as the man himself. Scene 12 Scene 13 Scene 14 GM Notes We won’t be seeing Ash and Aglana again in this campaign—at least not together as a couple. So I’ll take this opportunity to fill in some of the backstory that informs their behavior, but that didn’t get stated openly at the gaming table because our loveable PCs actually showed some discretion!  Aglana is the child of the main character in the Battle for Wesnoth Dead Water campaign, a princess among the merfolk, and her being in a relationship with an elf would not be approved there. That’s one of the reasons Ash keeps quiet about her when around elves. In addition, her comment that she is not to put herself at risk is because of her royal standing. Aglana comes to the rivers of the Heart Mountains to get away from all the expectations put on her by her family. And Ash… Well, Ash is the first RPG character that I intentionally designed to be asexual. Ash entered our storyline in October of 2021 (yes, you’re listening to some real archive footage here! I’m recording this commentary in April of 2024). It would be a few more months before I figured myself out enough to talk with my spouse about how the term asexual applied to me. Making Ash was a helpful exercise for me, a chance to inhabit a character who felt romantic attraction to someone, but not sexual attraction. I love that RPGs give us that kind of space, to explore different interaction styles, different personalities, different intelligences, different ways of being human (even if you’re playing a non-human). Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here. Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Their new friends lead Mariah, Cleve, and Marina to a Progenitor ruin. Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com. Need context? Jump to the start of the series!