Update: Christmas 2018

A Somber Update on Christmas

My grandfather's condition has been worsening steadily the last month and a half. He fell out of bed once last week and has fallen twice tonight, luckily he hasn't hit his head or broken any bones, miraculously he hasn't gotten more than a small scrape. But he has more melanoma, his skin condition having gone from being something that needed to be checked every few months, if that, to the point now where several visible spots of melanoma develop every two weeks or less. Earlier this month he got an appointment for treatment out of town in January, and, in the few weeks since then, it has undoubtedly progressed another stage (which means that the cancer is now a threat to other parts of his body, particularly his lymph node system).

Of course, with all of that I try to help with and everything going on outside of that with both my grandfather and myself, I've had to put everything else aside except for cooking. Map making and drawing, video games, most writing, and all DMing with friends being cancelled which includes planned adventures in Dark Sun, Shadowfell, Ravnica, and a Sunless Citadel adventure extravaganza continuing on from an adventure there when I was a kid. The blog was sadly one of the first things to take a hit months ago when I first moved in with my grandfather as a caregiver, and although I hope to start posting more soon, it's impossible to plan anything for it.
On top of all of that, with the long winter nights and the sad, very noticeable absence of family and friends around for the holidays, we've both definitely slipped into a bit of seasonal depression. I try to stay positive, upbeat and active, some days I have the time and energy, other days it's tough.


There is some good news, though, and that is that we had a nice and lazy Christmas Eve (aside from the falls), with a small yet pleasant dinner and dessert while watching Aliens, then It's a Wonderful Life on TV, and listening to some miscellaneous winter and holiday music. Tomorrow we also have plans to get together with one of my grandfather's good friends and one or two of their family members and help cook Christmas dinner, as long as my grandpa is feeling well.

Sorry for the absence, but thanks for the couple of kind and uplifting words from you strangers, as well as the folks still stopping by to check out fairly popular (for me) Brash Brutes posts and, bizarrely (to me), one of the Dark Legacy posts.

Best wishes and many thanks. Happy holidays everyone.

Brash Brutes: Aarakocra Part 2

This morning I watched Jim Murphy's video on flying monsters in D&D and, after looking at the monsters in Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica (GGR), I had to write this long-awaited follow up to my first post about screeching death turkeys. Hopefully I get it done and posted before I leave for Thanksgiving dinner.
  In the video, Jim mentions how he misses flyby attacks, which was a great way to present a new kind of challenge, new risks to parties at all levels of play, and are sorely missed in 5e. I also love flyby attacks and, to me, it's what makes aarakocra in Dark Sun what they are. Without it, they aren't much more than another obnoxious creature aside from their appearance and death shrieks. With it — along with everything I talked about in the first Brash Brutes post — they become a terror of the wastelands. One aarakocra on its own is a challenge for a new party of adventurers. However, their sly takeoff and flyby attack trigger opportunity attacks. If they didn't, I know that the first party I threw them at would have been killed unless the most extreme rolls were made. Even a few aarakocra minions (creatures that die from any hit) would be almost impossible to defeat for low-level parties. I always find it interesting when small details like that have such a big impact on the way that games play out, and they're always things I love fiddling with.

Quick aside before I get into things: In GGR, I realized after seeing the arclight phoenix in the monsters section that 5e's version of the flyby attack is in the form of a simple ability:

"Flyby. The [creature] doesn't provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy's reach."

I knew it did exist in 5e, but for some reason it never clicked with me that I could make the aarakocra have this ability and make an actual attack based around simply moving some distance. For now, however, I'm sticking with the way I've been doing. But if I go back through these posts and my own notes and update all my creatures, that'll be a big consideration.

For this follow up, I've had notes for several higher CR aarakocra lying around, and when I came back to them today I noticed that, despite knowing that removing the "this may provoke opportunity attacks" line from their flyby attack, all of them had the base, unchanged flyby attack from the low-CR aarakocra. Even the 5-7 CR undead ones. I don't remember why I never changed it, or if there was even a reason behind it, but it got me thinking more about the consequences of keeping that very important line and the consequences of removing it.

If I want to make anything more brutal than it already is, there's a lot I can change besides the creatures' stats: the number of enemies in the encounter, the way they are encountered (ambush, when they're exhausted, etc.), the equipment they have, the environment (weather, terrain, etc.). For the Athasian birdfolk, the two I tend to focus on are how many there are and how the characters encounter them. In my first encounter with them ever, there was some ambushing going on, and the party only fought one warrior and later fought a few minions. So, how would things have looked if — maybe when they were a level or two higher — they had faced multiple warriors instead? The rules on Reactions in combat and Opportunity Attacks make it more complicated, though.
  During combat, we should assume that each character only has one reaction each round. If they use that reaction by making an opportunity attack on a huge bird zipping past them, then they can't do that again until their next turn. Since each character only has so many reactions to use in every round of combat, the more aarakocra there are using flyby attacks then the more likely the characters are to run out of reactions. Even if there are a couple of warriors, if they flyby the same character each round, then that character can only make an opportunity attack on one of the two. Or three, or four, and so on. And, of course, characters still have to land their attacks in order to do damage, so even minions with low AC will still be a big threat in large numbers without any way to deal massive area or other multiple target damage. So, the more aarakocra there are in the encounter, the more likely each one is to have a more powerful flyby attack.

To me, this isn't just interesting from a combat encounter design and math perspective, but also from a world-building one. Aarakocra on Dark Sun, and in other worlds, are dangerous. But aarakocra are brutal in groups. That flyby attack they have, even with the downside of provoking more attacks, makes them inherently brutal. Anyone traveling the sandscapes of Athas alone who faces one and lives to remember it won't travel alone ever again, and is easily one of the many reasons why people travel in small parties or large caravans in this world. Just as my players were keen to note where they encountered the aarakocra in their mini adventure and how they naturally hated the creatures, people in the world would react similarly. Maps traded between merchants have aarakocra nests marked on them, caravan leaders who can't avoid them are always keeping one eye in the sky and the other looking for guards and other ways to deter the creatures. Once you start thinking about it, at least for me, all of this other stuff naturally follows. But, just having one or two "low level" version of a creature isn't that cool, especially when you want big, complex communities of them all around the world and different "classes" of them that players can encounter.

Aarakocra Warrior 2
CR 1-2
Higher STR, INT/WIS.
Intimidation +3
Wield longspears (reach 10 ft instead of 5), or spears and nets.
Bonus to attacking Bleeding enemies.
Flyby Attack and Sly Takeoff +10 ft (40 instead of 30).
Tactics: One snatcher can carry up to X weight, two can carry up to Y. When they dive on a large creature, they grab it and pull it up into the sky and drop them on sharp rocks.

Compare the notes for this snatcher to the warriors and they aren't really that different. But, the small changes have a big impact. Instead of just having a 5 ft range, these have a 10 ft range. Instead of being able to attack from 30 ft away or attack and escape that far away, they can move 40 ft. The tactics alone make it more interesting and dangerous, too.
  Note that, like the previous aarakocra I made, these have a different equation for their Bloodied value; 60% instead of 50%. The abilities and effects I use that are built around the Bloodied mechanic "turn on" a little sooner for aarakocra than other creatures. It isn't a big difference at lower HP ranges, but having a different ratio it either direction (Bloodied quickly or slowly) can be big a difference with creatures with greater HP or AC or for legendary creatures like The Dragon. Eventually I'll to write rules and talk it about it more, I swear.
  I've also mostly kept the templating/formatting (parentheses, reminder text, etc.) from the original "Brash Brutes" post for my own sake, as all my aarakocra were written that way. Eventually (maybe) I'll go back and edit everything to fit one templating style and clean up the rules text.

Aarakocra Snatcher
Medium humanoid, neutral
AC 13, HP 33 (6d8 + 6), Bloodied 20, Speed 25 ft, Fly 40 ft
STR 13 (+1), DEX 17 (+3), CON 12 (+1), INT 10 (+0), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 7 (-2)
Skills: Athletics +4, Perception +4
Senses: Passive Perception 14
Languages: Common
Challenge Rating: 2 (450 XP)
Abilities
Keen Sight and Smell. The aarakocra has advantage on WIS (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.
Pack Tactics. The aarakocra has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the aarakocra's allies is within 5 ft of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Sly Takeoff. (Entire turn.) Disengage then fly 40 ft. If the aarakocra is being Grappled, they instead attempt to escape with advantage, then fly 40 ft if successful (they do not take the Disengage action and therefore may provoke attacks of opportunity).
Triggered Abilities
Blood Frenzy. When a creature within 30 ft of the aarakocra becomes Bloodied (reduced to half HP or less), the aarakocra gains 4 (1d8) temporary HP.
Death Shriek, on death. The aarakocra lets out a long, piercing shriek with its last breath, alerting other nearby aarakocra and allies.
Actions
Flyby Attack. The aarakocra flies 20 ft and makes one pike or talons attack at any point during the movement. If the attack hits and the target is a Medium size or smaller creature, the creature must make a DC 14 STR (Athletics) check or become Grappled and be dragged along with the aarakocra. (This action may provoke attacks of opportunity.)
  This action is disabled if the aarakocra is grappling a creature or is Bloodied.
Pike. +7 to hit, reach 10 ft, one target. 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage.
Beak. (Use if Grappled.) +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage.
Talons. (Use if Disarmed.) +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage.

For tactics: If the aarakocra snatcher grapples a creature, it will spend one to two turns flying high into the air (dashing), make a beak attack against the creature, then drop it. The creature will take falling damage plus one or two additional damage dice if they land on especially rough terrain.
  I could add more rules about how much weight any aarakocra can carry, as I originally intended to do, but it's so much easier to give a creature size range instead. And, how much it matters, in my personal experience and from watching other groups play, depends so much on the players at the table that any other details I could give probably wouldn't work for anyone besides myself anyway. I could also change the aarakocra to be able to use their spears with two hands and make two-handed attacks, but I'm fine with the way it is, I don't need that kind of complexity for them. Aside from that it just has a few tweaks, a little more HP and gains more from Bloodied creatures instead of getting a bonus to attack. Looks alright.

Now I want to take a shot at the "Windcaller" I mentioned all the way back in September. But first, what is a windcaller in aarakocra society? Aarakocra worship the wind and forces of nature as people in our world have in the past, and how many people have worshipped deities. The members of aarakocra society that have learned secret prayers are called windcallers, and they can summon blasts of wind and clouds of dust to buffet their foes — not unlike one of my old favorite Pokémon. On the battlefield, they stick to the outskirts where they can view the whole field and reach targets with their abilities or swoop in and join the fray as they see fit, or do both.

First notes look like this:

Aarakocra Windcaller
CR 2-3 (?)
Fly 50 ft, lower STR, higher INT/WIS.
Perception +6, Passive Perception 16
Wield staves.
Bonus to attacking Bleeding enemies.
Gust, Dust Veil, Razorwing (razor feathers, fan of knives), Whirlwind.

 "Gust" I can use the gust of wind spell, but Dust Veil? Razorwing? There are two ways I can go about those: spells or abilities. Effectively, I can make a "fan of knives" attack in the form of a spell or an ability, and the only thing that would matter to me would be that if it's a spell, then it could be countered; if it's an ability, it can be dodged. My first test stat block went with the spellcaster route:

Aarakocra WindcallerMedium humanoid, neutral
AC 13, HP 49 (9d8 + 9), Bloodied 30, Speed 30 ft, Fly 50 ft, INI +5
STR 11 (+0), DEX 14 (+2), CON 12 (+1), INT 10 (+0), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 16 (+3)
Skills: Acrobatics +6, Deception +7, Perception +6, Medicine +6
Senses: Passive Perception 16
Damage Resistances: Force; Piercing from non-magical ranged attacks
Languages: Common
Challenge Rating: 3 (700 XP)
Abilities
Keen Sight and Smell. The aarakocra has advantage on WIS (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.
Pack Tactics. The aarakocra has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the aarakocra's allies is within 5 ft of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.
Sly Takeoff. (Entire turn.) Disengage then fly 40 ft. If the aarakocra is being Grappled, they instead attempt to escape with advantage, then fly 40 ft if successful (they do not take the Disengage action and therefore may provoke attacks of opportunity).
Spellcasting. The aarakocra is an innate spellcaster. Their spellcasting ability is CHA (spell save DC 16, +14 to hit with spell attacks). They can cast the following spells, requiring no material components.
  Cantrips (at will): guidance, prestidigitation, thaumaturgy.
  1st-level (3/day): feather fall, jump, thunderwave.
  2nd-level (2/day): gust of wind, silence.Triggered Abilities
Blood Frenzy. When a creature within 30 ft of the aarakocra becomes Bloodied (reduced to half HP or less), the aarakocra gains 4 (1d8) temporary HP.
Death Shriek, on death. The aarakocra lets out a long, piercing shriek with its last breath, alerting other nearby aarakocra and allies.
Actions
Spear. +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. 11 (2d8 + 2) piercing damage.
Beak. (Use if Grappled.) +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Talons. (Use if Disarmed.) +3 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage.

It's totally fine. The math on the spellcasting always gets lost on me so I usually fudge the numbers to make it feel right and leave it at that. I fiddled with the stats to make them more spellcastery with more HP since they're a "higher level" aarakocra, but if their abilities were based around DEX or opposed checks I could keep their STR, DEX, etc. roughly the same as the warrior and snatcher. The damage resistances I might remove, I might not, though I like that they aren't affected by storms or thunderclap effects as much as other flying creatures because, as their name implies, they have some amount of mastery over wind — the piercing resistance I'm more split on how much it matters, but I still like it.

There's a whole lot more that can be done, of course, but that's all for now. It's time to head out for dinner. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Eat well and stay safe. Thanks!

Dark Legacy Part 3

I jump around a lot when writing. When painting, cleaning, designing, doing most things, actually. I figure it has a lot to do with my chaotic mind and tumultuous sleep schedule, and how brainstorming happens in my head when it comes to creative things. I'll start in one place and skip around it, leaving moats of negative space to be filled in later when I eventually figure out what to do with it. Adapting this adventure is the same, family goings-on hasn't helped. But eventually I always get back on track and it always feels great when I do. So let's get back to this Dark Legacy.

Impractical Envoy

"Weary from a long day of riding in the cold, you [four to six] adventurers come to Duponde on a drizzly evening and stop at the Old Owl Inn. You're warming yourselves by the hearth, your damp boots off after a week of marching along the King's Road, heading far south to the city of Sarthel with correspondence from Lord Markelhay, the Lord Warden of Fallcrest."
— Not-quite-straight-outta-the-book

Important correspondence from Lord Markelhay, the Lord Warden of Fallcrest, in the hands of these adventurers, which they are taking from Fallcrest all the way to Sarthel — Sarthel, which isn't on any maps of the Nentir Vale because is far outside the boundaries of the Vale? But this adventure doesn't take place in Fallcrest or Sarthel or anywhere connected to them, it takes place in Duponde — Duponde, also not on any map of the Vale that I have seen...

When I picked up Dark Legacy of Evard to adapt to 5e and incorporate into a larger campaign, I knew I would run into problems like this. The "Encounters" series of books for 4th Edition was designed to be a series of combat encounters (hence the name) that could be played by a group in a couple of hours once a day every week, with most of the time supposed to be spent on fighting monsters and villains while the story played out almost like cutscenes. Dark Legacy of Evard was, from what I recall, notable for having choices in the adventure, but it still lacked a lot of narrative elements, a strong plot from start to finish, and a lot of moments for role-playing and improvisation since it wasn't intended for that kind of play.
  While "converting" monsters from the book to 5e and coming up with more ideas that could lead to more role-playing and narrative-driven moments in the adventure or more interesting encounters, the question of what to do about the utterly pointless adventure hook was always pushed to the back of my mind. This week, amidst spending time with family and other things, I put aside the number crunching and put the adventure hook into focus.

The first thing I started with was maps. I'm hardly familiar with 4e's rules and its setting and I'm very aware of that and the fact that it would be a huge help to know a lot about the latter for this adventure. I roughly knew what the map of the Nentir Vale looked like and where a few adventure locations were, and I knew that there were fan-made maps with tons of cities and dungeons from many 4e adventures added to it, so I went digging around. I found a few different maps, but none, not a single map I saw mentioned Duponde or had anything along the road or river where I assumed the town is supposed to be. Oh well, I'll just stick a pin where I think it'll be. But another location I couldn't find anywhere in the Vale was Sarthel, though I was vaguely aware that the 4e setting extended beyond the borders of the Vale.
  What a surprise to discover Nerath and everything else in the world. For those that were unaware like me, Nerath is the greater continent that the region or "country" of Nentir Vale sits in. Figuring that out and being able to pinpoint where my piece was in relation to the whole world was a big step forward, and I immediately latched onto Nerath because of its scale and diversity; I like it a lot more for adventuring in than the Nentir Vale, I think because it's closer to the scale of the map of Middle-earth and it clearly has a wider array of environments. To the far to the northwestern-most corner of the map is the Sunless Citadel — I had a big "woah! Sunless Citadel is on this map!" moment, it was the first D&D adventure I read, that story is for another time — and a massive forest, the Dawnforge Mountains and Mithralfast on the eastern coast, multiple seas beyond, to the south are Vor Rukoth, Sarthel, the Trollhaunt Warrens, another mountain range, seas, forest, and The Golden Savannah; the Nentir Vale is a tiny area in the middle of everything.

Nerath and surrounding areas

(Then, I found maps of the entire world/plane with dozens of locations I had never heard of and decided to pretend all of that doesn't exist for now. It's just a bit too much, I have enough on my plate to dig into for a while.)
  On the map of Nerath (above), Sarthel is tucked in a semicircle of mountains on its own short peninsula in the center, the Vale — and Fallcrest and all the other cities there — is a ways north of it, tucked between two great forests on the north and south sides, a mountain range on the east, and a river and what I expect are dangerous plains or a wasteland to the west.
  Now I knew where the heck this "Sarthel" place was, and I figured the route from Fallcrest to there would be straightforward, so the next step for me was making a new map so I could start asking and answering more questions about the story that this adventure was trying to tell, or could tell. I laid a small map of Nentir Vale over a large map of Nerath, penned in a quick, plausible route of the journey, and voila:

From Fallcrest to Sarthel

Well, then... Fine enough, having a map solves the problem of the party not knowing where they're supposed to be going if they ask that question, but it seems like quite the expedition. It seems silly to me to expect that any inexperienced people, even a group of four to six "1st-level" so-called "adventurers," would be willing to make such a far journey: just shy of 250 miles (~402 kilometers) using the scale on the Nentir Vale maps. That trip could take five to ten days of riding or hiking on dangerous roads and through uninhabited forests and plains where dangerous monsters are known to roam, and all for some lord the characters probably haven't met until the day the adventure started. This mission for Lord Markelhay is getting more and more unappealing.
  What about a different mission? What would be a hook that feels more reasonable to me and that would be more meaningful to the players and more reasonable to the characters they're playing? I was at a loss for a while then figured my next big step would be to read about the starting point for the characters in this adventure.

Fallcrest

From what I understood before doing research, Fallcrest is the starting point for most adventuring parties in this setting. Big town or small city, temples and small guilds, a big river going through it, and it was razed at some point in the past, and that's about all I knew. The 4e Dungeon Master's Guide had way more to work with than I was expecting and I couldn't help but twist the city a little... a little more than I needed to. Luckily, I have this little place to share all of my nonsense so I don't have to tuck it away into a folder and try to forget how much time I spent on it!
  For the original town, look in the last chapter of the 4e DMG. Reading through it, the city didn't feel very old to me even though a point was made that "hey, this place is old." Once I started making tiny changes, the dam burst for me and it became more difficult to pick one idea to run with over the others. I'm not sure what, something about it grabbed me once I read a few paragraphs. It was really fun to think about, even without all the tweaks I wanted to start an adventure there right away.
  Everything I did with it was either push it forward in time or tweak a character or location to fit other ideas, the numbers I use are basically just greater than the numbers in the book to reflect that time and the idea that the population and economy are experiencing some growth. At some point in the past, most of the things that are true in the book's descriptions might have been true, but there's more going on in and around the city. As for the town's distant history, I'll leave that up to the book and wikis and whatnot but with one addition: the "Creeping Shadow" (Shadowfell bleeding into this world) in the hills and forests are becoming a large threat to the city and travel on the roads.

"A small town built on the ruins of a larger city, Fallcrest is the crossroads of the Nentir Vale."
  Outlaws are all over the place, some frequent town and cause trouble, there's a new gang in town that prowls the streets at night and is in conflict with the old gang made up of porters, and there are more and more monster attacks happening every week which might have something to do with unpleasant folk coming to town where they aren't welcome. The monsters are varied, but the attacks feel constant on some days, on days where they're lacking the gangs in town make up for it. It's been rough for a while, and the Lord Warden has been so busy that he appointed two Lord Marshals to split his burdens with. The Lord Marshals have a lot of new ideas, as do the townsfolk, and some of those ideas are being realized: the city wall is being finished, a new aqueduct on the river is under construction, more guards are being enlisted and trained, and the three lords can meet with more people as well as hire more "drifters" for adventuring work.

Population: 1,750; another 1,100 or so live in the countryside within a few miles of the town. The people of Fallcrest are mostly humans and halflings with a large number of dwarves. Few dragonborn and eladrin are permanent residents, but travelers of all races pass through or seek refuge.
Government: The human noble Faren Markelhay is the Lord Warden (hereditary lord) of the town. He has been in charge of the town's justice, defense, and laws for forty years, and he appoints a council to look after routine commerce and public projects. More recently, he appointed two Lord Marshals who oversee new military reformation and mercenary visitations formerly reserved for the Lord Warden himself, though Lord Faren still makes time now and again.
Defense: The Fallcrest Guard numbers seventy to eighty warriors who also serve as constables and pursuivants (officers of arms, heraldic authorities). Moonstone Keep is their barracks which has been repaired and added on to. The Lord Warden can call up to 350 militia at need, either Lord Marshal can call up to an additional 100 in total. The Lord Marshals are strongly urging Lord Markelhay to redirect resources to founding a new mages' guild in town.
Inns: The Silver Unicorn which is pricey but offers good service; the Nentir Inn sees a more interesting clientele; none of the temples openly offer night stays but do allow those who are homeless or poor to stay during bad weather as long as they are respectful or make another form of contribution (work).
Taverns: Nentir Inn; Blue Moon Alehouse; the Lucky Gnome Taphouse is seen as the cheapest and crudest drinking hole in Fallcrest.
Supplies: The Halfmoon Trading House; Sandercot Provisioners; Fallcrest Stables; Naerumar's Imports deals in valuable and magical trinkets; Teldorthan's Arms is the weapon and armor smith. The Market Green is bustling with local and traveling merchants in all but the worst weather.
Temples: Temple of Erathis, Moonsong Temple (Sehanine), House of the Sun (Pelor). 

Most of the key locations were changed in some way and I added a few new ones. I don't think anyone needs me to put everything I wrote here so I picked a few (give or take half a dozen, I got carried away) to show the idea, plus a few of the notable townsfolk. Note that a some spots were changed based on past adventures I played in other settings, the "Mosaic Market" is one that I love.

• Upper Quays. Boats proceeding down the Nentir River must stop here and offload their cargo, which is then portaged through town to the Lower Quays and loaded onto boats below the falls. Likewise, cargo heading in the other direction is carried up and loaded aboard boats bound upstream.
    A surly dwarf pugilist named Barstomun Strongbeard runs the porters' guild, and he takes a cut of all wages paid to porters carrying cargo up or down the falls. Barstomun and his thugs have tried to extend their influence by intimidating merchants and nobles for years, forcing overland merchants to hire guild porters or barring nobles from reaching merchants in other parts of town. After one of Barstomun's hotheaded thugs openly threatened Lord Markelhay and started a riot by burning a boat full of their own supplies, most of Barstomun's most foolhardy followers were locked up and publicly removed from the guild. It is known that Barstomun still wants more reach, but he works much more quietly.
  

  Barstomun Strongbeard
  Medium humanoid (dwarf), unaligned
  AC 14 (16 armored), HP 43, Bloodied 22, Speed 30 ft, INI +2
  STR 18 (+4), DEX 13 (+1), CON 17 (+3), INT 11 (+0), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 8 (-1)
  Saving Throws: CON +5 against poison effects.
  Skills: Athletics +5, Perception +3.
  Senses: Darkvision 20 ft.
  Languages: Common, Dwarven.
  Challenge Rating: 2 (450 XP).
  Triggered Abilities
  Pugilist.
    Trigger: A Medium size or smaller enemy misses with a melee attack against Barstomun.
    Effect: Barstomun immediately makes a throw attack.
  Strongbeard Stance. If an effect would force Barstomun to move, he moves 5 ft less than the effect specifies. If an attack would knock Barstomun prone, he can immediately make a DC 11 Athletics check to avoid being knocked prone.
  Abilities
  Multiattack. Barstomun makes one unarmed strike attack. If the attack hits, he makes a second unarmed strike attack with advantage and can attempt to Grapple the target.
  Unarmed Strike. Melee weapon attack, +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one creature. 7 (1d4 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
  Throw. Melee weapon attack, +5 to hit, reach 5 ft, one creature. Barstomun moves the target up to 5 ft and knocks them prone.

• The Town Walls. Fallcrest's Hightown is guarded on two sides by a wall (the river and the bluffs protect the other two sides). It consists of two parallel barriers of stone block with a few feet of fill between them, and stands about 20 ft tall. Every hundred yards or so, a small tower strengthens the wall. Two pairs of the castle's guards walk atop the walls at night, but unless danger is imminent, the towers are left locked and aren't manned. The gatehouses are permanently garrisoned by at least one guard.
• Moonstone Keep. The seat of Lord Warden Faren Markelhay, Moonstone Keep is an ancient castle compared to the currently standing buildings in Fallcrest. It sits atop a steep-sided hill overlooking the town and has an outer bailey that includes barracks which houses sixty or so guards. At any given time about twenty are off-duty. Other buildings in the courtyard include a stable, armory, chapel, smithy, and several storehouses.
    Faren Markelhay is a balding human with a keen mind and a dry wit. He is past middle-aged but far from being called elderly — although Faren is reaching the end of his years sooner than his grandmother, Aranda Markelhay, she lived well past one hundred years and Faren is happy to have lived half that long. He is a busy man since he sees to local matters personally as often as his schedule allows. Adventurers calling on him or summoned to apply for specialized work will likely wait a long time for a short interview, and are equally likely to get an interview with him or a Lord Marshal. Despite how eager he is for news of other towns in the Vale and beyond and how distasteful turning away visitors is to him, he doesn't have the time or energy for everyone these days, and often he lacks energy because he spends more time than he should on such things according to his wife and advisors.
    Lord Markelhay's wife is Lady Allande Markelhay. She is a cool and reserved woman ten years younger than her husband. A student of the arcane arts, she uses her abilities to advise her husband. They have three children; recently there was a funeral for their eldest child, Ernesto, who died while away in the south, living in the court of another ruler. They and many townsfolk are grateful their body was returned whole and with haste. At the same time, they can't hide that they suspect foul machines were at work.
• Temple of Strength. Before Fallcrest's fall, it supported several temples in the Hightown districts. After its fall, several were abadoned, including the House of the Sun, a temple dedicated to Pelor. Recently, the dwarf priest Zealot Grundelmar came from Hammerfast and reestablished the old temple and reconstructed two old shrines to Kord and Bahamut as their own small temples, giving it a new name when they were complete. Grundelmar is loud and opinionated, a real fire-breather who goes on and on about smiting evil wherever it might lurk.
    Followers of Erathis are welcome and encouraged to visit the Temple of Pelor here and the neighboring Temple of Erathis.
• The Nentir Falls. Here the Nentir River descends nearly 200 feet in three striking shelflike drops. On the small island in the middle of the falls stands the statue of an ancient human hero named Vendar, holding up his hand as if to challenge enemies approaching from downriver. Local legend tells that Vendar slew a dragon whose lair was hidden in caverns beneath the falls. "If only they could be uncovered..."
    A new project approved by the Lord Marshals — partially using fees collected by the porters' guild — is underway: a large gated aqueduct that can be used to more easily send cargo downriver and expansion to the dock in the Lower Quays.
• Temple of Erathis. This large, impressive stone temple is finished with Fallcrest's native marble. Its chapel is a large rotunda with a 30-foot-tall dome. The temple of Erathis is the largest temple in town. The place also includes shrines to Ioun and Moradin.
    High Priest Dirina Mornbrow oversees three lesser priests and several acolytes — townsfolk who spend part of their day tending the temple. Dirina is an elderly woman who is convinced of the superiority of Erathis's dogma, and disappointed that more people in Fallcrest don't pay proper reverence to "our city's patron." She is familiar with several divination and restoration rituals and can aid adventurers in need of ritual magic in exchange for an appropriate gift to Erathis. She has limited access to the following ritual scrolls: cure disease (3), dispel magic (1), identify (1), lesser restoration (2), sanctuary (2, lasts 10 minutes), shield of faith (3). She has a collection of scrolls of raise dead and resurrection which she keeps locked in her chamber, but she fears she cannot channel the powers within the scrolls without dying and wants them safely moved to Moonsong Temple.
• Moonsong Temple. The third of Fallcrest's standing temples is devoted to Sehanine. It also includes small shrines to Corellon, Melora, and Avandra. The Markelhays regard Sehanine as their patron, and over the years they have given generously to the temple. It occupies a commanding position atop the bluffs, and its white minarets can be seen from any corner of Lowtown.
    The head of the temple is High Priest Ardyn Starlight, an elf as compassionate as his father, Ressilmae Starlight, who was High Priest from the time he retired from adventuring to the day he died. Ardyn was taught by his father to teach and lead and now tutors local children in place of his father; the temple takes in all children, wealthy and poor, and has a substantial number of adults who attend lessons on reading and writing during weekends. Ardyn has access to the following ritual scrolls: greater restoration (1), lesser restoration (2), purify food and drink (2), raise dead (1).
• Naerumar's Imports. Considered the finest of Fallcrest's retail establishments, Naerumar's deals in gemstones, jewelry, art, and magical trinkets. The owner is Orest Naerumar, a tiefling who displays impeccable manners and discretion. Orest corresponds with relatives and colleagues in several towns and cities outside the Nentir Vale; given a few weeks, he can order in low-power magic items or other items of unusual purpose and value. Similarly, Orest purchases interesting items such as these, since other dealers in distant towns or cities are often looking for them.
    Orest doens't ask questions about where folks in his store found the goods they're selling to him, but he is not a fence — if he knows that something was obtained illegally, he declines to purchase it. He knows the local thieves' cant used by the bandits in the area known as the Ravens, learned after several encounters with the group's leaders over the years. One member they knew well was an off-and-on partner until they died of infection last winter, and the Ravens, despite their history with Orest, helped Orest lay them to rest in the Moon Hills.
    The halflings of the Swiftwater clan normally work with Orest to transport special orders. However, he sometimes makes other arrangements for items that seem especially valuable or dangerous. If a party of adventurers are looking for something to do, they might have luck finding a notice in town for work as carriers or guards for Orest's exceptionally valuable goods to be taken to another town.
  

  Orest Naerumar
  Medium humanoid (tiefling), neutral good
  AC 15, HP 53 (10d8 + 8), Bloodied 26, Speed 30 ft, INI +5
  STR 12 (+1), DEX 16 (+3), CON 12 (+1), INT 15 (+2), WIS 13 (+1), CHA 13 (+1)
  Saving Throws: DEX +8, INT +7.
  Skills: Acrobatics +12, Investigation +11, Perception +9, Sleight of Hand +3, Stealth +8.
  Damage Resistances: Fire.
  Senses: Darkvision 60 ft, Passive Perception 18.
  Languages: Common, Dwarven, Ravens' Cant; can partially read Abyssal (every other word).
  Challenge Rating: 5 (1,800 XP).
  Abilities
  Assassinate. During his first turn, Orest has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn. Any hit he scores against a Surprised creature is a Critical Hit.
  Blood Frenzy. Orest has a advantage on melee attack rolls against Bloodied creatures.
  Devil's Mask. When a creature Orest can see starts its turn within 20 ft, he can create the illusion that it looks like one of the creature's departed loved ones or bitter enemies. If the creature can see Orest, it must succeed on a DC 14 WIS saving throw or be Frightened until the end of its next turn. Additionally, magical darkness doesn't impede Orest's Darkvision. This ability is only active while Orest is wearing the Devil's Mask.
  Spellcasting. Orest is an innate spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is INT (spell save DC 14, +2 to hit with spell attacks). He has following spells prepared, requiring no material components:
    Cantrips (at will): message, produce flame, vicious mockery.
    1st-lvl (2 slots): detect poison, detect magic, identify, illusory script.
    2nd-lvl (1 slot): blindness/deafness, blur.
  Actions
  Multiattack. Orest makes two attacks, only one of which can be an augmented strike attack.
  Augmented Strike (Recharge 5-6). Orest makes a melee weapon attack and deals an additional 10 (2d6 + 3) fire damage on a hit.
  Dagger. Melee weapon attack, +6 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. 9 (1d4 + 7) slashing damage.
  Reactions
  Hellish Parry. Orest adds 4 to his AC against one attack that would hit him. If it is a melee attack, he may deal 6 (2d10) fire damage to the attacker. To do so, Orest must see the attacker and be wielding Faerinaea.
  
  Orest's Equipment
  Clothes, Stylish. Cotton and leather garments befitting an experienced and cunning tiefling.
  Devil's Mask. Requires attunement. A grotesque black mask with two pairs of short horns. It grants its wearer the Devil's Mask ability.
  Faerinaea. +1 Dagger, Rare. Requires attunement, 1,250 gp, 1 lb, Finesse, Light, Thrown (range 10/30). +1 to hit (+3 in darkness), 4 (1d4 + 1) slashing damage. As a reaction, you can add 4 to your AC against one attack that would hit you if you can see the attacker. Proficiency with a dagger allows you to add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll for any attack you make with it.
    A large single-edged dagger of exceptional construction designed to emphasize slashing and parrying. The blade and simple yet elegant crossguard are made of steel married with a tiny amount of unknown planar material, and the handle is a minimally-carved chimera fang. It can bite into other iron and steel blades without becoming scratched itself and rarely needs sharpened.
  Reed Flute.
  Ring of Feather Falling. Requires attunement, 700 gp. A silver ring with a tiny opaline shell inlay and intricate geometric patterns on the exterior and simplified patterns on the interior.
    If the ring is dropped or falls for 60 ft while not being worn, it will shatter upon hitting any non-cushioned surface.

• Septarch's Tower. A lonely, tall, seven-sided spire of pale green stone stands out from everything else in town. Before the Bloodspear War, this was the seat of Fallcrest's mages' guild — a grand order of a dozen or so wizards and arcane scholars. Now-facing defensive enchantments prevented the raiders from sacking the tower, but the guild's members died fighting in the city or fled to safer lands.
    The tower is currently the property of Nimozaran the Green, and elderly wizard who was once apprenticed to the last of the old guild mages. Nimozaran considers himself the "High Septarch of Fallcrest" and master of the mages' guild, whose membership includes only himself and a rather unpromising male halfling apprentice named Tobolar Quickfoot. Nimozaran expects any potential new members to pay a hefty initiation fee, and so far only one other arcanist who passed through Fallcrest has seen any reason to join; as far as the townsfolk are concerned, nobody has done anything other than scoff at Nimozaran and his shallow ideals. Nimozaran can teach the following rituals to guild members over the course of 1d8 days: alarm, comprehend language, and magic mouth. He knows of a scroll of awaken and plans to sell it for a large sum or trade it for an equal (or greater) scroll. However, there are many other scrolls and books unknown to Nimozaran in dusty corners of the tower, written by the old guild mages and their teachers and their teachers' teachers, including a very old (and very important) tome titled "Tiny Hut Theorem" by an unnamed author.
    The topmost level of the tower is a room that includes a permanent teleportation circle. Characters using travels rituals can set this circle as a destination (and will certainly startle old Nimozaran if they do).
• The Mosaic Market. The majority of Fallcrest's folk live above the bluffs in Hightown and walk down to do business on the streets of Lowtown, which bustle with commerce. This wide square is an open, grassy meadow where Fallcrest's merchants and visiting traders do business in good weather. The town's children gather here for games of tag or kick-stones.
    Last spring, a jolly wizard in yellow robes passed through town and seemed to turn the dirt paths into beautiful kaleidoscopic brick and pebble roads and gave the children there rare flower seeds to sow which he said were to sprout the following spring after a good rain. Older generations know it as The Market Green, younger generations know it by the name The Mosaic Market, a nickname started by a young girl who started a juice and potted plant stand in the summer with her father after the wizard's visit.
• Lucky Gnome Taphouse. The Lucky Gnome is widely regarded as the cheapest and coarsest of Fallcrest's drinking establishments. It caters to the porters and laborers who work the docks, and fistfights are a frequent occurrence.
      The owner is an unsavory character known only as Kelson. Kelson runs the River Rats, a new street gang that plagues Lowton, from the back room of his tavern. Most of the members of this gang settled on joining the River Rats solely because they didn't dislike any other members as they do with other gangs.
  

  Kelson the River Rat
  Medium humanoid (human), neutral evil
  AC 12 (15 with mage armor), HP 45 (10d8), Speed 30 ft
  STR 11 (+1), DEX 14 (+2), CON 9 (-1), INT 17 (+3), WIS 10 (+0), CHA 7 (-2)
  Saving Throws: DEX +5, INT +6.
  Skills: Arcana +6, Deception +5, Persuasion -5, Religion +6, Sleight of Hand +5.
  Damage Vulnerabilities: Poison from red fruit and vegetables.
  Senses: Passive Perception 10.
  Languages: Common; can read 30% of Abyssal script.
  Challenge Rating: 4 (1,100 XP).
  Abilities
  Blackened Blood. When Kelson is hit by an attack, black blood sprays from the wounds. He deals 1 acid damage to the attacker, or 3 acid damage if the attack dealt slashing damage.
  Spare the Selfish. If Kelson falls to 0 HP, he automatically becomes stable.
  Spellcasting. Kelson is a 3rd-level spellcaster. His spellcasting ability is INT (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following spells prepared and can only memorize spells if he has the Skeleton Grimoire:
    Cantrips (at will): chill touch, mage hand, message, spare the dying.
    1st level (4 slots): cure wounds, mage armor, witch bolt.
    2nd level (2 slots): branding smite (fire damage), heat metal, suggestion.
  Actions
  Multiattack. Kelson makes two scimitar attacks or casts a spell and makes one scimitar attack at disadvantage.
  Scimitar. Melee weapon attack, +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing damage.
  
  Kelson's Equipment
  Skeleton Grimoire. A large black tome with a skeletal hand embedded in the cover. It is resistant to acid.
    The pages detail diabolic rituals and necromancy spells, prayers to the demon prince Orcus border each page. Half of the pages are blank with drops black ink spattered on one. The full page before the first blank chapter has instructions for viewing the full grimoire written in abstruse, long-winded abyssal; in short, black tanar'ri blood — or humanoid blood tainted through rituals — must be spilled on the pages to reveal more abyssal script and dark diagrams.
    If someone attempts to commune with the object, there is a 95% chance they will summon a spectral image of its creator, and a 5% chance that they will commune with a vision of Orcus instead.

• Lower Quays. Keelboats and similar craft put in here to unload their cargo and portage it up to the other boats above the falls. As described above for the Upper Quays, Barstomun quietly defends his guild's monopoly on moving cargo around the falls. In addition to the porters' guild, the River Rats lurk around the Lower Quays looking for the chance to pilfer from warehouses or roll a drunk in a dark alleyway — something Barstomun objects to.
    Boats belonging to a number of different travelers and locals tie up here, the most common of which are the keelboats of the Swiftwater Clan. They carry cargo all the way down to the Nentir's mouth, hundreds of miles downriver. They're more than willing to take passengers for a small fee. Irena Swiftwater, the clan's matriarch, is a sharp merchant who passes herself off as an absent minded reader of fortunes and maker of minor charms.

Shifting back the issues at hand, now I had a pile of tiny fragments of ideas to work with and more ways to connect Fallcrest and the characters starting there with Duponde and other story "breadcrumbs" I want to scatter around the world. I tried rolling with the idea presented in the original adventure hook, but I quickly gave up on trying to make it work for me, since if it doesn't work for me and was never intended (from what I could tell) to ever be meaningful to the players, then it's probably best to throw it out and do something else.

• Duponde Requires Aid. "With all the larger cities unwilling to send resources to Duponde after a series of raids along the road, the king of Fallcrest sends a small party and supplies to help them stabilize and recover..."
    Bandits on the road and creatures from the Shadowfell are making travel more dangerous than it was a decade or century ago, and they threaten even Fallcrest. It's reasonable to me to think that smaller, un-walled or unguarded towns in the Vale and the farms away from large cities would have been overrun some years ago or would fall soon.
• King's Couriers. One or more characters will act as a courier or emissary for Faren Markelhay but they will not be destined for Sarthel right away. Instead, they will be destined for Duponde to meet with Lady Celice Arnaud. The letters they carry will have unimportant information about marriage plans and are meant to be tokens to show the Lady's guards and allow them an audience with her (or something of that nature).
• The Veiled League. "One of the party members, or the Lord Warden, is working with the Veiled League in Gloomwrought in the Shadowfell. Their stay in Duponde is intentional as the agent knows of the town's connection to Evard and the Shadowfell..."
    If the party is sent to obtain important information, they may need to travel to Gloomwrought and meet with Veleris a'Lindesta.
    This is a little more out there, but could be a cool way to set up for a diplomacy-driven campaign or just a neat hook for a couple of characters. For more information on Gloomwrought, I skimmed through the 4e book Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond, which has plenty to work with for adventures there, though most of the ideas seem best for higher level parties and not new characters.
• Deathsteel. "Undead are a growing blight to the Nentir Vale. The king and his advisors are finding as many ways to protect the people of Fallcrest as they can, one way to defend against the growing threat is with weapons of a particular form of iron found in the Gol Mountains near Gloomwrought."
    Another idea using bits from Shadowfell. The characters will join one of two parties embarking on this mission: Using a (slightly suspect) route on an old map, they will travel southeast on the King's Road then search for a way to cross into the Shadowfell and make the rest of the journey from there. Is it too convenient that Nathaire and Remy are in Duponde at the same time? Or are those two volunteers on the mission instead of showing up at the Old Owl Inn and causing trouble right as the party gets there?
    Additionally, once the ore is collected, any interested characters can then work with a smith in Duponde or Fallcrest to forge a weapon. Nimozaran the Green might help if he can find the "Tome of Forging Burstflame" (or a book of another oddball name) in the tower; a high ranking priest might help if they know turn undead, destroy undead, detect evil, or disruption and has the components, or knows the ritual form of the spell(s). If a great arcane or divine weapon that can sense and destroy undead or evil Shadowfell creatures is created, it may become a sentient weapon that would greatly help in the battles to come later in the campaign. Perhaps an evil cleric like Kelson the River Rat or even Nathaire could sabotage the event and cause a weapon that serves Orcus or Vecna or opposes their enemies to be created. Or, if the players aren't interested in this, the events would be playing out elsewhere in the world and new items would show up in Fallcrest and news of it would spread once they return from their own journey.
• All of the Above. The Lord Warden and Lord Marshals need to stay in touch with their struggling allies elsewhere in the world, the Lord Warden is working with someone in the Veiled League within Gloomwrought, and there is a party heading to the forest near Duponde by the King's Road in an attempt to find a location where they can mine ore for deathsteel weapons, and Duponde is in dire need of aid.

These hooks are interesting to me and will certainly give the players more to latch onto than the original hook. Along with everything in Fallcrest besides this Shadowfell and Duponde business, now, instead of the party "arriving on a rainy evening to the Prancing Pony Old Owl" and becoming acquainted with one another (and workers and patrons) once they get there, I can have them start in Fallcrest as "0th-level" characters who have — as part of character creation — accomplished their own goals, overcome minor obstacles, or completed small tasks for the Lord Warden, and who will become 1st-level adventurers by the time they take their first steps in the Dark Legacy adventure. The players can start directing their characters' stories right away if they want to, and I (or any DM) also have a lot more to use when storytelling and creating NPCs and major events in the Vale.

The Journey

After getting into a comfortable spot with the adventure hooks, my next step was to figure out travel. Should there be encounters on the road? I think getting into the Shadowfell is more important, so for the first leg of the party's journey it would be better if weather was the only big factor. Encounter tables will be present but will be made of loose combat encounters that can be "glossed over" as part of a montage, skill checks such as fixing a cart or getting food, and social encounters or small moments like passing a merchant and broken down cart or deciding which of two routes to continue on or where (or if) to make camp for the night. Dael Kingsmill has a great video on Overland Travel, Matthew Colville has a great video on Making Travel Interesting, a lot of what they do is what I would like to do in this adventure and any more Dark Sun adventures I play.

For the series of adventures I call campaigns, I also like to make time more important (Matthew Colville has a video on that too, I believe). I think I get this from consuming so much of the Lord of the Rings and the 3.5 adventure Red Hand of Doom which has a timeline and is a keystone for why I love that adventure so much, and when I read about old D&D campaigns like Blackmoor or new adventures like Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, I latch on tight to the ideas of the passage and importance of time and weather and all of that. For Dark Legacy, at least for the first week or so, events are "scheduled" to happen as planned unless the party does something about it, and the clock starts as soon as the characters are made. As the DM, other plot points can be turned into concrete, scheduled moments each week as prep for the next session or two.
  On the road to Duponde, weather or other obstacles (encounters) will slow the group's pace unless they make good decisions and the dice are kind in the moment. If they arrive "early," they will arrive at the time described in the original adventure, gathering around the Old Owl Inn at the same time as a few other patrons in the book or earlier if the others are delayed, and having some leisurely time to talk or do business. If they arrive "late," they reach town late at night — or a whole day later than they anticipated —  which urges the party to stay at the inn or, if they're on the road still, forsake a rest at dusk and push on towards the city where it's safer. They might walk into a mist-cloaked town and be plunged into the Shadowfell upon arrival where the "first chapter" has started without them.

I like that. I'm happy with that. As always, I hope something here was inspiring or fun or useful in some way. And thanks for reading.

Doom Tables

EXT. PLAIN OF HOTH - DAY

A small figure gallops across the windswept ice slope. The bundled rider is mounted on a large gray snow lizard, a Tauntaun. Curving plumes of snow rise from beneath the speeding paws of the two-legged beast.
  The rider gallops up a slope and reins his lizard to a stop. Pulling off his protective goggles, Luke Skywalker notices something in the sky. He takes a pair of electrobinoculars from his utility belt and through them sees smoke rising from where the probe robot has crashed.
  The wind whips at Luke's fur-lined cap and he activates a comlink transmitter. His Tauntaun shifts and moans nervously beneath him.

LUKE (into comlink) "Echo Three to Echo Seven. Han, old buddy, do you read me?"
After a little static a familiar voice is heard.
HAN (over comlink) "Loud and clear, kid. What's up?"
LUKE (into comlink) "Well, I finished my circle. I don't pick up any life readings."
HAN (over comlink) "There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser. The sensors are placed, I'm going back."
LUKE (into comlink) "Right. I'll see you shortly. There's a meteorite that hit the ground near here. I want to check it out. It won't take long."

Luke clicks off his transmitter and reins back on his nervous lizard. He pats the beast on the head to calm it.

The weather on this planet is frigid and cloudy at best, most often it's freezing with blinding snow. Staying out longer than one needs is ill-advised, for good reason. But Luke disregarded the ever-present danger and set off alone in the wilderness. Now he must roll on the Doom Table.
  The result: Something big and hungry lurks in the snow drifts, its gaze finds Luke right as a stormstorm hits his location. If he survives the attack, it will be difficult for his allies to find him...

LUKE "Hey, steady girl. What's the matter? You smell something?"

Luke takes a small device from his belt and starts to adjust it when suddenly a large shadow falls over him from behind. He hears a monstrous howl and turns to see an eleven-foot-tall shape towering over him. It is a Wampa Ice Creature, lunging at him ferociously.

LUKE "Aaargh!"

Luke grabs for his pistol, but is hit flat in the face by a huge white claw. He falls unconscious into the snow and in a moment the terrified screams of the Tauntaun are cut short by the horrible snap of a neck being broken.
  The Wampa Ice Creature grabs Luke by one ankle and drags him away across the frozen plain.

LATER - INT. HOTH - REBEL BASE - MAIN ICE TUNNEL

DECK OFFICER "Sir, Commander Skywalker hasn't come in the south entrance. He might've forgotten to check in."
HAN "Not likely. Are the speeders ready?"
DECK OFFICER "Uh, not yet. We're having some trouble adapting them to the cold."

Worse Still, the weather is causing the otherwise efficient and safe snowspeeders to malfunction...

HAN "Then we'll have to go out on Tauntauns."
DECK OFFICER "Sir! The temperature's dropping too rapidly."
HAN "That's right. And my friend's out in it!"
— From Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Script

And now the other hero, Han, must too roll on the Doom Table...

The first time I used a Doom Table was for a Dark Sun adventure in which the party tagged along with a group of well-traveled archaeologists, settlers, and adventurers going far away into a low mountain range in search of an ancient city and, for two members of the group, find a new place far away from the threats in the sandy seas to make their new home.

In this adventure, the party acted as followers or hirelings to the more experienced adventurers, and over time they "climbed the ranks" and gained followers of their own on the way to the hidden lair of a twisted dune reaper matriarch that covered an entire city (the target destination for the group). One key component of the trek was that the morale of the group and of individuals would be tested almost every day. If someone became shaken in combat, their morale was tested; if someone was starving or injured, their morale was tested; if there was a heated disagreement or some other hardship, anyone not doing well mentally up to that point would have their morale tested. On failing the test, people would abandon the quest and leave the party, heading back across the path in the mountains to one of the campsites or going even further back to their abandoned village or another distant city, their ultimate fate being decided by the Doom Table.
  PCs would also have their morale tested and could take short-term effects like losing faith in the mission, loyalty to the leader of the party, or becoming Exhausted. If the player decided that enough was enough and they left alone or with another shaken character, they would also meet the Doom Table and could become further Exhausted, start to hallucinate from the heat, act more erratically than normal, become dangerously forgetful or lost, and there was a good chance they would encounter bad weather or a deadly beast in the wilderness.

Morale

The morale system I came up with was simple: each character in the party that had a level or was designated as a follower/hireling is given a Morale stat between -10 and 10. (I presented Morale as a track at one point and made it into a sort of clock at another, but it always functioned the same way.) It represented their power of will, faith, loyalty, and, to some extent, their mental state, and it began at 1d6 - 2 (average of 3) for most characters. Over time, completing skill tests and accomplishing goals, or failing, would increase and decrease the party's overall Morale.
  During combat, if a character collapsed or died, the group would make a Morale test: roll 1d20 + Morale, with the DC being given for each stage in the adventure; early on the DC was 11 or 12, rising by 2 or 3 each stage of the journey. On a failure, that character's Morale would drop by half of that stage's level (I thought of it as a sort of fluctuating, expected level or monster encounter rating for the area), on a success it would rise by 1. Also on a failure, that character would take penalties until they rested (think Exhausted); if they failed by a large amount (more than 5 or 10) or critically failed, their Morale would decrease. If an NPC's Morale ever dropped below zero or further decreased, they would roll on the Scatter Table. Lastly, if something would cause an NPC to leave the party or if they ventured into the wilderness alone, they would roll on the Doom Table if an effect didn't already force them to roll on it.

The first two tables I made for this system are the following:

1-2 (10%)	Roll on the Doom Table	2 points Exhaustion (up to lvl 4), -3 Morale
3-6 (20%)	Runs away as fast as possible, leaving anything not already being worn or carried; they are no longer part of the campaign	1 point Exhaustion (up to lvl 3), -3 Morale
7-10 (20%)	Runs away to camp site or nearest safe area, packs whatever necessities they can carry and leaves the next afternoon; there is a minuscule chance they will return to the campaign within a week	1 point Exhaustion (up to lvl 3), -3 Morale
11-14 (20%)	Runs away to camp site or nearest safe area, packs whatever necessities they can carry and leaves in two days unless convinced to stay; there is a fair chance they will return to the campaign within a week	1 point Exhaustion (up to lvl 2), -3 Morale until they take a long rest
15-18 (20%)	Runs away from the immediate threat in the local area	1 point Exhaustion (up to lvl 2), -2 Morale until they take a long rest
19-20 (10%)	Visibly shaken, stands their ground	+2 Morale

Scatter Table

1-2 (10%)	Discovers one of the Matriarch's lairs; dies a slow, horrible death, a piece of their equipment will be partially sunk into the dirt outside the entrance which will be noticed by anyone who knew them in life, their body and bones will be eaten by the Matriarch or a random wandering monster within a day
3-4 (10%)	Runs into an acid pit and dies a slow, painful death, a few pieces of their equipment will be scattered around the pit or eaten by a random wandering monster, otherwise nothing of them remains
5-6 (10%)	Runs away nonstop for three days before collapsing and dying of thirst somewhere in the mountains
7-8 (10%)	Runs away for a few days before being shredded to pieces by a random wandering monster, all of their non-food equipment will be wildly scattered in the area
9-12 (20%)	Runs away for several days and reaches the spot they decided it was a good idea to disembark on the campaign, then becomes sleep deprived and wanders in a random direction for a day (1d12 going clockwise, 12 due north, 6 due south) then another random direction for another day
13-16 (20%)	Runs away for several days and reaches the deserted town; 50% chance to encounter a random non-hostile wanderer, 50% chance to encounter a demon
17-20 (20%)	Runs away for several days and reaches the edge of the mountains, making camp; 25% chance to head back to the campaign and make it there alive after encountering multiple wandering monsters, 25% chance to continue their lone journey and be killed by random wandering monsters at dusk

The Doom Table

They're very... simple. I'm not they're simple in a good way, though. And the Doom Table is certainly very final with how it's written, but it was intended to be used as a little dusting of spice and only for NPCs or PCs who were on death's door or who had failed several important skill checks in a row. Since then, I've made other tables, as you do, and they aren't nearly as final. Instead of "you probably die a horrible death," they're more like the situation with Luke and Han on Hoth. If a player does something that would put them in a very, very dangerous situation, roll on a Doom Table that introduces an ailment (internal bleeding, hallucinations), a monster, the malfunctioning of an important item (armor, snowspeeder, wand), or bad weather that suddenly gets much worse.

For my game, weather was rolled similarly (if not exactly the same) to the tables in a previous post, but I love the idea that if Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie were characters in a D&D game, the bad weather in that scene above was part of the Doom Table created for adventures on the planet Hoth and Luke rolled the wrong number. Or, maybe instead of the table in that adventure being focused on what happens to characters who are in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's focused on broad events like "Wampa attack," "mount dies," and so on and the weather was always going to get worse. Or another way it might have happened is that Han and Luke made too many missteps and spent too much time in the wilderness, progressing the clock, and finally reached midnight with Luke's decision, triggering the table.

I've loved Doom Tables ever since I came up with the first one above, and I've always liked the idea of Morale to make events and combat in adventures a bit more tense. For me, Dark Sun, West March, and Ravenloft/Shadowfell campaigns are great places to work them in. They aren't for every kind of game, but when they do fit, they can be disastrous in the best ways.