First Steps - Flesh and Blood Weekend Event

Last night I went to my local game store to play Flesh and Blood.

After getting a box of Tales of Aria, then playing Sealed Deck online, I was excited to make time over the weekend to get out of the house and play a few matches in person. To prepare, I rummaged around for a messenger bag and an old World of Warcraft TCG starter deck box to carry around my sealed pool and Briar blitz deck with some old Ultra Pro "Vizkopa Guildmage" sleeves, plus the other two Tales of Aria blitz decks in case the store didn't have any welcome decks.

I also took an hour earlier in the day before my afternoon work to review my sealed games, look over the rules again (I'm getting familiar with the basics but not the details just yet), and do a little fussing with my deck. I wanted to be able to stand my ground against someone with a more competitive constructed deck but still be able to play against new players and the other blitz decks, so all I did was replace a couple of cards in the pre-constructed Briar deck that weren't exciting, then designate a chunk of the rest of my sealed pool as "sideboard" cards.

That afternoon I ended up caregiving for an hour longer than I expected, mostly having a long, meandering conversation about some important things we need to keep in mind and answering good questions. Usually this isn't a burden, and wasn't stressful on its own, but it takes energy out of me and, this time, cut into the time I would have to change, pack, eat, and head over.
    When I got back home, I ended up getting nervous about the time I would have to re-sleeve and review my deck, and settle down and relax before the pairings started. So instead of taking half an hour to settle myself before driving to the store, I spent ten minutes running around and only getting a few munches of food in belly.

Once I was actually at the store, I saw that things were fairly slow with just a few people playing Magic (Commander) in the back and a few other people coming in to look around for a while (either casually "window shopping" or checking out singles for Magic and maybe some Pokemon cards). It was nice and very relaxed overall, and although there was a bit of noise it wasn't too distracting.
    One thing that helped was seeing exactly the brand and types of deck boxes and card sleeves I wanted to get (GameGenic box, KMC Perfect Fit inner sleeves, and Dragon Shield clear matte sleeves), and learning they weren't too expensive.

Everything packed neatly away back at home.

First Steps - Flesh and Blood Sealed Deck

My experience learning the Flesh and Blood TCG by opening Tales of Aria booster packs to play Sealed Deck.

This month has been exciting for Flesh and Blood players, with the Calling tournament in Las Vegas, then pre-release and release weekend for Tales of Aria. And I missed all of it. But, thanks to the generosity of family, I was able to take a minute to make a little extra money last month, save most of that extra money, and buy a handful of booster packs.

Then I learned I had leftover store credit with an online retailer from when I must have been playing a lot of Modern in Magic: The Gathering some lifetimes ago, and was able to pay only a few dollars extra for a whole booster box.

My first booster box ever, and my first time buying a Flesh and Blood product.

Far Sector #2

I have been up all night getting tangled in an ever-growing web of anxiety and uncertainty, and reading Far Sector #2 with a good "breakfast" seems perfect.

This issue begins with Lantern Mullein literally pulling up a chair (a Green Lantern construct) and speaking to the audience directly. She catches us up to current events before we cut to the place we left off in issue #1 and move into an energetic chase. But the high-energy action and tension is slowly released, and we are eased into a much more intimate look into each of the major characters and world throughout the rest of the book.

Far Sector #2 cover by Jamal Campbell

The worldbuilding we saw in issue 1 informed what the world is like and taught some of its history. However, now, we get to know what it is like to actually live in this world for the Nah and keh-Topli and Lantern Mullein, and form a better idea of what it might be like for us readers. The way we are given information is also contrasted with the first issue in that there is a lot of deeper storytelling happening in subtext alongside dialogue and Jo's monologues to us and herself. And there is still great, expressive, visual storytelling but on a smaller scale—from character interactions to flashback vignettes, everything is very intimate.

Lantern Mullein using her powers and encountering an obstacle during the chase

The themes of this issue are emotions, self-control, and imperfection, and they are expertly presented. Much of the monologue and dialogue can be taken at face value, such as when Jo talks to us directly or other characters talk plainly to her. But a lot of the writing and art requires us to read much deeper into the conversational subtext and contextual storytelling in the background, such as when Syzn or the keh-Topli Councillor describe themselves and the emotions (or suppression thereof) of themselves and others. We learn what Syzn thinks of Jo and her capabilities and emotional self-control; we understand the self doubt Jo has when she hears this, and Syzn's desires and self doubt. A lot of storytelling (specifically tone-setting) even happens purely with color, both classical color theory and cultural connections between emotions and colors, and Green Lantern-specific colors (especially in the last scene).

Syzn talking about the keh-Topli

In the last part of the issue we get a climactic realization about one of the characters. This section does a great job at cluing us into the shift in tone and foreshadowing events in the near future. The subtext is deceptively obvious in a way that lets us slip into the moment and feel positive emotions with Jo and another major character while also gradually increasing the tension of the scene without us knowing exactly what's happening until the final page when the tension peaks with the big twist, and the build up to that moment suddenly makes sense. This entire scene contrasts with the tone we feel and with the emotions that Jo and the other characters have felt so far, and that with the more intimately-explored themes leading here make this moment as strong as it is.

Overall, this issue is as fantastic as the first, but more mysterious and eerie in its tone. Whenever there is a sense of discovery it comes with questions, suspicions, a heavier feeling of ominous anticipation rather than the lighter feelings of wonder from before. "Refreshing" isn't quite the right word for it, but it feels like the comic is heading down a winding path, into a deeper, darker tunnel toward more danger and more questions. And, possibly, more and more big discoveries that will answer questions and make unknown elements of the world and its characters clearer for us—or not, as neo noir science-fantasy stories with horror themes can tend to do. I'm excited about the possibility of either happening.

Far Sector #2 impressed me just as much as the first issue and pulled me deeper into the story, not just with its storytelling methods but also with how it changed the pace and themes and tension-stretching. It is different than the first in a lot of ways but still possesses so many of the qualities I already loved about the world; characters (Jo, Syzn, the horror-themed keh-Topli), fashion, the classy maturity, the noir mystery vibes, everything. And ending with the twist that it did while leaving out some notable aspects and characters (the @At Councillor and Jo's ring weren't explored in this issue)—and possibly foreshadowing other things—certainly isn't curbing my hunger to read more.
   It is, however, curbing my hunger to play Android: Netrunner and consume everything Star Wars after getting a taste of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order earlier this week. And my impulse to create fan-made campaigns for those settings are shifting into impulses to make something for the world of Far Sector. It scratches so many itches for fantasy, horror, and sci-fi while making me crave more.

I do have one complaint about this issue, and it's that I hate how short the issues are. But that isn't exactly a terrible thing, is it?

Shout-out again to Amy Dallen and her book club—check out her enthusiastic discussion of this comic and a bit of Green Lantern lore with other fans of the book on Twitch here—and to the writer of Far Sector, N.K. Jemisin, and the artist, Jamal Campbell. Fingers crossed that I can make time for issue #3 soon. Until then, thanks, go read the comic if you haven't yet, and please, stay mindful and safe, everyone! Cheers!

Far Sector #1

Because of Amy Dallen's book club (watch the vod here, spoilers be warned) I was sparked to finally start reading Far Sector #1 by N.K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell. I had the comic on my wishlist since it released November 13, 2019, and was so excited to nerd out after reading it.

Far Sector #1 cover by Jamal Campbell

"The first murder in five hundred-ish years..." —Sojourner Mullein

Green Lantern Sojourner "Jo" Mullein. Style, mood, smart and mysterious. She's a rookie galactic investigator embarking on her first mission with very little experience in "in the field," let alone in this alien setting, and I absolutely love her writing and design so far. She is our mundane, real-world familiar anchor who is immensely engaging with her voice and attitude toward others, the world, and to herself. There are plenty of unanswered questions about Jo; the teases that we get about Jo's past contrast with the more raw and plentiful information we're given about the world and the immediate situation Jo is in, which keeps us turning pages.

The City Enduring in the Far Sector. Simple premise, mixing of genres, sublime worldbuilding, excellent execution. The three humanoid species—the Nah, the @At, and the keh-Topli—and their very strong opinions and emotions are very distinct from and in opposition to each other and quickly become part of the puzzle for Jo. The world is very much science-fantasy, but the story itself is a neo-noir mystery with a new and unique visual buffet. It already feels like everything is serving to accentuate or complicate the story hook (murder mystery), or is here to present classic human problems in new, exaggerated ways (emotions, politics, crime).

If you like Batman: The Animated Series, Men in Black, Starfinder, Shadowrun, Blade Runner, Pulp Fiction, The X-Files, Hellboy, Firefly, Brick, Cloud Atlas, or everything Green Lantern, there's a good chance you will find something to love about Far Sector. Its rating is for ages 17+, which is warranted with a few scenes and the generally more mature tone; in this first issue there isn't much violence shown, only some in brief flashbacks and a few shots in the present of dead alien bodies (one partially seen, the other torn apart and in full view).

For more nerding out over all the elements of the comic, go check out that vod. For other things to read, one of Amy's viewers mentioned The Ballad of Halo Jones by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson, and the first quote of the comic is from Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe which Amy also recommends. The characters and story, aside from Jo being a Green Lantern, are entirely removed from the greater DC Universe and (so far) completely contained within itself. Everything you need to know about the world is taught to you in this first issue.

I love Far Sector so far and can't wait to further indulge in the beautiful verbal and visual storytelling.

Far Sector Soundtrack

When reading this comic, from the very first page, I couldn't help but imagine it as an animated show or a video game. And even without those moving mental images, a lot of songs fit some scenes so well that I had to make a list.

Opening song: Rihanna - Needed Me. Watching people at night, and witnessing broken pieces of events that led up to the murder, ending with seeing cast shadows or the edges of the aftermath of the crime where the comic starts. The sounds and beat of this song are a killer tone-setter for this tech noir story.

The City Enduring

Newcleus - Space is the Place. Parts of this song are playing when we first experience the city "dropping its presence" during the artificial sunrise, and the camera flies around to see the city and busy people in the morning for a breather before Jo gets back to work.

The "sunrise" over Platform Ever Forward

Grimes ft. Janelle Monáe - Venus Fly. I imagine something like this playing when we meet the Trilogy councilors. There are plenty of songs that have some techno-pop and Manic Pixie Dream Girl-ness, including a lot of K-pop and J-pop, but this keeps things close to the core tone of the comic than poppier, hyper songs.

Opening or closing credits: Seal - Fly Like an Eagle. Although it's more uplifting than the darker noir vibes, this song has so much that fits the futuristic, far-away world of the City Enduring.

Other must-have songs: something (anything at all) by Sade, something by Nujabes, the latter half of Beyoncé - All Night, Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler with its slow start and transition into dangerously-late-90s hip hop overload, samples from Beastie Boys - Intergalactic, and something by Deltron 3030, Zapp, and Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now (or a modern song evoking it) for when anyone is ever is a nightclub or in a street chase at night. R. Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly. has to make it in somewhere, maybe everywhere.

So much generative ambient and synth music would also fit the world and tone, spanning from classic drum and bass electronic music and ska-adjacent and alternative hip hop, to the full-on synth sounds of Blade Runner, Terminator, Thief, and Escape from New York. The trippy vocals of Kavinsky - Nightcall would also be fitting, and Deckard's voice and mechanical clacks at the beginning of the Blade Runner Main Titles are an obvious inspiration for any scenes with Jo thinking to herself or speaking out loud to the viewer.

Maybe not in this first comic, but I suspect that any number of songs by Incubus, The Roots, and even Linkin Park will fit in at some point later on.

If any of that sounds interesting, go check out the comic! Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!

Diablo IV Wish List: New Classes

Since I saw the trailer for Diablo IV, the game has been ever-present, often at the back of my mind but lately at the front of it. Watching gameplay demos and listening to the developers and hearing the thoughts of other Diablo fans got me thinking more about various aspects of the game and, of course, all the possibilities that a new game could fulfill. For now, I'll keep my giant stack of notes and ideas and Diablo game design philosophy ramblings to myself, and will stick to presenting a few ideas I'd love to see in Diablo IV.

New Character Classes

Instead of a righteous, divine paladin or crusader type, I would love to see a grimmer, darker take on a priest or cleric archetype. They might be a fearful, lost pilgrim wandering Sanctuary, hanging dearly onto their last threads of life. Or, a stoic death-seeker following the dying religion of a two-faced god-hero of old. Perhaps they are a warrior poet of sorts, but one that only sings tragic tales of flawed and fallen heroes and false martyrs.
  Alternatively, they are a wounded fallen angel who has long since abandoned aspirations of ever fully healing—let alone re-ascension—and see their strive for a sense of purpose as folly, a sick joke they can't help but play on themselves.

A dirty-fighting urchin from a large city, a roguish scoundrel and grave robber who has been traveling around the world their entire life, or a former pirate lord who has forsaken their mutinous crew and seeks treasure in new parts of the world. Over time they might grow to become a great duelist or battlefield tactician, if they can resist their curse of greed.

An archaeologist-wizard who discovered an ancient power in the desert around their home. They left the desert to escape the horrors they witnessed, and look for other artifacts and lost knowledge that might bring peace to their mind, or at least occupy their curiosity (obsession) and give them short-term purpose in fighting demons. Perhaps they are instead an illusionist or psychic who summons living nightmares from their own mind and cripples the minds of others. Or, a warlock and servant of a distant star who calls unknowable things from the cosmos to Sanctuary.

A twist on the necromancer as a cunning and sneaky curse mage (witch/warlock) who isn't afraid to use their enemies' tactics and forbidden knowledge against them and actually relishes it. They aren't unfamiliar with old ways of healing thanks to their parents' teachings—their darker fascinations are thanks to their parents' supportiveness of their morbid curiosity as a child. Perhaps they are a child of a human and a fiend.

Instead of a monk or another fighter archetype, an opportunistic survivalist who has trained in multiple fighting styles/stances and the use of intricate traps and explosive devices. They might be a ranger specializing in two-weapon fighting, a scavenger who prefers to fight from afar, or a tamer of beasts that hungers for demonic flesh as much as themselves (figuratively or literally).

An old mystic with a greatsword possessed by their only surviving friend: a fiend wreathed in ever-burning, tortuous fire. Either the enchantress from Diablo 3, somehow still surviving and able to fight, or her child/grandchild carrying Maximus—the demon may have been transferred from the weapon to their mind and body. Or, a devout follower of a perverted faith based once upon a time on the life story, deeds, and teachings of the enchantress, and who is consumed by lunacy over time.

An artificial golem who woke up in a hermit's workshop or the depths of a sage's bizarre pocket dimension. They are either an engineer who augments their metallic body and the weapons and armor of their allies or devices they deploy, or an alchemist who concocts unstable potions and steals essence from their enemies to infuse into their alien heart.
  Alternatively, they are a mutant zombie alchemist who uses their bizarre infusions and skeletal grafts to keep their body alive and to turn it into a living weapon. Or, a rotting, resurrected agender mummy and former archivist-wizard whose cursed, shriveled, black heart-phylactery exudes strange energy, or a golemancer/lithomancer lich with an artificial black iron heart-phylactery. (They could also be the archaeologist described above.)

And no class would be complete without...

Legendary and Set Items

Druid: Permanent cursed/diseased-looking inhuman form, or all their transformations are extended and turns their focus to melee. A fey form emphasizing nature, death, and disease, or that of a dark dryad that makes them transform into beasts made of shifting plants that glow inside with eerie green light or swirl with dark shadows. Runestone armor crackling with electricity, with transformations of stone or pure lightning that call down lightning bolts.

Sorcerer: Blue-white armor made by unseelie fey that allows them to become an icy archon. A dress of fine, dark or light purple cloths and thorny silver jewelry inspired by insects, all infused with and oozing unseelie magic. A crown of elements that can be triggered by casting elements of one type, and summons a fiery skeleton, storm spirit, or ice banshee. Armor made from a butchered phoenix.

Barbarian: Patchwork, treated demon skins that fill them with demonic blood and fury when raging. Iron or stone golem weapon, or chest armor made of the belly of a smelter demon or forge of war. Bloodthorn dryad weapons. Runestone plate armor or barkskin and enchanted tattoos that turn them into a furiously growing storm while whirlwinding.

Cleric/Necromancer: A skeletal/phantom mage that can temporarily walk the realm of the dead. Armor that turns them into a white-hot skeleton bound in spiked black iron chains or welded into spiked, smoldering black plate armor. A veiled spirit or blood angel. The form of a vampire themed to a new place/culture in Sanctuary.

Whether or not any of these ideas are seen by the team, hopefully they can inspire you to make your own characters and classes and items for D&D, be it for a game of "D&Diablo" or other adventures in settings like Dark Sun, Ravnica, Planescape, Spelljammer, and Innistrad.

Reminiscing: My Favorite Games of the Decade (2010-2019)

It's strange to think back on the past ten years, how long it's been, how many things have happened for better and worse, and all the people I've met and lost since I was sixteen years old in high school and driving my first run-down vehicle. The things that are easiest (or most comfortable) to think back on are all the games I've played and which ones have stuck with me in some way, and on cold lonely nights it's nice to reminisce on the games and all the people I played them with.

So, here are some of my favorite games of the past ten years, in no particular order for any list.

Top Ten Favorite Tabletop / Pen and Paper RPG Books

Dungeon World (Powered by the Apocalypse)
Fiasco
Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica (Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition)
Numenera
Kids on Bikes
Predation (Cypher System)
Blades in the Dark (Powered by the Apocalypse)
Weird Discoveries: Ten Instant Adventures for Numenera
Starfinder
Band of Blades (Forged in the Dark)

Honorable Mentions
Consent in Gaming (Monte Cook Games)
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes (Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition)
Shadows of Esteren
Symbaroum
Dragon Age RPG

Top Ten Favorite Video Games

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
StarCraft 2 (Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, Legacy of the Void)
Bloodborne
God of War (2018)
Spider-Man (2018)
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
The Outer Worlds
Portal 2
Mortal Kombat X
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Ori and the Blind Forest
(actually eleven because cutting one of these is impossible)

Close to the Top

Dark Souls
Guilty Gear Xrd
Doom (2016)
Overcooked 1 and 2
Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver
Until Dawn

Honorable Mentions (too many good games to shorten)
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix
Darkest Dungeon
Beyond: Two Souls
Batman: Arkham City
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
The Witness
Terraria
Control
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
P.T.
Transistor
Pokémon (Black/White, Black/White 2)
Her Story
Killer Instinct
DmC: Devil May Cry
Resident Evil 2: Remake
Nidhogg
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Death Stranding
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Cuphead
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
Shadow of the Colossus Remastered
Lost Planet 2
Darksiders 1 and 2
Final Fantasy XV
Age of Wonders: Planetfall
Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 (Zombies) and 4 (Blackout)
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Opus Magnum
The Last of Us
Titanfall 1 and 2
Metro: Last Light
Singularity
Bioshock Infinite
Dishonored 1 and 2
Gears of War 3
Bulletstorm
Apex Legends
Celeste
Papers, Please
Dragon Ball FighterZ
Risk of Rain
Diablo III and Reaper of Souls
Persona 5
The Banner Saga
XCOM 2
Evolve
Monster Hunter World
Rayman Legends
Guild Wars 2
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Crysis 2 and 3
Journey
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
Hyper Light Drifter
Resident Evil 7

Every single game here was impactful at the time I played them, from single player to cooperative and competitive to speedrunning. But the best ones captured my attention for a long time and had a deep, lasting impact on me as a gamer as well as a writer and game designer, and even as a teacher or mentor in some cases. There are a dozen tabletop and video games that could have been my favorite or close to it but that I didn't get a chance to play; here's hoping I can play a lot more this year in 2020 and throughout the rest of the next ten years. The next ten years... It feels like a lifetime.

Fatal Encounters: Gorgimerae

There are days when I still get up early, go upstairs, and have the feeling that I need to start getting coffee and brown sugar maple Cream of Wheat and orange juice put out for someone who is no longer here. Or, that the creaking upstairs is from someone walking around and not just the wind. Yesterday was one of those days, and to alleviate the sad thoughts for a moment and keep my mind busy, let's do something easy that makes me feel accomplished for a little while: make monsters!

This time, my twist on the gorgimera, and encounters inspired by The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.
  Design and balance note: I had some trouble making this "fatal encounter" less fatal and still impactful. Which, may or may not be a good thing depending on the person reading this. You'll see later that it uses a handful of d6 for its attacks, which used to be a lot more d6 plus a lot of d8. I found this set of stats and abilities to work well for me and the group I intended it for (five 5th-level PCs), and for some DMs/parties those could very well be reduced further to mostly d4 damage dice or increased slightly. Hopefully some of the encounter suggestions are helpful for fine tuning and improvising as well.
  If you missed them, check out my previous blog post and Matt Colville's "Action Oriented Monsters" video here for examples of "villain actions," or "elite actions" as I call them.

Gorgimera (GORR-geh-MAYR-uh)

• The offspring of terrifying chimerae and gorgons (the D&D gorgon, a metal-scaled bull monstrosity with petrifying green vapor breath), gorgimera are even more fearsome. This monster bears leonine and draconian features and has three heads, two of which (the lion and red dragon) are the same as it, but the third head is a fuming gorgon instead of a rabid goat.
• Gorgons and gorgimerae, having metallic bodies (or partly, in the latter's case) and lungs that create petrifying vapors, are immune to being petrified by their kin's vapor and are highly resistant to other petrification effects from basilisks, cockatrice, and medusae. The lion and dragon heads, however, are still susceptible to a degree. If turned to stone, the other two heads and all its limbs will slowly regenerate back to normal within a week to a month (longer for older gorgimerae), and the process is hastened by sunlight.
• Gorgimerae are more rampant and tenacious than chimerae thanks to the attitude their gorgon parents pass on to them, and can be stubborn and unyielding to the extreme. Instead of fleeing when wounded by a powerful foe, most gorgimera will choose go into a frenzy, even fighting to the death in their prideful stubborness. Although they are not as skilled at flying as chimera for their greater strength and ferocity, they can cover much more ground at the first sight of competition and when riled up.
    They rarely fight with their chimera and gorgon cousins, and more rarely with each other being so few and far between, but a gorgimera duel is a spectacular sight. Some try to petrify their opponent as quickly as possible, at which point it will break apart its stone body and eat it. Others opt to try headbutting and goring the goat or gorgon head like a hammer trying to hit and shatter another hammer, at which point the victor (not unlikely to win by the merit of the loser's stupidity against a bulkier foe) will devour the loser with its lion and dragon mouths.
• When the lion and dragon heads aren't craving fresh meat, aren't picking fights, and nothing is distracting or provoking the gorgon one, it spends that little time casually wandering and grazing plains and riverbanks. Occasionally, a gorgimera can be found pawing and bobbing (almost playfully) in a river or beach for fish with each of its heads (eating salmon, trout, sturgeon, catfish, and small sharks) and picking through rocks to chew on with its gorgon head. A rarer and more exceptional sight is a gorgimera playfully splashing in shallow water like a jovial pup—nothing deeper than its knees, though, as they struggle to swim.

Gorgimera
Large monstrosity, chaotic evilAC 16, HP 152 (16d10 + 64), Bloodied 76, Speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft.
STR 19 (+4), DEX 11 (+0), CON 18 (+4), INT 5 (-3), WIS 12 (+1), CHA 10 (+0)
Skills: Intimidation +6, Perception +7
Condition Immunities: petrified
Senses: darkvision 90 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages: understands Draconic and Giant but can't speak
Challenge Rating: 9 (5,000 XP)
Traits
Three Heads. The gorgimera has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks and on saving throws against being blinded, deafened, frightened, stunned, and knocked unconscious. Additionally, each of its heads can be targeted individually and have the following properties:
  Lion Head. AC 15, HP 38. While this head is unconscious, its frightful roar and bite are disabled.
  Dragon Head. AC 17, HP 50. While this head is unconscious, its fire breath and meteor are disabled.
  Gorgon Head. AC 19, HP 64. While this head is unconscious, its gore and petrifying breath are disabled.
Trample. If the gorgimera moves at least 20 feet and then hits a creature with a melee attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If a target is prone, the gorgimera can make one stomp attack against it as a bonus action.
Lion Head: Frightful Roar. Each creature of the gorgimera's choice that is within 60 feet of the gorgimera and that can hear it must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's save is successful or the effect ends for it, it is immune to the gorgimera's roar for 24 hours.
ActionsMultiattack. The gorgimera makes one of each of the following attacks:
  Lion Head: Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 6) piercing damage.
  Dragon Head: Fire Breath. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one.
  Gorgon Head: Gore. Melee Weapon Attack:  +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 6) piercing damage.
Stomp. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., up to four targets. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage.
Dragon Head: Meteor (2/day). Ranged Spell Attack: range 120 ft. Each creature in a 20-foot sphere must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 17 (5d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much on a successful one. Additionally on a failed save, a creature has disadvantage on saving throws against the gorgimera's fire breath until the end of its next turn.
Gorgon Head: Petrifying Breath (2/day). The gorgon head exhales green vapor all around it. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or begin to turn to stone and restrained. The restrained target must repeat the saving throw at the end of its next turn, ending the effect on itself on a success. On a failure, the target is petrified until freed by the greater restoration spell or other magic.
Elite ActionsFirestorm. As a free action at the start of the first round of combat, the gorgimera uses meteor.
Bull Rush. At the start of the first round of combat, the gorgimera uses its movement to fly up to its speed within 20 feet of a creature and then run at it and use gore and petrifying breath (see trample).
Tantrum. When the gorgimera becomes bloodied, it immediately runs around up to its speed in a straight line or circle, trampling creatures underfoot. This movement provokes attacks of opportunity. It uses stomp against each creature it moved past with a +10 to hit, dealing bludgeoning damage instead of slashing damage, and then it uses stomp against all prone creatures within reach (see trample).

The Rainbow Caverns

Recommended for a party of four to six 4th-6th level characters, intended for five 5th-level characters.

Patiently awaiting the next generation of spelunkers and thieves is a sprawling cavern-scape first discovered by a mage of old who quickly filled it with unimaginable wealth and unspeakable terrors.
  Overgrown, well-worn steps lie ahead, leading down into its twisting halls and absolute darkness. The caves sigh with cool, deep breaths, as if calling out to you.

Environment Features
Absolute Darkness. No light reaches the caves beyond the first few steps at the entrance. All creatures require a light source or special senses (such as blindsight or tremorsense) in order to see anything. Darkvision does not allow a creature to see in the caves unless it has a light source. A creature that can't see must succeed on a DC 17 Survival check to avoid getting lost.
Earthcancer. Much of the ground is covered in aberrant formations and corrupted, fungal growths. Random patches of ground count as difficult terrain (movement speed is reduced by 1/4th on average). A creature that comes in contact with earthcancer or ends its turn in the space must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or take 2 (1d4) poison damage. If it fails the save by 5 or more (DC 12), it becomes nauseated and unable to take any action until the end of their next turn.
  If the party is healthy when they enter the gorgimera lair, the more earthcancer there will be. Likewise, if the party is in worse shape, the less earthcancer there will be.

Part 1

As the party journeys deeper into the caves, down both winding natural paths and straight artificial stairways, they come to a flat area. The ground here has become earthcancer and has formed 1d4 shriekers. Swarms of bats and 1d4 stirges swirl around each character and move deftly through interconnected tunnels pocked with large insect (centipede) and stirge nests and little more, bothering the party only for a moment if they disturb the fungi or nests.
  Inside one small side cave lies a body, face-down, wearing loose brown, moldy, moth-eaten clothes and a bulky satchel. Something glints in light (the pommel of a longsword, a flying sword) and the sword and satchel both glow with an aura for anyone benefiting from detect magic. Earthcancer has spread in a 5-foot radius around the corpse, and a gas spore is growing under the clothers in the corpse (DC 14 Perception check to spot the spore). The flying sword (+7 to hit) will attack whoever touches it or the corpse; at 0 HP it falls to the ground and becomes a longsword +1 with 3 charges which can be spent to turn it into a dancing sword for 1 hour (it does not regain spent charges). Inside the satchel are two rings of protection, one of which appears to grant +3 AC if identified but actually curses whoever attunes to it and imparts a -3 penalty to AC (the ring cannot be removed while the wearer is cursed, and the curse can only be removed by separating the finger and ring from the wearer for 24 hours, or by casting remove curse at 5th level).

Part 2

Gem-crusted stalactites hang from the ceiling of a narrowing tunnel. Dirt and a few tiny rocks fall from one of the formations as the party moves through, and minute vibrations from an unseen source cause one stalactite to crack and fall (DC 16 Dexterity save or take 1d6 bludgeoning damage). Walking through the tunnel, each character must make a Perception check. The character with the highest roll spots another stalactite that looks like a crystal-coated piercer; if the roll is 18 or higher they also spot a ruby on it. If damaged, the stalactite will break, fall (dealing 1d6 bludgeoning damage if someone is underneath it and doesn't move), and release a ruby worth 750 gp.
  Rumbling is heard and felt behind the party as a xorn moves through, paying no mind to the party, eating crystals in a wall behind them that causes part of it to collapse and a tight passage to open to another room with a wall full of crystals. In that room, the damp floor marked with patches of earthcancer (difficult terrain not including the walls and ceiling, DC 16 Athletics check to climb the walls) is littered with junk. On the far side of the room, a heavily scarred roper is munching on three dead troglodytes. 1 merrow is on the opposite side of the room sitting against a stalagmite, catching its breath and reading a scroll of stone to flesh written in aquan. It takes ten minutes to sort through the junk in the room and gather one explorer's pack worth of salvageable items (except with 5 rations total and the rope breaks if more than 50 pounds of weight is put on it).

Part 3

The main passageway continues winding onward and sloping down then abruptly starts to widen horizontally and vertically, eventually coming to a wider opening (50 ft in all dimensions) with a 15-foot-deep pool of clear water. A haze of magical darkness lingers in the area, obscuring everything from the surface of the pool to the ceiling. Marred stone statues and broken pieces of humanoids and beasts barely jut out of the darkness at the water's edge. Eight crumbling creatures are frozen solid in the middle of crawling back towards the tunnel, and many more have sunken and piled up beneath the surface, making the pool shallower at the near and far side. On the far side of the pool, some of the statues and limbs have returned to their natural, fleshy state, and dark blood stains the area. Also lurking underwater are 2 swarms of quippers and 3 ghasts. Earthcancer has spread in a 30-foot radius around the far edge of the pool.

For a stronger or more experienced party, replace 1 swarm of quippers with 1 giant zombie constrictor snake (a constrictor snake with the undead fortitude trait).

  Crossing the pool leads to a massive cave (60 ft wide, 100 ft high) covered with crystals and rippling streams and glossy bumps that all sparkle and shimmer with a rainbow of colors from the tiniest glint of light. A heap of treasure—gems, silver and gold and mithril coins and squares of chain maille, and steel and bronze weapons and helmets and armor the designs of which must span centuries—sits in the center of the chamber. Six stalactites at the very top of the cave ceiling twist and end in an elegant jeweled point, which give off sunlight that matches the natural light outside at the current time of day and gradually cure petrification over the course of 1d10 days. After their awe dissipates, characters will notice the broken, prone stone bodies and earthcancer covering the chamber floor. And beneath the mound of treasure lies a gorgimera starved of fresh meat.

For a stronger or fresh party, the gorgimera may push them into areas where earthcancer is festering, grounding the strongest or weakest link in the chain as it sees fit. For a much larger party or long encounter (or after the encounter ends), 1d4 of the statues start to animate every other round (use the ghoul stat block with a speed of 10 feet for the first round they are animated and 30 feet thereafter).

  The treasure hoard contains the following: 6 cp, 5,000 sp, 2,160 gp, 400 pp (enchanted to weigh twice as much and fall out of any pocket or bag they are placed in), 10 gems (each gem weighs 1d10 lbs and is worth 5d10 x 100 gp), fine clothes, costume clothes (goat costume), costume clothes (gorgon costume), a potion of fire breath, 3 vials of saffron (worth 150 gp each and can be used in food or potions to create a potion of clairvoyance that also grants truesight out to 60 feet for the duration), 2 vials of red dragon repellant oil, a scroll of protection from elementals written in draconic, a dagger +1, a mithril war maul head (4 lbs), a bag of holding (contains two diamond dice worth 750 gp each), a heavily-stained 6-page notebook (a cursed copied section of the book of vile darkness, swarms of leeches spawn when opened to the the flawed 5th and 6th pages), and a small vial of purple ooze (when poured out and left in a space with oxygen or water, it grows one size category every 1d8 hours until it becomes a moaning otyugh-shaped black pudding).
  A stairwell is hidden at the back of the chamber behind a towering wall of stalagmites, which leads to a squished tunnel that is flooded for a short length that then leads to a back entrance/exit covered in a mound of dirt and small shrubs and their tangled roots.

Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed any of this, check out more monsters in my Brash Brutes series and my first DMsGuild adventure, Disturbance at Dusk, set in the plane of Ravnica.