Dicey Stories

Extended family helps Heppa with her corruption and Tric with taking on the mantle of his noble heritage. Scene 13 Scene 14 GM Notes As usual, many NPCs in this arc are derived from units in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Ash is an Avenger , and with Ruthiel, we get our first Shyde , the ultimate unit in the Druid line in the mainline game. User-made content campaigns have a ton more units, th...

In which the dangers of siege worms are made completely clear. Scene 33 Scene 34 Scene 35 Scene 36 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Heppa seeks guidance from Soliana, an elf steeped in knowledge of fae magic. Scene 11 Scene 12 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org . Need context? Jump to the start of the serie...

On the way back to Data Haven, the group comes across some ominous remains. Scene 30 Scene 31 Scene 32 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa present the needs of the Grey Woods woses to the most prestigious elvish council of all, the Ka’lian. Scene 10 GM Notes This whole episode with the Ka’lian is very much indebted to A War of Life and Death by Mystical_Warlord. In that non-mainline campaign for the Battle for Wesnoth video game, Scenario 13 sees the primary character, Lord Ardonath, asking the Ka’lian for aid. I took...

Reunited, Cleve and Mariah patch each other up and share information on their new contacts. Scene 26 Scene 27 Scene 28 Scene 29 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa enjoy a dance party with the young elves of Wesmere and then cookies with their grandparents. Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 GM Notes The special items gifted to Tric and Heppa were created with input from the players on what type of item they were interested in. Tric’s player wanted something stealth-related, and since the shadow ring turned out to be too creepy, I created the cowl. Its d...

Mariah and Cleve find different ways out of the dome. Scene 22 Scene 23 Scene 24 Scene 25 GM Notes It was a spur of the moment decision to have Fritz be the same character as Morris. The tailor was intended as a single-scene NPC, but Mariah took a liking to him. This was the perfect place to bring him back and showcase a consensual encounter. But who knows what fate has in store for these binary-s...

Tric and Heppa get acquainted with an unexpected new relative. Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 GM Notes In this episode, we meet Ash, an NPC who holds a special place in my heart for a number of reasons I’ll get into more some time in the future. But for now, I’ll share that Ash sneaking around Carcyn on the way to the Grey Woods without being spotted by humans is akin to Hide and Seek, Scenario 5 of the...

An unexpected additional rescue opportunity presents itself. Scene 18 Scene 19 Scene 20 Scene 21 GM Notes The University of Chiron in our tabletop game is a mix of University of Planet and Lord’s Believers from the Alpha Centauri video game. This melding of science and religion was itself inspired by the Supremacy affinity in Beyond Earth. Supremacy is highly technological but uses religious names...

Newly arrived in Wesmere, Tric and Heppa settle in and meet Neia, an ambitious young shaman. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 GM Notes In this episode, we meet Neia, a character from the User-Made Content campaign A War of Life and Death, and the information she shares with Tric and Heppa is basically a summary of that campaign. We also get our first look at Wesmere. As the home of the Ka’lian, the most pr...

Mariah and Arx search for a way out of the Hospital for Experimental Miasma Treatment. Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Bruised and battered, Tric and Heppa leave the Grey Woods for Wesmere, bearers of the woses’ call for aid. Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 GM Notes The first Wesmere elf we meet, Filvarel, is a minor character from Scene 13 of A War of Life and Death by Mystical_Warlord. This user-made campaign has many more types of units than mainline Battle for Wesnoth, and Filvarel is one of those, an Elvish Guardi...

Mariah gets Arx released from Dr. Bingyi Khan’s care. Scene 10 Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Scene 14 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Society of Shadow remnants clash with Tric and Heppa deep in the Grey Woods. Scene 14 GM Notes This combat features more units from the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Donella, like Efa, is styled after the Bandit and was fighting alongside a Poacher . In the video game, the Bandit has a morningstar attack, while the Poacher has both a bow and a dagger. The new type of undead in this combat is a Wr...

Cleve and Mariah overcome physical and emotional challenges on their way to the hospital where Arx is imprisoned. Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Following the fight against Gaenyn, Tric and Heppa return to the Society of Shadow encampment to ensure no stragglers linger. Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at...

Cleve and Mariah attract some unanticipated attention during the Planetfall Day festivities. Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

The shadow mages launch their ambush… as do the elves and woses. Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 GM Notes One of the inspirations for setting our tabletop Wesnoth game in the aftermath of Mal-Ravanal’s war was me playing through A War of Life and Death , a User-Made Content campaign by Mystical_Warlord. It is set in a similar timeframe, and at the very end of this arc, we’ll even meet a character from it...

Mariah, Cleve, and Takuto enter the main dome of Morgan Industries. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Tric and Heppa gain further insight into forbidden magic and the corruption that the woses can sense in the Grey Woods. Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Our character art by Del Borovic and the map we refer to (by me!) can be found here . Our music is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 , part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.o...

Cleve, Mariah, and Takuto explore a Progenitor wreck. Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Scene 14 Scene 15 GM Notes This is the first real look we have at Progenitor technology and design. In the Sid Meier’s Alien Crossfire expansion, these aliens have lost some of their technology and are relatively peers with the human factions. On our Chiron, however, we only see ruins. To design this little prison blo...

Ulf introduces Tric and Heppa to Gaenyn, the leader of the shadow mages, who has uncomfortable ideas about how he and the elves might collaborate. Scene 4 GM Notes Our Society of Shadow grew out of the shadow mages from the mainline campaign Liberty in the Battle for Wesnoth video game. Gaenyn’s physical appearance is based on the artwork for Shadow Lord Helicrom, the leader of those shadow mages....

Mariah and Cleve negotiate for the right to recover data from their cryobeds. Scene 8 Scene 9 Scene 10 Our music is from Purple Planet Music. Visit them at purple-planet.com . Need context? Jump to the start of the series!

Ulf guides Tric and Heppa through the Grey Woods. Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 GM Notes When preparing for this arc, I scoured the mainline campaigns of the Battle for Wesnoth for any mention of the Grey Woods. There are battles there in both Liberty and Secrets of the Ancients. We’ve already seen ideas from Scenario 6 of Liberty in all the clues that have been dropped about the Society of Shadow. Secr...