Dungeon in a Box

Aesthetic is almost always important when it comes to dnd characters. Doubly so if you’re representing a powerful entity who has deemed you worthy (or foolish) enough to be given a smidge of their power. So, to help you fit the bill here are some Pact of the Talisman appearance and flavour ideas.

A smokey crystal ball that is warm to the touch, and glows white hot when you cast.

A stoppered vial with a moving wisp of shadow inside. When you cast your spells is appears like you are dragging parts of the shadow out to perform your magic.

A single earing that seems to whisper to you in incomprehensible language.

A single pink rose pinned to your lapel that blooms every morning and dies every evening. A petal falls when you use a spell slot.

A gold band that has small eyes dotted all the way around, they seem to open and close on whim, and never all at once.

A necklace made of rusting metal, it looks wet, and when you touch it feels wet. When you inspect your fingers afterwards however, they always come away dry.

A feather that remains immaculate regardless of the situation you’re in. At night it glows softly.

A charred bone with small tally marks across, when you get injured it begins to smoke, and when you go unconscious another mark appears.

A shard of mirror that always seems to put your reflection, and only yours, out of focus.

A shell that when you put it to your ear, you feel the sea breeze along with the sound of waves crashing.

A gem that, when its in your hand, you can’t help but idly polish; the shine just never seems right.

A length of lace you always feel wrapped around your wrist, even when you give it to someone else.

Candlekeep Mysteries

The next 5E D&D hardcover book will be Candlekeep Mysteries, releasing on March 16, 2021, for US$49.95.

As far as your character can tell, there is nothing unnatural about it.

The trap appears to be disarmed.

Do you touch it, or are you just looking?

Who goes first?

From what you can see…

This room does not appear to contain anything.

There’s no visible effect.

You don’t seem to spot any traps in the immediate vicinity.

As far as you would know…

You feel fine.

Can I see your character sheet a second?

Can you describe in a little more detail how you do that?

What order are you walking in?

It doesn’t seem to do anything.

Are you sure about that?

You can certainly try!

How close do you want to get to it?

By the way, where exactly are you all standing?

Before you fall asleep…

Here’s some word tips to use when casting Command, effects being at the DM’s discretion. These are more fitting in roleplay situations rather than combat. They have a lot of freedom when it comes to interpretation! 

Also:

Getting better at things with practice

Synchronised Button Pushes. Three obelisks stand far apart from each other, and need to be activated occasionally at the same time to prevent disaster (a sleeping monster waking, a magical explosion, etc). Each obelisk is guarded, either by a trap or a creature.

Hostage Situation. The enemies have hostages.

Floating Isles. A series of small floating islands all over, with the gravity changing direction each round.

Wild Magic Zone. There’s a Wild Magic Storm raging all around, causing every casting of a Spell to create a Wild Magic Surge!

Guerrilla Tactics. A boss that, instead of standing in a big room exchanging attacks with the party, fights dirty. Casting spells under Greater Invisibility, escaping to take the fight into a new, more favourable room, forcing the Party to chase them and guiding them into traps, etc.

The Floor is Lava. The combat arena is overflowing slowly with some dangerous substance, hindering party’s movement more and more with each turn.

Flaming Buildings! Enemies keep lighting everything on fire! The Party needs to keep putting out the fires or keep them contained while fighting the enemies.

Dockside Battle. The Party is fighting on a dock or boat, with underwater enemies trying to pull them beneath the waves!

Collapsing Dungeon! The entire area is collapsing, causing parts of the ground to fall away and debris to fall from above each round.

Avalanche! The battle takes place right in the middle of an avalanche!

Abyssal Portal. While the boss fight is going on, a powerful artifact needs to be destroyed or else a portal will open to the Abyss and Demons will pour out.

Dark Ritual. The Party must fight through the baddies, but also stop the ritual from completing.

Tall Grass. There’s very tall grass all around, giving everyone cover and giving enemies a new way to hide.

Sea Monster. Successfully steer a ship to safety that is being attacked by a sea monster.

Kill the Messenger. The enemy has sent a messenger to go get backup, and if it’s not taken care of quickly, a larger force will arrive and overwhelm the Party. If the messenger is killed quickly enough, then the bad guys could retreat, surrender, or release another messenger, depending on what you’re going for.

Silent Combat. The Party and the Big Bad are fighting in a situation where any sound would be equally detrimental to both sides. Maybe there’s a sleeping dragon nearby, or any concussive forces would set off an avalanche or a room collapse. Whatever it is, the fight must be conducted in relative silence or disastrous things could happen.

Tsunami of Death. A strange liquid (acid, lava, etc.) flows through the arena and expands each round, with new flows snaking across the battlefield as the battle goes on.

Dead Magic Zone. The battle takes place in area completely devoid of any magic, making casting spells both arcane and divine (including healing spells) impossible.

Magical and Mechanical Minefield. The Big Bad Boss is Invisible in an area filled with traps and magical glyphs. The Bad Guy won’t willingly step onto the traps or trigger the magical glyphs, but a Party of oblivious Adventurers however…

Possession. The Boss is a Ghost that possesses different friendly NPCs, turning them hostile until they’re knocked unconscious or killed outright.

Shipwreck! A fight underwater after a shipwreck, with other crew and passengers that need to be rescued before they drown.