Dead Sea Almanac - April 13, 2019
The Week in Review
Soulsword Renegades
If you missed last week's Soulsword Renegades, don't worry - we've got a recap for you, just in time for tonight's session at 10:30pm Eastern. The last time we saw our heroes, they forged deeper into the crystals of a leyline, led onward by Emma's voices and Rhymer's desire to follow the patterns in their light. Fighting fire elementals and narrowly avoiding an encounter with a creature of gargantuan size, our intrepid heroes found at long last a portal leading to a mysterious city of brass. Will they enter? If they don't, what else could be in store? Join us for this week's Soulsword Renegades to find out!
Appearance of the Black Army
On Monday, we introduced you to the Black Army, a legion of orc-like fiends in heavy cast iron armor that covers everything except their mouths. We introduced their weaponry and their soldiers, but their origins remain mysterious. Look to future installments of the Dead Sea Almanac for more on this new faction within the Eternal Empire.
Return of Rachel Vinaigre
On Tuesday, we witnessed the return of Rachel Vinaigre, who is already becoming a fan favorite. Watch for her upcoming appearance in tomorrow's supplement, The Outlaws of Atwood Forest, which features additional detail on the Jolly Good Fellows and their affiliates, as well as an introductory-length adventure.
Tuesday Titles
This week's Tuesday Titles has spawned some interest in the fan base; write in to Wolf with your favorite stories from it and he may turn them into published mini-series or adventure arcs. As per usual, you can find him hanging around the Silver Soul Gaming Discord server at any hour of the day or night.
The Chupacabra
This week revealed the culmination of a plot arc involving the infamous "chupacabra" which has been terrorizing Westport and Eastwood farmers. Chasing down the beast should serve as a diversion for experienced parties - perhaps something to do in a session where you're missing players crucial to the main plot. See the sidebar "Chasing the Chupacabra" for details.
Kidnap of the Crown Princess
The crown princess, Sarah Longmire, went missing this week, and experienced adventurers should stay tuned for developments in the story; more about her disappearance will certainly be featured in next week's Dead Sea Almanac as the story begins to unfold. One thing is certain - everything is not as it seems when it comes to the heroes and villains here.
The Reaper and The Shadow
This week we continued the introduction of The Reaper, a notorious serial killer who has been plaguing Westport's harbor and tannery quarters. Unbeknownst to readers until now, he is tracked by the mysterious Shadow, a drow of ashen appearance and lethal finesse. Watch for biographies of each in an upcoming issue.
Chasing the Chupacabra
Stats
As mentioned before, the "chupacabra" is a displacer beast modified by an exile from the Seelie court to have three heads. Simply give it an additional multiattack and call it a day; see MM 81 for the base stats.
Tracking the Beast
The beast lives in a lair in the southern spur of Atwood Forest where it runs into the foothills of the Dragon Peaks. It can be tracked back to its lair by making a series of three DC 14 survival checks; failure on a check indicates angering one of the following groups of creatures:
1d4 Type of Creature Encountered by Mistake 1 Three wolves (PHB 311) 2 A boar (PHB 304) 3 A brown bear (PHB 304) 4 A giant spider (PHB 306) Encounter with Lathan
Lathan, the fey responsible for creating the creature, won't be happy that the heroes killed it. When it dies, he appears suddenly out of the woods and confronts them. If you need more time at this point, he teleports them to the Twilight Forest as the prey of the Wild Hunt until they learn their lesson, or he gives them a quest to recover a magic egg from deeper in the forest, which is guarded by an Assassin Vine (TOA 213).
Wolf's Corner
I'll try to feature one of these little "diversions" each week, just in case someone in your party can't make it. I've been there enough times myself to know how frustrating it can be to have your plans for a session minced by someone being a no-show. Hopefully these will help you smoothe things over.
Release Schedule
Dead Sea Almanac
The Dead Sea Almanac releases Monday through Saturday, with Saturday's edition being a special look back at the week and forward into the future of the company. Watch for our more in-character content on weekdays and an out-of-character aside on weekends.
Sunday Supplements
Supplements of varying length and type are generally released on Sundays. The next few are generally listed in Upcoming Products, but watch for the occasional surprise as well.
Soulsword Renegades
Our weekly Dungeons and Dragons stream is at 10:30pm Eastern on the Silver Soul Gaming Twitch channel (SilversGames). I (Lone Wolf) play Emma, and you can find your favorite staffers Silver, Vlastilon, Steph Skiles, Neurok, Dmitry, and Jet as the other hosts.
City of Echoes
We have another upcoming campaign in the works, exploring the infamous City of Echoes. Details are still in the works, but you can expect the haunting adventure to begin streaming in the next month if all goes well.
Reader Hour
As is our weekly custom, the editors, dungeon masters, and players who make up Silver Soul Gaming will be hanging in our Discord at 9:30pm Eastern to answer any questions you may have about our games, our products, or just about anything else. We don't bite - unless, of course, we're playing VTM - so come hang out!
Fox Den
Wednesdays at 5pm, come hang out with Vlast and Wolf in our Twitch vodcast, the Fox Den. We discuss the latest in gaming, serious trends within the industry, and whatever else comes up in chat. Last week's episode was a blast, so here's to another great one!
Upcoming Products
Release Date Product Sunday, April 14 The Outlaws of Atwood Forest Sunday, April 21 The Atlantis Syndrome Sunday, April 28 All the King's Men Sunday, May 5 Five Leagues Under
Intentional Game Mastering
The Intentional Game Mastering initiative has continued to move forward since last week. Already, we have buy-in from a number of committed game masters, including yours truly, and we're continuing to grow and shape the idea as we figure out exactly what it means. Watch for an upcoming discussion of the idea in all our regular outlets - Dead Sea Almanac, Soulsword Renegades, and the Fox Den. We're very excited to share more with you as we gain traction, so keep an eye out.
Preview: City of Echoes
Aloud
As you step out onto the smooth grey bridge, you can see the fringes of a chamber illuminated with an ethereal light that seems to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. There are no shadows, nor any sense of time in this place - just the constant, rushing roar of the falls beneath your feet, dropping into an unthinkable chasm. About a hundred yards ahead you can see the other side, much lower than you are now, and reached by a central tower mounted on a causeway. To either side of it, glass-smooth water flows into the abyss, supplied by some unknown source of impressive purity. A strange mist hangs in the air, and as you take your first steps you hear something roar from deep within. Welcome to the City of Echoes.
A City of Unimaginable Depth
The City of Echoes stretches deep into the Dragon Peaks, revealing traces of a civilization which has long since perished from all recorded history. What the players find within could rewrite what they know of the world's earliest eras, and who knows what ancient and powerful magics and creatures could be lurking at yet unexplored depths?
A Party Trapped Outside of Time
Isolated from the world by the powerful magic of the City of Echoes, the party will have no access to outside resources. They'll need to learn to live with what they can carry on their backs or keep at common base camps; there are no towns and merchants here.
An Unknowable Mystery
What happened to the City of Echoes? Clearly, it was once a thriving center of trade and civilization. Where did the inhabitants go? What compelled them to leave, or were they taken against their will? Ghosts and memories plauge this eery place, and only the bravest of adventurers will have what it takes to uncover the story piece by piece.