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“The clouds parted, and I beheld the eyes staring into my oblivion. Hundreds of black, oozing eyes, covering the creature like parasites feasting on a carrion corpse. From the hovering body emerged Them– the people from the sky. As they floated down to the dirt and tainted earth, I heard my mouth begin to scream.” 

When thinking of monsters that could fit a Halloween, campfire story-themed zine, one of the first things that came to mind was aliens. Specifically, UFOs. While there are certainly alien-like creatures in 5e, there weren’t any that seemed to scratch our itch. Thus, the Elseworlders were born. 

The grunts of the Elseworlders are the groundlings, the grey aliens of Campfire Combat. On their own, the groundlings don’t seem like much of a challenge for the recommended level 11, but their difficulty skyrockets in groups. First, a Fly speed makes them hard to catch for martial characters, allowing the groundling to make use of its two offensive abilities. The simpler of the two, Mindblast, is the standard attack for the groundling, effective both up close and at range. The attack’s damage reflects the resistances and immunities of the Elseworlders, dealing a combination of Psychich and Cold for 17 damage total, on average. Shooting out two of these blasts a turn ensures the groundlings can’t just be ignored. Hijack Functions is where the true danger of the groundlings arises, allowing them to paralyze targets for up to 1 minute. Don’t be too scared, though, as one successful save renders this ability useless on the target for all groundlings for 1 hour. 

The groundlings may seem pesky, but the real hitter of the Elseworlders is the terraprowler, a living UFO. The terraprowler takes a lot of inspiration from Jean Jacket from Jordan Peele’s Nope. This living aircraft isn’t just for the groundlings to get around; the terraprowler is the leader of the groundlings, consuming all it can. First off, the terraprowler is beefy. 232 hit points, type of beefy. And pairing that with a 16 AC and 50-foot flying speed, the terraprowler doesn’t just absorb a lot of damage, it avoids a lot too. Legendary Resistance protects against nasty spells and effects, making sure players can’t get around this beast too easily. 

The terraprowler isn’t suffering offensively too much either, starting with its main attack, Numbing Tentacle. First off, the range. 100 feet combined with a high flying speed means the terraprowler can strike from just about anywhere, delivering 18 points of damage on average and reducing speed by 10. The prowler can do this 3 times around, leading to not just damage, but potentially immobilizing slower targets altogether. That’s the last thing you’d want, as Abduct is the terraprowler’s next move. Targeting creatures directly below it, the terraprowler sucks creatures up over two turns, restraining them in the process. Once abducted, creatures don’t have much time until the terraprowler consumes them, 28 damage on average at the end of the terraprowler’s turns. Up to 3 creatures can be abducted at a time, although dealing damage to the UFO while inside it causes the terraprowler to release them. 

Legendary Actions only streamline consumption, as Groping Tendrils allows for a Numbing Tentacle attack at the end of another creature’s turn. Must Have Been the Wind lets the terraprowler turn Invisible and move, meaning not only can it hide, but creep that much closer to its targets. 

Hopefully, you can pair the Groundling’s Paralysis and ranged assault with the Terraprowler’s Abduct to totally terrify your players this Halloween!

By Ivo Hoying

Epigraph by Inti Navia

“So there I was, chasing my perp through the streets of Watershine. Next thing I knew, I had them cornered in some back alley way in Hunter’s Row. And lemme tell you, that was the night I found out why the area is called that. I guess my perp was just short enough, the shadows just obscuring enough, because the next thing I knew was a squawk, a startled scream, and the sound of flapping in the air. We’re offering a reward for their capture, but to tell you the truth, once you’re in those Screechling’s claws, you ain’t comin’ back.” Statement made by Avarius Sow, city guard.

The Screechling began as a boss created for a Goodberry Adventure Zine scheduled to release in December. This guy is a white owl, who used a nefarious machine to steal the snow from a small town in Sehrabadd. From that seed, it blossomed into an entire new playable species, exclusive to Sehrabadd. 

Screechings are anthropomorphic owl people. They range from white, brown– any kind of owl. They stand on two legs, and are capable of speaking any language the player decides for them. A part of what makes them unique is their Silent Flight trait. Not only does it grant them flight, as is the expectation whenever someone is playing an avian species, but it also gives them stealth checks while flying. That gives the player an extra reason to start flying, even if there’s no geographic advantage for it. 

The Ear-Splitting Screech gives the player an alternative to their weapon. Sometimes weapons get stolen or lost. If the player doesn’t have any spells ready, they would usually resort to an unarmed strike. The Ear-Splitting Screech is a great reason for why someone might want to choose this species. It’s a unique melee method that could get someone out of a pinch, and for my “hit and end turn” people out there, is a spell without actually being a spell. 

We’re saving the lore for these guys with our planned world book project, but if you’re looking for some inspiration, look no further. Take into account Screechlings’ height. They’re small guys. Does that make them more aggressive, to make up for their elevation difference? Passive like Hobbits? Also think of what real owls act like. They’re considered wise in many cultures. They’re night hunters. Maybe your Screechling character feels more comfortable in a tree hole or nest. 

Whatever the case, consider presenting this as an option next time you run a game with your friends. Your players might be looking for something fresh, and the Screechling might be just the thing. 

By Inti Navia

Species stats by Ivo Hoying

“Stone World: an island as deadly as it is mysterious. Sitting off the coast of Sehrabadd, it holds the title of none having set foot on its shores to tell the tale. However, one part of the island set its foot on the mainland. Yesterday turned out to be a nightmare for the residents of Kerakith, as a renegade school of laserfish from the island wreaked havoc on the city’s waterways. One citizen claimed: ‘All I saw was a flash of bright light, then I smelled my own charred skin.’” Thumbleberry Thunkin, reporter.

When thinking of monsters that would fit on a prehistoric island, dinosaurs and giant versions of existing beasts were the easy picks. But what really stuck with us was something much less serious, at least initially. What screams classic RPG more than a giant catfish shooting lasers and hoisting itself out of the water to attack players? And thus, the laserfish was born.

When designing a monster that was originally a silly idea, it can be easy to focus too much on the “comedy” of the creature without putting enough thought into making sure it’s still engaging when it comes to actually playing the game. While the laserfish is definitely a little foolish, it’s no joke in combat, especially with numbers.

Rather than the lasers being just a gimmick, the entire stat block revolves around them. While the damage and ability to hit characters at range is certainly nice, the biggest positive of Eye Laser is its second effect: causing targets to burn. 

Beyond the little bit of damage that burning can cause, the flames are merely fuel for the Bonus Action Scarf Down the Scorched, which gives the fish not only a way to better incorporate its Bite, but also allows for a quick burst of movement. The laserfish can jump up to 50 feet toward a burning creature and make a bite attack, dragging anything that it hits as the beast continues moving. An unlucky character could find themselves pushed into laserfish-infested waters if things don’t go their way.

The laserfish isn’t a complicated monster, nor is it exceptionally threatening with just a description, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be challenging in the right scenario. Hopefully, you enjoy the laserfish and use it as proof that even silly monsters can be deadly if you want them to be. All it takes is a little outside-the-box thinking.

By Ivo Hoying

Epigraph by Inti Navia

Need An Adventure?

Using the magical art from Aaron Miller, Goodberry Press is proud to present One-Page Wonders. If you need a quick encounter to play with your friends, using the terrifying creatures from the depths of Goodberry Press, you’ve come to the right place. So unfurl your scrolls, blow the dust from your tomes, and clatter your swords on the floor, because you’re about to face Voro, THE CAT OF CHAOS! 

This short encounter is intended for characters of 14th level, and takes place within the depths of The Golden City of Sehrann. High Magistrate Delinos was last seen screaming and running out of her tower in the center of the vast city. In an interview with The Goodberry Gazette, her secretary stated that she refuses to leave her home in the countryside, saying something evil lurks within her tower. The city needs the leadership of Delinos, and her secretary is offering a 500 gp reward to any adventurer who enters the tower and deals with whatever threat lurks inside. 

A strange magic has hatched inside Delinos’s once-timid cat Voro, warping and twisting him into a creature of chaos. He rules her study room at the top of the 200-foot tower with an iron fist, and will attack any creature that enters the circular 60-foot-wide space. The ceiling reaches 20 feet high, lit by natural lighting from the wide windows. 

Bookshelves cover every inch of the sandstone walls. Arching windows occupy three sides of the room, overlooking the sprawling desert city below. A rich wooden desk sits on the far end of the room, piled with papers and letters. Books, papers, chairs, and other items have been strewn across the space. Claw marks streak the carpet and tapestries. A feline growl emanates from behind the maze of shelves, and groping, fleshy tentacles feel their way around a pile of books. Voro the cat has found you! 

Voro, Cat of Chaos will not hesitate to kill anything that enters his domain. After defeating him, a green, primordial energy will sap out of the cat, removing its twisted features and returning it to its normal feline state. A low laughter will thunder in the sky, before disappearing. Delinos will pay you your reward, and the city will resume its normal state of governance. After that day, however, a sense of unease will hang over Sehrann. What was behind the energy, and will it return? 

Kala Lurr: “So then he spun this music box, and all I saw was purple light for the next minute. It felt like my skin was burning!” Interview with the latest robbery victim, transcribed by Thimbleberry Thunkin, reporter.

Melodic Missiles is the magic item in our upcoming Goodberry Adventure Zine, Servant of the Sea God. As it is described within its stat block, it is a small music box that shoots musical notes. Almost every feature of Melodic Missiles is explosive, from its musical notes to explode upon impact, to the box itself on a failed save after expending its last charge. There is a small level of danger to using this item, forcing the characters to turn it into a strategic tool rather than a “hit and end turn” type of weapon. 

When I first pitched this item to Ivo, I used Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as inspiration. In the film, Strange battles a variant which casts musical notes through the air, causing discordant noises as it deals damage. Since the adventure is a nautical-themed one, we envision the actual music caused by Melodic Missiles to resemble something like Davy Jones’s theme in Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Thinking up magic items for your adventure doesn’t necessarily have to force you to stick to a certain theme. Trying to make your items match the adventure’s theme, such as a nautical one, can limit your creativity. It doesn’t have to be a cutlass, or a spyglass, it just has to be interesting! 

Originally, I wanted this item to be completely different. I first envisioned it as a “portable trebuchet” – something you could deploy onto the ground, and have it unfold and be ready for characters to use. Not a fully-sized trebuchet, mind you: one maybe ten feet tall. After a lot of brainstorming, Ivo and I decided that something like that would have to be saved for a higher-level adventure, since it would naturally deal a lot of damage. However, that led us down the road of what the deployment would look like. Something wind-up? That led us to the music box idea. 

Magic items, at the end of the day, only have to be one thing: unique and fun to play with. Do that, and your players will never want to leave your table. 

By Inti Navia

Magic Item by Ivo Hoying

“She welcomed us with open arms. Gave us piping hot stew, a warm drink, and a generous discount on her nicer rooms in the inn. ‘Course, the first night we didn’t find the passages behind our walls, or see the peep holes cut into the painting. The second night, we didn’t hear the door creaking open.” Captain Breardon, dead. 

Designing Old Raena was an interesting challenge, as it felt important to make sure she was sustainable while still upholding the archetype of a “squishy” magic user that can fold under pressure from powerful melee attackers. Rather than giving her a boatload of hitpoints, even though 152 is nothing to scoff at, a more interesting direction was to reinforce her survivability by making it difficult to pin her down. 

This all begins with her Reaction Blessing of the Depths, which allows Raena to reduce the damage she takes from an attack that hits her and teleport 30 feet away. This gives her a much-needed response to aggressive martial characters, which can be nightmarish for monsters of her archetype. While it’s still best to keep her out of harm’s way, don’t worry if one of those pesky fighters or barbarians gets up in her grill, Raena always stays cool under pressure.

Pairing with her teleportation are both of her main offensive tools, Oceanic Burst and Surging Waves. While both actions deal decent damage, 14 Cold damage for three hits and 36 Cold damage in a 30-foot Emanation, respectively, the utility of these abilities is what stands out. Any creature she hits with Oceanic Burst has its Speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of its next turn. And this stacks. This allows Raena to keep characters at bay, especially those she just teleported away from. Surging Waves does allow for a saving throw to reduce damage and avoid the secondary effect, but players better hope they save or they won’t just be slowed down. Any creature that fails its save not only takes sizable damage but has its speed reduced to 0, allowing Raena to freeze a whole group of characters attempting to gang up on her at close range. 

Her Legendary Actions work to reinforce her playstyle further, with one option allowing for additional Oceanic Bursts, letting Raena slow down players at the end of their turn. But more interesting is Plunder Spirit, which does a little bit of Psychic damage but more importantly Incapacitates its target while also providing Raena with Temporary Hit Points. So while she jumps around the battlefield keeping her distance, the hag will continue siphoning energy from the players until they’re in perfect condition to be sacrificed. 

Old Raena was a great statblock to write, and hopefully, you’ll have just as much fun tormenting your players with her. 

By Ivo Hoying

Epigraph by Inti Navia – intinavia.com

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond. com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

“Sehrabadd is really, really old. I mean, we’re always finding tombs and dungeons, and none of them belong to the same ancient civilization!” Tala, Wolfchanger. 

Yesterday we released the first in our line of Goodberry Adventure Zines, titled The Encroaching Wood. Once a month to those subscribed to our “Adventurer” tier, we will release these exclusive zines, which contain TTRPG adventures with custom stat blocks and magic items. You may see us post these stat blocks for everyone to see, but the service we are providing is those stat blocks with a ready-to-go adventure for GMs to play at their table. 

All of these zines take place within The Reach of Sehrabadd, a large peninsula with diverse terrain and people. From Maldavore Marsh, to the jungle of Korath, through The Wöisaen (Woe-shen) Steppes, down to the scorching Shattered Gulch. Ivo Hoying and I’s ultimate goal is to build an audience for this world so that we may one day release a world book for it, complete with a custom campaign inside. 

How can I see this world book?

Making a big world book is pricey. In order for us to release it to everyone, we made this Patreon for people to see what kind of TTRPG goods we offer, and the quality of our work. If you want to see our world book, the best way is through supporting us! Becoming an “Adventurer” will gain you access to our monthly zines, but if you want to forgo a subscription, we have tip options on our Patreon page, as well. A month after the zine release, we will make it available as a one-time payment on our page, too. 

We’d love to chat! 

From Thursday, July 31st to Sunday, August 3rd, Goodberry Press will be at GenCon! Find us at Aaron Miller’s booth, 1357, and stop by to talk! 

More adventures await within The Reach of Sehrabadd…

By Inti Navia

intinavia.com

GenCon Booth art by Aaron Miller – aaronbmiller.com

The Forbidden Island loomed before us, and we were left with a sense of awe and dread. What the pirates had hinted at before left a dark sense of foreboding over the tropical branches and white beaches. Why had our employer led us to this place?

A strong hook will make the characters pursue the adventure the GM crafted for them. The strongest motivation that characters will follow is the promise of gold. Hint at a valuable treasure hidden in the troll cave, or a priceless amulet that the evil sorcerer possesses. Trying to make them go to the cave because it’s something for them to do isn’t going to be enough. They need a powerful reason to go there. Sometimes it works to have them go and rescue innocent civilians, or a lost pet, but the characters usually do it more out of a sense of “doing a chore” rather than because they really want to. 

The traditional five room dungeon is a great example of a fun adventure. Let’s assume there’s a bit of a journey to get to the troll cave/dungeon. The GM has a chance to throw a random encounter the characters way, to give them a taste of combat before they get into the meat of it. Random encounters never have to be complicated, because they’re inherently short and sweet fights that don’t need complicated stat blocks. Pull out some goblins or maybe a custom stat block of your own. 

The first room is the entrance, in which the characters have to find a way to gain access to the dungeon proper. This can be through a puzzle, a riddle, or perhaps even just a clue that an NPC told the characters along the way. The second room is the guardian– the fearsome protector of the dungeon. It’s great to have fun with this one. It doesn’t necessarily have to be combat focused. For example, this guardian could ask the characters a riddle. If you do go the combat route, make the fight engaging. Take advantage of the terrain around the room. Give the characters options instead of straight swords and staffs and spells. The third room is the puzzle room. It’s always better to lean on the easier side than the harder side for puzzles. The last thing you want is your characters stuck on one puzzle for hours. It just makes everyone annoyed and takes the fun out of the game. For the fourth room, the boss room, pull out all the stops for this one! Go crazy on the stat block. This has been what the adventure has been building towards, so anticipations are high. Utilize those engaging environments. Give it cool dialogue. So when you arrive in the fifth room, the treasure room, the characters feel truly rewarded. 

If you’re designing a longer campaign, feel free to leave a plot thread in the boss chamber. Have him allude to “the greater threat” or just as the characters finish him off, have the BBEG swoop in to deal the killing blow for being an “unfaithful servant”.  It doesn’t have to be complicated. The characters should be left with enough juice to want to keep playing the adventure. 

It’s important to remember that the five room dungeon is just a guideline, it’s not a rule. I didn’t invent the idea of the five room dungeon, and rarely do I use a physical dungeon, but I use its concepts all the time. You don’t have to send your players to a dungeon at all. It can be a gnoll encampment. It can be a dark forest. What matters is the process of what they do once they’re inside. A mix up of all those elements leads to a diverse and fun adventure for everyone. 

By Inti Navia

intinavia.com