Magic Items: Lesser Wondrous Figurines

Like their more powerful cousins the Figurines of Wondrous Power, the Lesser Wondrous Figurines are approximately an inch in size and depict various creatures. Unlike their cousins these figurines vanish upon their invoking.

No command word is needed and activation is as simple as tossing the figurine to the ground.

These figurines can sometimes be found in sets, but more often are located individually.

Spider - Single target web spell, effect lasts 2 rounds.

Hound - Tracking bonus of 20%, lasts 1 turn (10 minutes).

Pigeon - Send a message as the spell.

Mole - Digs a 10' by 10' hole in earth, does not affect stone.

Frog - Gives a bonus of 5' to a single jump attempt.

Minnow - Provides water breathing for the user for 5 rounds.

Chameleon - Gives user a bonus of 10% to hide for 1 turn (10 minutes).

Squirrel - Climbing bonus of 50% for one attempt.

Ferret - Dodge bonus to armor class of +2 for one combat.

Bat - Night vision for 1 turn (10 minutes).

Bee - Anti-venom bonus to saves vs poison of +2 for 5 rounds.

Butterfly - Provides a +2 bonus to Charisma for 1 turn (10 minutes).

Stirge - Heal 1 hit point.

Chicken - Flutters to the ground becoming a days rations.

Fox - Gives a 10% bonus to listen checks for 5 rounds.

Deer - Increases movement speed by 20 feet for 5 rounds.

Sloth - Slows a single target as spell for 2 rounds.

Snake - Fear as the spell for 1 round.

Pig - Cases a single target to drop held items.

Ant - Reduces encumbrance by 1 category for 1 turn (10 minutes).

More Scenery

This time I was playing around with the Erinthor Mountain pieces from Dwarven Forge and a Balrog tea-light piece, using an LED flashlight for more oomph.

Some Scenery

Just playing around with some Dungeon of Doom pieces.

Magic Item: Blindfold of Seeking

"I know the door is here somewhere", Rillek grumbled.
"Maybe this will help", offered Embuk, passing a blindfold to his companion.
Rillek stared at the offering, "Very funny, Embuk, quite the joke.
Looking wounded Embuk coughed "Just try, the blindfold helps locate concealed things".
Taking the blindfold Rillek put it on and almost immediately gasped when he spotted the door behind the tall portrait of the Count. "Maybe he's hiding back here".

The Blindfold of Seeking provides a 20% bonus to spotting concealed and secret doors. When worn nothing else can be seen.  The power of the blindfold can be called on 3 times per day for 1 round each time.

Dwarven Forge Kickstarter 7: Some Early Beans

It appears the gang at Dwarven Forge have a good head start on designing the next Kickstarter project for the coming year.


Quoting Stefan Pokorny on Thanksgiving:

"BEANS: Yes, more Wilderness! And also some attention to City Builder and Castles! As I am designing all the interiors for Castles, Inns, Forts, etc, that will appear in the MYTHRAS Sourcebook I am getting frustrated with what I can do with the interiors, where I put corridors, how to configure the insides of houses and Castles . . . so Nate and I (and the team) are working hard to add the interiors of all these structures! Secret Doors! Tudor 2" x 4" style, 2" x 2" spiral stairs, smaller spaces (closets) garderobes, and more . . . so when the Mythras Sourcebook comes out you will be able to build to exact specs the Castle of Valoria! (Castle Crag), Temple of Khrom, Gold Coin Inn, Red Beards Tavern, etc."


I must admit that I was hoping for something different, but with my non-existent budget this might be a much needed break from the yearly struggle to participate. There will definitely be things I will want, but nothing yet that is likely to be a must have. We can only wait and see what surprises DF will have in store for us all next year.

If I had the budget I would like to see some additions to Sewers, Catacombs, cathedral, graveyard, and mausoleum.

Dwarven Forge Kickstarter 6: Caverns Deep - Afterthoughts

As mentioned in the previous post, lack of motivation sapped my interest in posting to the blog, even about things I would normally enjoy discussing. That includes this years DF Kickstarter which normally would have been the topic of several posts before and during the event. Here are some thoughts about how it went.

The project end with a total of over 3.3 million dollars and over 3,000 backers. Included in the themes for this year were caverns in standard color and Underdoom paint, crystal caverns, ice caverns, and the new outdoor terrain Dreadhollow Forest.

Variety seems to have been the objective this year, not only in themes, but in piece types. Multi use pieces called trifecta pieces are part of just about every encounter option in the project except for the forest. Diagonal walls and swell walls are also a major addition and enhance builds that can be created with the cavern pieces from the Kickstarter 2 Cavern sets allowing for more natural shapes to your layouts. The mix of shapes is impressive. Sadly getting enough of particular pieces is a costly endeavor.

Every year the designs get more detailed, and more complex which drives the prices higher. Increased inclusion of magnets, metal, and LED features (some that can change colors through use of a remote control) also factors into the price inflation. As a collector I love the bling, but as one of many with low or no budget, it seems that the idea of making Dwarven Forge terrain more affordable to a wider audience has been forgotten.

Too many themes being presented contributes to a paralysis when trying to decide on what to buy and what to skip, hoping to pick them up later through the web store. Trying to get some of everything leads to "feeling like butter spread over too much bread". I imagine people new to DF terrain get migraines trying to figure out how to maximize versatility while having variety.

Since I don't want to sound like a Negative Nelly, let me state that I love what I saw offered in this Kickstarter and if I had a budget this year as in previous years, well, my participation would have run pretty deep.

The new forest terrain is gorgeous. The modular trees and depth of detail left many wondering if the factory would be able to match what the very talented crew of artists have created. So far the painted prototypes coming back from the factory indicate that they indeed are up to the task. A full set of the Dreadhollow Forest (painted) runs about $900, and if you want greater table coverage the cost climbs from there, especially once you include the extra items that were added during the pledge manager phase. If you want incredible looking wilderness terrain you can't beat this set.

 The cavern pieces are also quite lovely. The attention to detail and to grand elevation pieces really defines these sets as among the best work Dwarven Forge has created. The artists involved deserve high praise.

Don't Bring Me Down

I was reluctant to address this topic on the blog until now. My frequent and prolonged absences are due to depression sapping my motivation. Currently I have motivation to blog again and need some input from readers for ideas to write about.

Please offer up some topics you would like my opinion or insight about and I'll see what I can come up with.

Thank you.