Hey folks! The campaign ends in four days, so if you are waiting to pledge, now is one of the best times to do so.
With the release candidate of the Draw Steel Heroes book on Patreon, we've got a great look at how the hero ability statblocks (and one monster statblock) will look. So, I've decided to start going through and update all the statblocks to reflect this. It's a lot of work, but it'll be worth it!
Here's a look at one of the Elemental Dancer Minion statblocks (designed by Aaron Flavius West) to show what it's going to look like. This involved making brand new elements for the Power Roll icons (these are actually distinct from the ones used by MCDM; perhaps in the future we'll make these available?) plus emulating the distance and target icons.
I think this is a big upgrade over the original statblocks and will only increase the utility and value of the book. It's worth the extra work!
Lastly, we've got the lore dump for the Creatures of the Wode by Chris Hopper. This features 4 new creatures for your wode-based adventures. I've elected to include the separate lore for all the creatures here, but each one will also include statblocks between the lore.
Until next time: Take care of yourselves; take care of each other. Black Lives Matter. Trans Rights are Human Rights. ACAB. Make Art, Not Content.
And stay gold, --Onslaught
The Wode, the ancient forest of Vasloria, is home to things far older than the human kingdoms that press against the treeline now. The menacing beasts and spirits of the dark woods once swallowed entire kingdoms. Woe be to any adventurer now traveling too deep into the Wode today. There are places there even the elves dare not tread.
Wodesense The Wode watches. It’s not self aware, exactly, but wodethings share a deep connection that stirs when the forest floor is disturbed. How these ancient beings react to that disturbance varies; some are curious, some are violent, some may be both. But the wodethings are always watching. Non-wode creatures feel the press of this presence as an ominous pressure that increases the longer they spend under the thick forest canopy.
Draw Them Deeper Wodethings use the environment to their advantage. Their tactics involve drawing intruders deeper into the wode’s inescapable traps: drowning, throwing off cliffs, or pushing them into combat with each other. Direct confrontation is a last resort.
Bramblebeast Thorns and brambles move and twist to take on familiar shapes under the darkness of the forest canopy. Bramblebeasts are the wooden warriors of the Wode: forest spirits formed from the undergrowth to protect the creatures living within it. They are typically larger than their real-world counterparts, and lash out with whip-like claws to protect the wodethings that summon them.
Grim The watcher in the darkness, a guardian of ancient sacred spaces. The grim resembles an animal, typically a domestic cat or dog, but of extraordinary proportions and with eyes that glow with malice. Though capable of physical attack, they prefer to keep their distance and rely on magic to maneuver trespassers away from their domain.
Nightravens Shapeshifting oily black creatures with razor-sharp beaks, too many claws, and jagged obsidian feathers. Nightravens scour the wode for trespassers, screaming warnings to those who could aid them. They spear through the branches of the Wode unseen, swooping close to the ground in near-silent rustling beats of too-large wings.
Wodelings This forest guardian, beautifully clad in green or dressed in leaves, is always accompanied by a bevy of protective animals or bramblebeasts. They are the embodiment of the wode’s capriciousness, but also its wrath. They may bait an intruder, leading them deeper into the Wode, or simply ambush them for traveling too deep. Wodelings delight in luring those who should not enter into places they cannot escape.
