On an Evil Night

Croonstreet
What day is it?

Well, most of the time, it doesn't matter, even if you keep a calendar. That makes it very easy to make tonight (or any night soon) an evil night in your game. This is just like adding a holiday or festival except instead of never doing it because it adds work, you can easily do it because it adds adventure.

Every so often, the town knows an evil night occurs. What happens on this evil night?


  1. Every object inside every house animates and seeks to punish or protect those who have cared or abused them. The only place to stay is in a blessed dwelling, that remains uninhabited for the rest of the year.
  2. Ghosts of ancestors return and traverse the streets, wailing the deeds of the living and begging to hold them accountable. They cannot enter houses, unless some enormity large enough has driven them into a frenzy. Many who listen on that night will hear things they wish they could unhear.
  3. Beastboon. Everyone is taken over by their inner animal nature and transform into half-man half-animals. They spend the night fucking, fighting, and feasting. Not all survive.
  4. The goblin council. This night, each goblin becomes 10, each xvart 100, all of the same mind. A peace takes over their minds and they visit human communities united. Hordes and thongs of them. They cannot damage property, but woe unto anyone who discovers that they are outside. For they have little interest in quickly killing their prey
  5. Gates to hell quietly open at night fall and devils party in the street. Braver people leave their homes. Some may survive with their souls intact, though few do.
  6. A fog comes over each person at nightfall as the realm of dream crosses over with reality for but a night. Each person lives their own waking nightmare or fantasy for the night. Few awake the next day unchanged.
  7. Beastrise. Each animal, bird, and reptile in the village grows into a humanoid shape the size of an ogre. Many take what they wish and redress grievances during this time. Others, loyal to kind masters prevent them from any wrongdoing. 
  8. Bells toll at dusk, and everyone splits into two halves, one containing a certain set of skills and the other containing the rest. What happens between people this night is beyond the rule of law.
  9. At night, all the people in the town fall into furious torrid lovemaking until dawn. Few of them desire it (though there are always some that don't mind), but it's forced upon them due to a curse from a nearby wizard in a tower who seeks more female concubines for his harem.
  10. A god descends from heaven. Which one is always unclear. Some may choose to petition her, but the gods are fickle and prone to violence. 

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On the Lich Lord: Bentreign The Undying

Lords of undeath, I perused as a child. The adventure was silly, full of railroads, and bizarre siege-level combats.

But the interesting thing to me was the portraits of the five lich lords that ruled the undead island. In that spirit, for immediate use at least in a walk on cameo in your game, I present:

Bentreign the Undying

Notes:
  • He is a male tiefling lich sorcerer
  • Tends to speak in meter or rhyme, unintentionally
  • An avid gambler and game player
  • Prone to fits of rage
  • Fluent in over 10 languages.
  • Loyal and obsessed with respect
  • Sadistic, suspicious, and paranoid
Phylactery: His is a small diamond coin, enameled in gold, and hidden among his hoard. 

By C. Campbell
Not blurry at full size
Description:
Damakos Bentreign is tall and thin, with a narrow triangular hairless face. He has two long tall thin horns that grow from his head, the left one broken.

He wears fashionable robes, in the modern style, and his hands and arms are so thin, the bone shows through in places. Otherwise, in a dim room, he could pass for a living being.

Domicile:
Damakos Bentreign lives in the last full standing tower in the Fortress of Runes, south of the grey forest, ostensibly named for the color of the dominate fungus in the area.

History:
Damakos Bentreign was cursed from birth.

His father an Incubus, his mother brutally scarred and cast out of his village, he grew up surviving in the wilds and learning what little hedge magic he knew from his mother.

Soon afterward, she was murdered in front of him by a gang of bandits. They took him captive.

He lived with them for years, hating and needing their protection. It was during this time he lost four of the fingers on his left hand, cut off for the pleasure of some minor bandit that Damakos later slew, as punishment for "cheating" during a game. (Cheating in this case meaning, being a better player).

He had little empathy for other people after that childhood.

His demonic heritage gave him surprising power over magical energy, and he spent a time travelling from place to place, seeking out wizards. Sometimes learning from them. More often killing them and stealing their secrets. During this period, he fathered a child with the sorceress Lirill. He does not know the whereabouts of his illegitimate son.

Eventually, realizing that while he lived, what he had could be taken from him, he found and bargained with the ancient Dracolich, Naruzaek for the secret of eternal undeath, in exchange for a future un-named favor. Now immortal, Damakos has had too long to consider the dracoliches power of augury, and spends most of his energy trying to discover what task the old evil will ask of him.

He still speaks to his father on occasion.

Hooks: 
  • Promises great treasure to those who would slay an ancient evil (actually a Dracolich) for him.
  • His illegitimate son or mother is asking for help to seek him out.
  • The grizzled old bandit captain has a final score to settle with him: he wants to finish their last game of backgammon to see who's really better. 
  • His Incubus father has not heard from him, and wants the party to check on him.
  • In addition to the standard, ancient hoard/evil plagues the land, etc.
Some final parting words. I've noticed the tendency myself to try to "save" the good stuff for later, but really, every game should be your most interesting game. It's not like there's a shortage of resources. Use whatever excites you in your game tonight, and it will last longer.
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On a 5e Class, Blood Warlock

Otherworldly Patrons

The beings that serve as patrons for warlocks are mighty inhabitants of other planes of existence—not gods, but almost godlike in their power. Various patrons give their warlocks access to different powers and invocations, and expect significant favors in return.
Some patrons collect warlocks, doling out mystic knowledge relatively freely or boasting of their ability to bind mortals to their will. Other patrons bestow their power only grudgingly, and might make a pact with only one warlock. Warlocks who serve the same patron might view each other as allies, siblings, or rivals.

The Blood God
Your patron is a lord of blood and life, a creature of primal power who holds the very secrets to mastery of all living things. Their motivations are powerful, demanding ever more and more blood and power from their warlocks. Beings of this sort include blood gods, gods of fertility and life, ancient stellar creatures of great energy and power, and hellish fiends.

Expanded Spell List
The blood god lets you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a warlock spell. The following spells are added to the warlock spell list for you.
Blood god Expanded Spells
Spell Level Spells

LevelSpells
1stFalse Life, Ray of Sickness
2ndDetect Thoughts, Ray of Enfeeblement
3rdFeign Death, Nondetection
4thLocate Creature, Phantasmal Killer
5thModify Memory, Scrying

Power of the Blood
Starting at 1st level, your patron bestows upon you the ability to empower your eldritch blast. When you cast the eldritch blast cantrip, you may cut yourself causing blood to flow and doing 1d6 points of damage to yourself. However much damage you do to yourself is doubled and added to the damage of each eldritch blast. i.e. a 5th level Warlock cuts themselves for 4 damage and both eldritch blasts they fire do 1d10+8 damage. You take another 1d6 points of damage after the spell is cast as the wound continues to bleed. This does not increase the damage of the cantrip.

Mastery of the Blood
Starting at 6th level, you can use your blood to empower your spells. Each time you cast a spell, instead of it being cast at your level, you have the option to cut yourself, causing blood to flow and doing 1d6 points of damage to yourself. However much damage you do to yourself increases the spells effective caster level by this amount. i.e. a 6th level Warlock casting Vampiric Touch normally casts it as a 6th level spell, doing 6d6 necrotic damage. The Warlock cuts themselves for 3 damage and instead casts the spell as a 9th level caster, doing 9d6 damage. You take another 2d6 points of damage after the spell is cast as the wound continues to bleed. This does not increase the damage of the spell.

Pact of flesh
Beginning at 10th level, your patron teaches you how to use your own blood and skin in order to master arcane power. You can engage in ritual scarification of no less than 60% of your body. Doing so, grants you an additional spell slot. The scarification is permanent.

Pact of Sacrifice
Starting at 14th level, you can now use the blood of other creatures in order to power your spells. You must have access to a helpless or willing creature. This only affects living creatures with blood. You attack them with a sacrificial knife, scoring an automatic critical. In addition, using their blood to power the spell does an additional 3d6 damage to them, on top of the critical damage. For animals and other non-humanoid, non-sentient creatures, Power of the blood increases the damage by 1d4 doubled per bolt, and mastery of the blood increases the spell level by 1d4. For humanoids and other sentient creatures, power of the blood increases the damage by 1d6 doubled per bolt, and mastery of the blood increases the spell level by 1d6. For innocents or creatures of particularly powerful energy or blood (virgins, unicorns, children) power of the blood increases the damage by 1d10 doubled per bolt, and mastery of the blood increases the spell level by 1d10. A creature cannot provide a bonus higher than its hit point total.
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