Hunting Vorinclex

 Finally trying out Chris McDowall's The Doomed! I made some Magic: the Gathering minis a while ago, now I have the terrain to go with them.

This was a solo battle, using the Winter Harvester horror and the Lair scene.

 

On the plane of Kaldheim...

Kaya had been tracking the strange monster for weeks, and was finally getting close to her quarry. She and her Beskir allies moved silently through the woods, approaching a farmstead.

 

The creature was in the farm's pen, attended by three walking corpses - no doubt the remains of the unfortunate farmers. It seemed they had been infected somehow...

From left to right:

Kaya, Planeswalker, Ghost Assassin

Nimble 3+, incorporeal axes (M3x1, targets save as QL 5+), ghostform (ignore a single obstacle on your first Move each turn; if you are touching an ally at the start of the move, they can make a free Move along with you)

Ragnar, Battershield Warrior

Tough 5+, shield bash (M1x3), shield (+1 to saves while readied)

Gudrun, Hornblower

5+, short sword (M2x1), inspire (at the of your turn an ally you can see makes a free Fight or Recover)

Leif, Codespell Cleric

5+, runestaff (R1x2), revive (at the end of your turn any allies you are touching automatically recover)

Britta & Inge, Shieldmates

5+, short sword (M2x1), shield (+1 to saves while readied)

 Vorinclex, Phyrexian Praetor, the Voice of Hunger

Fierce 3+, claws (M2x3), bio-terror (when this unit takes out another, all enemies that can see this unit take 1 damage), implacable (this unit cannot be killed while it is standing)

3 Infected Draugr

Fierce 5+, blade (M3x1), deathfeed (if an enemy has been taken out this turn, act as QL 3+)

Vorinclex can't be killed until all three draugr have been taken out.

Turn 1

Kaya, Britta, and Inge approached carefully, staying out of sight of Vorinclex and his minions.

(The little black pips keep track of what units have acted this turn)

 

Leif climbed onto the rock, and made the first strike, blasting one of the draugr with runic magic.

 

 The draugr went down, but wasn't out yet, screaming and crawling towards its attacker.

 

 Another draugr jumped the fence, trying to get at Leif...

 

 

...but Ragnar and Gudrun ran in to stop it. They couldn't bring it down right away, though.

 

 Turn 2

Leif couldn't finish the downed draugr with his rune magic - it got back to its feet, jumped over the fence, and took down Gudrun!

Meanwhile, Inga ran over to Kaya, who grabbed her arm...

 

 

Kaya turned the two of them ghostlike, and they dashed straight through the house, and into combat with Vorinclex!

 

Taking the monstrosity by surprise, Kaya's axes brought him down!

But Vorinclex didn't stay down for long. His wounds healed in seconds, he got back up, and tore Britta apart!

As she fell, Vorinclex let loose a grinding scream that tore into the minds and flesh of all who could hear it...

The terror was too much for the downed Gudrun, who gave up completely. Ragnar fell, and so did Kaya - but she managed to crawl up on the roof of the house, putting some distance between her and Vorinclex.

Inge approached the fight, but too slowly. No doubt that scream had made him reluctant.

Turn 3

Gudrun stood back up.

"I am... compleat..." she mumbled, her eyes empty. She charged her former allies!

Kaya leapt down from the roof and hacked down one of the draugr, taking out of the fight, before helping Ragnar back to his feet.

But then, another draugr ran at her from the side, beating her down! Kaya struck back on instinct, wounding the draugr... but it attacked again! There was only one way for Kaya to avoid its axe - she planeswalked away, hoping her allies could finish the fight.

 

Leif cast runic magic at the draugr below him, bringing it down once more.

But then, Vorinclex charged in, slashing Inge in two!

The defeated draugr pulled itself over to Vorinclex, and rose once more.

 

Turn 4

With all their comrades lost, and the enemy refusing to die, Leif and Ragnar decided to flee. Leif blasted the downed draugr, taking it out (but for how long?) Then he ran.

 

Before Ragnar could follow, Gudrun and the other draugr were on him, beating him down.

 

Vorinclex bounded up on the rock and swiped at Leif, who fell to the ground.

The draugr finished the job.

A chorus of biomechanical screams rose from Vorinclex and his servants, tearing Ragnar's soul apart.

Then, all was silent at the farmstead. The Phyrexian plans would continue uninterrupted...

Commentary

Wow, I got absolutely thrashed! But it was fun: quick to play, really felt like a narrative.

I think I should have gone for the minions first, and tried to avoid Vorinclex as much as possible. I hoped Kaya could take him down and keep him out of the fight for a bit... but that didn't work out.

Playing solo is probably harder than playing with an opponent. If the horror and the minions had to split their focus, things would be less rough. Gotta convince a friend to play, and make another warband. Guess it's Tibalt time...

Some Ravnica spells for 5e

I was asked to host a D&D oneshot set in Ravnica (a Magic: the Gathering setting) after a Magic draft weekend. I came up with some spells based on Magic cards from the new Ravnica sets, one for each guild.

I'm figuring I'll make some relatively generic pregen characters, then let the players pick their character's guild, getting the guild spell as an extra bonus.

Applied Biomancy

1st-level transmutation (Simic)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (biological matter from one of the creatures listed below)

Duration: 1 minute

You touch a willing creature, and induce a temporary mutation in it. Choose one of the creatures listed below (the spell requires some biological matter from the chosen creature as a component). The effect lasts until the spell ends.

Frog. The creature's legs become frog-like. Its jump distance is doubled.

Crab. The creature's hands become crab claws. Its unarmed attacks do 1d12 slashing damage.

Lizard. The creature's skin turns into hard scales. It gets a +2 bonus to AC.

Fish. The creature grows fins. It gains a swimming speed equal to its normal speed.

Octopus. The creature grows tentacles. It has advantage on grapple attempts.

Bladebrand

1st-level evocation (Rakdos)

Casting time: 1 bonus action

Range: Touch

Components: V, S

Duration: 1 minute

You touch up to six daggers, causing their blades to turn searing hot. Whenever an attack hits using one of these daggers, the target becomes branded. At the start of each of its turns, a branded creature must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it takes 1d6 fire damage. On a success, the brand disappears. A creature can only have one brand at a time.

Code of Constraint

1st-level enchantment (Azorius)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Choose a Large or smaller creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw, or a glowing golden Azorius symbol appears around it, restraining it for the duration. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the spell ends on the target.

Direct Current

1st-level evocation (Izzet)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You send an electrical current into a target, either from your arcane focus or from a source of electricity that you can see within range.

If you use this spell as an attack, make a ranged spell attack against the target. If the attack hits, the target takes 3d8 lightning damage.

You can also use this spell to create a lasting electrical current through the air between a source of electricity and an object containing conductive materials. The object becomes powered (if possible), but the current is unstable and any interference can have unforeseen consequences, at the DM's discretion.

Justice Strike

1st-level evocation (Boros)

Casting time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

The next time you hit with a melee weapon attack during the spell's duration, your attack deals extra radiant damage. How much damage depends on the size of the creature you attack.

Tiny:              2d4 radiant damage

Small:            2d6 radiant damage

Medium:       2d8 radiant damage

Large:            2d10 radiant damage

Huge:            2d12 radiant damage

Gargantuan:  2d12 radiant damage

Smothering Tithe

1st-level enchantment (Orzhov)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: Self (30-foot radius)

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

When this spell is cast, choose any number of creatures you can see within 30 feet of you. A creature affected by this spell finds a tenth of the coins it carries (rounding up) are stuck in its throat, causing it to become poisoned. At the start of each of its turns, the creature must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the spell's effect on that creature ends. On a failed save, it takes 1d4 bludgeoning damage. As a bonus action, the creature can cough up the coins. This ends the spell's effect on that creature, and the coins fly into your pockets.

Creatures that don't need to breathe, or don't have any money, are immune to this spell.

Sprouting Renewal

1st-level transmutation (Selesnya)

Casting time: 1 minute

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: 1 hour

You cause a Small or Medium wooden object to sprout branches and leaves, and transform into an animate quadruped plant. It uses the statistics of an awakened shrub, but is of Medium size and has a speed of 50 feet. The plant is friendly to you and obeys your commands. You can ride the plant if you wish. When the spell ends, the plant takes root in the ground and is no longer animate.

Stony Strength

1st-level transmutation (Gruul)

Casting time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (a pile of stone rubble)

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Stones and rocks start to hover around your hands. They form two big stony fists, glowing with green light. While this spell is active, you can't hold anything in your hands, but your unarmed attacks do 2d8 bludgeoning damage.

Thought Erasure

1st-level enchantment (Dimir)

Casting time: 1 action

Range: 30 feet

Components: S

Duration: Instantaneous

You attempt to erase the memory of a single event from a creature you can see. The event must have taken place within the last 10 minutes. The creature makes a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the memory is erased. Depending on the type of memory, the creature might be left with a "hole" in its memory, and realize its mind has been tampered with. For example, erasing the memory of hearing a single sentence will probably go by unnoticed, but erasing an entire conversation will likely make the creature feel that something doesn't add up.

Vivid Revival

1st-level necromancy (Golgari)

Casting time: 1 minute

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (a corpse of a Small or bigger creature, which the spell consumes)

Duration: Instantaneous

You cause three fungi to sprout from a corpse, draining its vital fluids. A creature can use its action to eat one fungi. Eating a fungus restores 1d4 hit points, and the fungus provides enough nourishment to sustain a creature for one day. The fungi go bad after 24 hours.