Two Years of Fellport

(This turns into a State Of The Wombat post under the fold, so buckle up.)

We're a week into 2025 now, and I haven't blogged at all until now. After 2 year-long blogging projects focused on the city of Fellport in my current D&D 5e game, I hope you'll forgive me for being a little tired and walking away for a bit. Take a look at the Fellport Almanac if you want to see what I've written so far. There's more to do in Fellport, but I don't have a self-imposed weekly deadline looming, so I'll have a much more relaxed time releasing future articles.

That said, let's summarize the past couple of years.

The #City23 project has 122 posts tagged, but 1 of those was the Fellport Almanac, and 3 others were intro posts of some sort, for a total of 118 content posts. The #Lore24 project has 123 posts tagged, but 1 of those was the Almanac, and 2 others were intro posts, for a total of 120 content posts. The Rumor Mill mini-series took up 52 of those posts, providing 416 total rumors and worldbuilding fragments in lists of 8 rumors per post.

A total of 238 posts? That's quite a number when viewed all at once, and it only took me 2 years.

The Fellport Almanac

Welcome to Fellport. First time? Excellent. You can lose your money on an urchin showing you around, or you can buy the almanac and get more information than you will ever need to navigate the streets and groups in the city. It even provides some useful information about the wider world. Only 3 gold, and it's indexed!

What The Heck Is Fellport?

Fellport is the home city in my current D&D 5e campaign. The characters started as level zero apprentices running through A Hero's Journey (highly recommended), and they are currently level 6 as of the start of 2024. Things have been added through play and through two year-long worldbuilding prompts: #City23 (a variation of #Dungeon23) and #Lore24.

For your reference and convenience, here are all posts with the Fellport tag. Here are all posts with the #City23 tag. Here are all posts with the #Lore24 tag. You can find the Fellport Index and the Beneterra Index below, with brief descriptions for each link.

Rings & Things

Ashley Macmillan bought a modest storefront on the Cliffside of 13 around two and a half years ago to set up her jewelry workshop and showroom. She named it Rings & Things and proceeded to create and sell jewelry both mundane and enchanted. Word of Ashley's prowess as a jeweler, teacher, and creator of magical items has spread since then, and Rings & Things has become a center of community.

The showroom has an understated elegance bordering on spartan simplicity, with space enough to host a cocktail party. Display cases use enchanted daylight crystals to show the available stock in the best possible light, and the color palette seems limited to black, white, silver, and gold. All glass and countertops shine as if newly installed that morning, subject to mundane and magical cleaning multiple times per day by the two or three clerks or apprentices on duty at any given time.

Ashley Macmillan

Ashley’s long, straight golden hair and hazel eyes complement the tiny gold scales that cover her skin. She has a solid, muscular build, which serves her well when using her staff in melee. Her eyes betray a hint of sadness at the horrors she has seen, but they still twinkle with mischief and laughter. She remains a fun-loving showboat when using flame bolt and control flames to forge and shape jewelry at her shop during demo hours. She likes a challenge, and will take on commissions that she doesn't quite know how to complete in order to force herself to learn new skills.

She left home as soon as she could, eager to use her gifts of magic to leave her uncaring family behind. She built her reputation as a hotshot fire-based adventuring sorcerer until about three years ago, when she barely survived visiting a den of clever owlbears while gathering components for Lucius Modesto at The Dipped Pen. She lost half of her party and the use of her legs that day.

Ring of Storing

Wondrous item, uncommon

This unassuming and unadorned band looks very plain, but fairly expensive. The platinum band has a single tiny diamond inset into it, flush with the surface of the band. The diamond may or may not glow dimly when found. The ring magically adjusts to fit the wearer's finger perfectly.

When the wearer uses a bonus action to toss an object into the air and snap their fingers using the hand with the ring, the object disappears. The ring of storing transports the object into an extradimensional space for storage. When the wearer uses a bonus action to snap their fingers again, the object reappears above the ring and drops into their hand. The diamond glows faintly when the ring has an item stored, not enough to see by, but enough to be noticed.

Acumen

Weapon (rapier), legendary (requires attunement by a non-shapeshifter)

Elven smiths created Acumen out of a unique alloy of mithril and adamantine, making it both light and impossibly strong. This alloy should splinter apart according to dwarven smiths, but somehow Acumen persists. Its slightly curved blade and flowing guard indicate elven manufacture from at least 1000 years ago. A spherical tiger eye gem serves as its pommel, the pupil seemingly following anyone who looks at it from any direction. The Alfinwald High Circle of Mages imbued it with the ability to break illusions and force shapeshifters back to their natural form, and disciples of the Morning Star steeped it in their god's holy light.

Prior to attunement, Acumen grants its wielder a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon, and it will glow with pale blue starlight when mentally commanded to do so. If the wielder is targeted by an illusion or polymorph spell, Acumen will immediately attempt to dispel the effect as a dispel magic spell cast at 4th level (for 5th level spells and above, roll a d20 against a DC of 6 + the spell's level to dispel).

My Plans for Lore 24

We're currently 4 days from the new year, and 4 days from #Lore24 kicking off. I hope you'll be writing something this year as well, regardless if you're "officially" participating in it or not. Since the kickoff is so close, I thought I'd jot down some ideas about what I'm looking to do during this project.

Fellport Expanded

As my #City23 project, I detailed pieces of Fellport, the central city in my current D&D 5e game. I'm at 115 entries right now, and I'm hoping to hit 120 or 122 before the end of the year. I've got another 18 entries stubbed out at the moment, so I think I can make that happen. 122 entries puts me at an average of one entry every 3 days for the year, and I'm happy with that given I had months over the summer where I only wrote one entry.

The current plan keeps me in this world, detailing things far beyond the city limits. I have sketches of the Dunhill Confederacy, the Okulari Steppes, the Ionian Republic, the Barbary Coast, the Ndali Kingdom, the Yamagura Empire, Andalusia, and others that I mentioned in 2023. I want to write those down and add them to the world, and those are just a handful of countries. There's so much more to discover here, and that's what I want to do in 2024.

Fredonia "Hytt" Hyttle

Fredonia grew up in the Surtsey Islands, as her family groomed her to learn the runes and follow the Wise Carver. She had an innate aptitude for runecraft and tattooing, but she always went looking for the truth behind the words. Even the most divine words. She uncovered secrets better left hidden, alienating herself from the clergy. She ended up barely escaping the islands with her life at age 15. That never bothered her, because she believes that living by anything other than the full truth will lead to disaster.

Her early vagabond life had its challenges. She always stuck her nose in where it didn't belong and acted like she did people favors through her meddling. It took her years to figure out that some people wanted to remain ignorant because the truth requires overwhelming effort to deal with the change. She honed her skill in reading people, and she learned how to read lips. With those assets she uncovered even more secrets and shared them, which made her even more unpopular wherever she went. She always seemed to find people interested in paying for what she knew, so she never lacked the funds to do whatever she wanted.

Lieutenant Filch

Filch came to The Grey Rover six years ago under Old Captain Pete. He hid in a dinghy, white as a sheet and shaking with fear, and he wasn't discovered until the shore party made it back to the ship. He didn't say much to anyone, but he nodded when Pete offered him a job.

His skill with his hands served the crew well. Whenever the captain asked, he could pilfer a key from anyone and melt into the shadows. He never told anyone his name, so he earned the name Filch. He seems to like it, or maybe he just enjoys the anonymity of an alias. The ship's healer Vadym couldn't find anything wrong with him. Pike seemed to recognize something broken within him, and they silently bonded over their individual traumas.

Lieutenant "Webby" - Wabota

Wabota spent her childhood in the waters between the underwater cities of the Nelendi Kingdom. Her father traded building materials and ore with both aquatic people and landfolk, which meant long stretches of travel along the sea floor. Wabota spent her days deepening her affinity with nature, swimming with the fish and exploring coral reefs.

She went to help a tuna caught in a net one day. She freed the fish but ended up tangled in the net and hauled on board a surface fishing vessel. The fishermen laughed at her and treated her like a thing just because she could breathe water. Her father found her and took her back, but the experience left a permanent mark on her.

Lieutenant "Pike" - Pykadram Gardwil

[CONTENT WARNING: Attempted Suicide]

Pykadram Gardwil grew up learning the family business - worship of the Forgefather. The Gardwil family serves the faith with courage and tenacity, sometimes butting heads with nobility in the dwarven capital city of Erdgeist. He took his vows early, learning the basics of many faiths and the rituals and rites of the Forgefather. He probably wouldn't inherit anything from his family, but he had faith that the Forgefather would provide and guide him through life.

He came across as a hothead, absolutely certain in the One True Way of things, and ready to throw down with anyone who challenged his beliefs. He stayed moderate on drink and almost never swore, no matter how passionate his arguments. But one night he had a few too many beers at a party, and he got into a heated exchange with a prince of the Molten Throne. The unnamed prince believed that the clergy served the will of the throne instead of the Throne swearing fealty to the Forgefather as the coronation ceremony clearly showed. Pykadram disagreed. Violently. They found the prince's body the next morning, Pykadram's unconscious hands sill around his throat.

Fog Gem

Fog Gem

Wondrous item, rare

This ten pound melon-sized rough ovoid of smoky quartz swirls and billows like actual smoke if you stare into it long enough. On command it creates a fog cloud with a radius of 60 feet centered on itself. Anyone touching the Fog Gem can see through the fog it generates. It doesn't require concentration to maintain, and it can be dispersed by the creator as a free action. The fog also immediately disperses if the creator stops touching the Fog Gem. The fog persists for up to 3 hours per day, regardless of how many times the cloud is created or destroyed.

When mounted onto a building or vehicle, the radius of the fog becomes 120 feet. Anyone within the building or vehicle can see through the fog it generates.

Bosun "Cutter" - Qadira Ede

Qadira took her first breath in the hands of a priest to the all-powerful Osanobua twenty-five years ago, her arrival at the palace celebrated as a divine birth that expanded the ruling Ede family. Her older brother and sister performed their roles in the ceremony well, and Qadira went on to perform the same roles for her three younger siblings in her youth. Her mother Emotan Ede made her fortune in trading, and invested her wealth to create schools for all children in the entire Ndali kingdom.

True to form, Emotan made sure that all her children had the best possible education. Qadira hated the rote lessons, but she still learned what she could about the kingdom and how it works. She excelled with weapons training, with her powerful frame giving her a massive physical advantage. She learned new weapons easily and learned to use her body's strength and flexibility to great advantage, but she focused most of her time on a massive two-handed tulwar as her main weapon. A blade that large helped with her intimidating presence, and it led her to worship Ogun the metalworking son of Osanobua.

Captain Oya Stormqueen

Captain Oya Stormqueen's life began humbly, in an orphanage in Imzilut, the Okulari capital city. She doesn't remember her family, and she assumes they lost everything and died in the drought that turned the steppes into a giant dustbowl. Oya survived on just enough food in the orphanage, eventually sneaking out to talk passers-by out of a few coins for directions. She met Vadym on the street and they quickly became best friends, relying on each other for security and sanity. Oya had a knack for using light blades and calling thunder, and Vadym could talk to the wind and heal with a touch. They knew each other so well and fit together with absolute trust.

Life in Imzilut grinds those without wealth into hopeless skeletons over endless years, so the pair set out to seek their fortunes elsewhere. They headed east to follow Vadym's dreams of the sea. Oya just wanted a better life to match her ambition, so heading for the sea seemed as good a choice as any. They had many mishaps and adventures along the way, but they eventually made it to the coast in Dunhill.

Welcome to #Lore24!

We're currently 2 weeks out from the end of 2023, so it's high time to start talking up a writing challenge for 2024. You've been working on your #Dungeon23 or #City23 project (here's a look at Fellport, my project), but what about the world that lives outside the dungeon or city?

That's where #Lore24 comes in. Entries can cover specific items, weird people, odd holidays, organized groups, why a sect of monks are violently self-flagellant, curious terrain, unique plants, the origin story of your world, building materials, a sunken ship, spicy rumors overheard on the street, or whatever strikes your fancy.

The point? Make stuff. Every day if you can. Fill your world, one piece at a time.

Adventures Across the Planes

And advertisement posted on a bulletin board catches your eye. The precise script indicates an ordered and capable mind, and the short message evokes the promise of a unique adventure.

Adventurers needed. Hazardous and wildly variable extraplanar conditions. Constant danger, safe return doubtful. Possible riches and great acclaim in case of success. Contact Randir Greymantle, Peregrin Hall, Upper Campus.

Randir Greymantle works at the College, mostly giving lectures on teleportation and the planes. He maintains an office on the third floor of Peregrin Hall, and he will meet prospective partners in a classroom down the hall. He wants a competent team he can rely on to survive and thrive in adverse conditions on other planes. He has some limited funds for initial expenses, but he will rely on rewards for recovered items and completed tasks to pay people upon completion.

Randir Greymantle

Randir grew up in Occam, the half-blooded bastard son born to a girl in the Durgin clan after a dalliance with a Wood Elf caravan worker. The Durgin family has run Occam for centuries, so despite his black sheep status he got used to the best of everything. The true Durgin children kept him at arm's length, so he learned to love solitude. Once he learned he would probably outlive them, he never let them forget that. He saw himself wielding magic and making his own destiny anywhere other than Occam, where nobody liked his "I'm better than you" attitude.

He shirked the basic weapons training of a noble lad, preferring to read everything and learn magic. He spent time studying the gods, as he knew he would visit their home planes someday. In his teens he knew he had to study conjuration to master teleport and plane shift, so he learned what he could in Occam before talking his mother into arranging a fully paid course of study at the College in Fellport.

Shrieking Pouch

Wondrous item, common

When initially found or purchased, this well-made leather belt pouch contains a plain silver ring. It has a top flap that closes with a silver button. Once a creature wears the ring, the pouch's magic takes hold. Any time someone other than the ring wearer opens, grabs, or moves the pouch, it emits a piercing shriek audible for 200 feet. The shrieking stops in 1 second if the offending creature drops the bag or otherwise leaves it alone. It causes no damage, but it definitely attracts attention.

Originally designed as a wealthy person's bauble to foil cutpurses, various thieves' guilds use these as puzzles for recruits to work through. Shrieking Pouches see much more use as practical jokes lately, usually involving the owner leaving it in a bar for someone to find. The Sacred Squid has had to implement a zero tolerance policy to eject and refuse to serve anyone with a Shrieking Pouch, as the noise ruins the dining experience for everyone in the entire building.

Multispout

Multispout in action

Wondrous item, uncommon

This red enameled metal and rubber cylinder magically fits into nearly any bottle, making it easier to pour the liquid without dribbling. A series of eight tiny runes have been inscribed around the outside circumference, the Infernal characters representing the numbers 1 through 8. An indicator line sits below the 1, implying that something might rotate to line up the line with the other numbers, but it doesn't move on first inspection. When inserted into a bottle, it acts as a regular pouring spout, allowing liquid in and out of the bottle as one might expect of a non-magical item.

When inserted into a bottle and experimented with over the course of an hour (during a short rest), other functions of the Multispout become clear. It requires a keyword in order to rotate the spout to a different number, which takes a simple ten minute ritual to set. A second keyword extends the spout into a small funnel for ease of filling the bottle or retracts it back to the regular spout, also set during the same ritual.

Redmoon Restorative Lozenges

Redmoon Restorative Lozenges

Wondrous item, common

Tilly Redmoon sells small wax paper packs containing 10 Redmoon Restorative Lozenges for 5 gold pieces at her shop The Crystal Beaker. The package clearly warns against taking more than one per day. She worked out the recipe back when she spent all her time travelling and performing, needing to squeeze out one more song at the end of a long day. These brown lumps of hard candy taste of pine pitch and licorice with an earthy hint of mushroom, a salty dash of fermented soy sauce, and the dark sweetness of molasses.

When dissolved in the mouth over 10 minutes, each lozenge will make the consumer's throat feel better and restore one expended use of Bardic Inspiration. Using 2 or more lozenges without taking a short rest between them will make the consumer's throat go numb, making them lose their voice until after their next long rest.