Apothic Carrie

Carella Fidelis, the eldest child of Demarco and Luna Fidelis, came into this world twenty-six years ago in Vinovia, an Ionian town on the marshy border of Castrerus (commonly known as the Shattered Empire). Her father served as regent of the town for the Republic, keeping the peace and making sure taxes flowed into the treasury without incident. She enjoyed the trappings of wealth, but had a hard time with authority. A tomboy in her youth unconcerned with traditional gender roles, she drifted toward tougher crowds as the years passed. She has a wicked tongue in her head, equally proficient with puns and insults, but she had the strength and tenacity to hold her own against the local bullies, eventually earning peace if not respect from them.

She still passed as a boy in her late teens, so she convinced her father to pull some strings and allow her to serve a son's civic duty to train and spend two years in the legions before returning home to help with running Vinovia for the Republic. She served in Legio VI Victrix, a training legion filled with new soldiers, building forts and border fortifications on the finger of Ionian land between Alfinwald and the Okulari Empire. She worked with the support teams mainly, fascinated by the concoctions flung by the siege equipment, especially fire bombs. She told jokes and puns to the siege teams to soften them up and learned all she could about siege chemistry from them, until her life changed on the day the Republic killed her family.

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.

Coin of Fortune Reversal

Wondrous item, rare

This ancient platinum coin has runic letters spelling out "Fate" on one side, and XIII representing the number 13 in Roman numerals under a rounded image of a full bag on the other. It has a nice weight for flipping, and it rings out a clear tone whenever flipped, easily audible within 60 feet.

As a reaction, you may flip the coin, requiring at least one free hand or a mage hand cast by someone who wields wild magic. The result of any d20 roll within 30 feet of the coin can be reversed, by flipping the die over and reading the bottom face. For normal d20s, this should result in a new value of 21 minus the original roll. So a roll of 1 would become a 20 and vice versa.

The Rumor Mill - Week 52

We look at another list of slang for week 52 of The Rumor Mill, but this time in a smattering of other languages. If humans build culture by stealing interesting customs from everyone they meet, then Common mugs other languages in back alleys and rifles through their pockets looking for interesting words and phrases to absorb. In a cosmopolitan city like Fellport, you can hear several languages spoken, sometimes all at once in the same conversation.

Let's take a look at this pocketful of entertaining language nuggets and see what Common might want to retain.

The Rumor Mill - Week 51

Slang fills our list for week 51 of The Rumor Mill. From swapping insults between water-breathers and air-breathers to dozens of names for a rich fool, we cover a cross-section of everyday terms you might hear in Fellport that mean something other than the strict definition given by sages. Like most slang, many of these terms grew from backhanded "compliments", reductive summaries, or dismissive language, all meant to end conversation or start fights.

So let's dive into this week's list. Rest assured, there's no shortage of language flying around the streets of Fellport, so maybe we'll finish the #Lore24 year with a second week of slang after this.

The Rumor Mill - Week 50

Since 50 is a nice, round number, let's talk about milestones for week 50 of The Rumor Mill. We look at record high graduation classes at the College, and record low vacationers at Crystal Lake. Annual festivals, newly-returned dragons, people healed, and zero combat fatalities round out our list of rumors this week.

So let's dive in to the round numbers of anniversaries, milestones, and record lows of this week's worldbuilding miscellany. We've got 2 more Rumor Mills to go, and 3 days left in the year to finish them. I think I've got this, but we'll see for sure in a few days.

The Rumor Mill - Week 49

Let's take another look at gods and their followers for week 49 of The Rumor Mill. And I just realized that I previously looked at gods in Week 4 and Week 9, so numerology fans will feel a thrill that it's currently Week 49. Totally unplanned, so let's hear it for the invisible influence of the gods, yeah?

As for topics, we question both the need for ubiquitous gods of death and the strength of disease gods in the face of clerical healing. We name-drop gods from several pantheons, looking at oddities and similarities as we go.

So let's get into this week's rumors about the gods and their followers.

The Rumor Mill - Week 48

Since the College takes up a sizable portion of the city, we look at theories of magic for week 48 of The Rumor Mill. Where does magic come from? How do spells lock a specific physical effect into a repeatable pattern of sound, motion, and materials, and why does it seem so primitive? Will magic ever run out, or do its reserves and potential truly stretch infinitely far? Does divine magic have an entirely different source from arcane magic? Nobody has found limits on magical power yet, but will casting powerful spells over and over cause dead spaces or drain everyone's magical potential?

Let's get theoretical in the magical sphere, exploring the edges of what people think they know about how magic works.

The Rumor Mill - Week 47

We haven't looked at obvious adventure hooks for a while, so let's gather a list of them for week 47 of The Rumor Mill. It looks like hordes of undead (and the rats to a lesser extent) gather in force to cause problems in town. Add the anonymous rich person who might attack the Gostra Festival from Pirate's Spire, the rumors about the kindest dwarven merchant spying for Ionia, and the Ionian sailors seeking asylum in Fellport as prisoners of war, and you have a recipe for intrigue and mayhem. Here's hoping heroes step up to sort out the truth from the drunken conspiracy theories.

Let's explore these eight stories in a little more detail, and uncover the weirdness happening under our noses in Fellport, shall we?

Zora the Waif

Zora doesn't remember yesterday, never mind their youth. They came to Fellport at some point, tricking the wealthy to part with some of their riches, and they had such wonderful dreams of a sunny seaside community where they had a place and a purpose. They fell for the dream and gave themselves completely to Makara, voluntarily choosing to lose their sense of self and become a tool subservient to the will of the Master. Once the pact was sealed in dreams, Zora awoke clutching a beast claw that manipulated probability in their favor, a gift from Makara to symbolize their bond.

Makara granted Zora several more gifts over the years. They can see in darkness, and all words instantly reveal their meanings. They can change their appearance and form at will, preferring to become the most unassuming innocent bystander to evade detection, and they recently learned how to turn invisible at will. Their talisman can rebuke attackers and improve saving throws, and they escape bonds and grapples with uncanny ease. They create thralls to do Makara's bidding, mostly by sneaking into bedrooms and telepathically whispering eldritch secrets into the sleeper's dreams. Most thralls break the charm fairly quickly, so Zora carefully keeps their true identity hidden when doing Makara's work to avoid any blame.

The Rumor Mill - Week 46

Dragons have returned to Beneterra, ending Ionian aggression against Fellport in what historians will call the Ten Days' War. For week 46 of The Rumor Mill, we look at all the little things that need to happen to tidy up after the failed invasion. Now that hostilities have ceased, the Fellport Watch is sending out parties to assess what else needs repairs or remediation. Is there poison in the water supply? Did the Ionians leave traps outside the harbor mouth? Did the crops at the Amaryllis Estate suffer any damage, or is Fellport's food supply safe for now?

Let's look into some stories on the streets in the aftermath of the war in this otherwise peaceful trading hub.

Pocket Mansion

Wondrous item, very rare (requires attunement)

This normal-looking piece of finely-woven midnight blue linen rolls or folds into a fist-sized package, but it opens up to a five foot square when unfolded and spread on a flat surface. It easily fits in a belt pouch or a scroll case for storage and transport. The corners will stick to vertical surfaces, allowing easy deployment against walls, though the corners will come loose with a light tug.

You can use an action to unfold a pocket mansion and place it on or against a hard surface, whereupon the surface shimmers and forms a magical portal to an extradimensional space, similar to a portable hole. However, the pocket mansion allows access to a small hallway with a door at the far end which opens into a permanent Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion. The mansion's owner can configure the interior as they see fit per the spell, with up to 100 nearly invisible servants able to serve a 9-course feast once per day, refreshing at dawn. Items can be brought in from beyond the portal and stored inside, making it an easy way to transport a wide variety of bulky items. Nobody knows if the mansion has an upper weight limit for creatures and stored goods.

The Rumor Mill - Week 45

Sometimes themes happen organically, like the one that emerged from week 45's Rumor Mill stories involving various disappearances. Most of these take the form of evading pursuit, though a few touch on smuggling, kidnapping, assassination, and college pranks. And then there's the story of a fear symbol forcing a robber to flee town a decade ago and never come back. Talk about a disappearing act.

So let's get into these stories of the vanished and vanishing, and we'll see if any of them hold even a kernel of truth.

Grenadier (5E Feat)

An Okulari "ates bombasi".

You have studied the art of throwing rocks and grenades with accuracy, allowing your missiles to hit more often and with devastating effect. You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Strength or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• You are proficient with improvised thrown weapons such as rocks, bottles, vials, and flasks.
• Improvised thrown weapons (such as acid, alchemist's fire, and holy water) gain a long range of 60 feet if they do not already specify a long range.
• Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls made with thrown weapons with which you have proficiency.
• When you score a critical hit with an improvised thrown weapon, roll one additional die when determining the extra damage the target takes. This includes the damage from a grenade's payload (such as acid, alchemist's fire, and holy water).

The Rumor Mill - Week 44

Since last week's list of personal rumors went so well, we take another stab at it for week 44 of The Rumor Mill. This time we look at dealing with devil attacks, fey creatures taking over tabaxi bodies, selling drugs, stealing things, smuggling, scamming, and obsessive rule following. It seems like this group of stories is somewhat less law-abiding than the previous list of rumors.

So let's explore another list of rumors involving specific people in Fellport and their current business.

The Rumor Mill - Week 43

We focus on individual people for week 43 of The Rumor Mill, uncovering stories of deception, history, and reputation. You can find anonymous healing, a first adventuring gig, and honest alchemy in these stories, along with family drama, questionable loyalties, face tattoos, sleazy businessfolk, and paths not taken. All have various relationships with the truth, but all have a core of believability, like every persistent rumor.

So let's get to examining this list of stories about people around Fellport, for good and for ill.

The Rumor Mill - Week 42

For week 42 of The Rumor Mill we examine some larger projects and magical effects around Fellport. Enchantments and safeguards around the harbor make life safer for the sailors and dockworkers that keep trade running at a fever pitch. Rumors abound of magical defenses that burn intruders and the "fly & drop" torture tower at the College, even though students break in daily to enjoy the pastime known on campus as "tower jumping". And what spells would you permanently enchant a theatre with to improve theatrical and musical performances?

So let's dig into the stories around permanent large magical effects and some public works projects around town.

The Rumor Mill - Week 41

We look at rumors around investigators for week 41 of The Rumor Mill. A city the size of Fellport has its share of people who investigate problems, uncover new lore, and recover lost items. Nobility with endless titles and more money than sense hire adventurers to get to the bottom of things, but many times that approach leads to a show of force that ends with a raging inferno. These investigators take a more subtle approach, usually getting the job done while leaving much less collateral damage in their wakes.

So let's hear it for investigators who analyze clues and discuss options rather than those who take the most brutally direct path to answers. 

Birdie Salt

15 years ago, a caravan discovered a young child sleeping under a willow tree near Gull's Crossing, a day's travel west of Fellport along the Coast Road. She couldn't remember her name, so the caravan master gave her the name Ophelia, after his missing daughter. Other traders called her Fay-Willow, glad to rescue her out of the Feywild, and priests at the Divinity Sanctum tacked on the name Salt, the traditional orphan surname in Fellport.

Ophelia did small jobs in the Sanctum, but she eventually found her way to the docks. She spent hours staring at the gulls over the harbor, wishing she could remember how to fly. She fell in with the Urchins for a while, learning the ropes for a few years, but she ran into trouble, as she usually does. To escape, she stowed away on the Regalo De Marquesa (Marquesa's Gift), an Andalusian merchant ship bound for the far-distant city of Ndali-Tota.

Ring of Enhanced Healing

Ring of Enhanced Healing

Ring, uncommon (requires attunement)

Single strands of copper, silver, and gold weave together to form this otherwise unadorned band. It radiates evocation magic under a detect magic spell. When the wearer casts an instantaneous healing spell from the Evocation school of up to 5th level, every target of that spell regains an additional +1 hit point.

The ring contains a pool of 2 sorcery points, which can be used by a sorcerer or someone with the Metamagic Adept feat as if they were part of their sorcery point pool. This pool refreshes daily at dawn.