"You walk boldly into this place. You interrupt my prayer." The angel, if such a fallen thing could be called so, looked over his shoulder as he began to stand. Shards of ice ran streaked from his eyes down his cheeks, tears frozen. His eyes, pale blue, looked upon you with a strange brightness to them. "Go to sleep little ones, tomorrow will be a brighter day." The entity stated softly, his tone sad, afraid, yet... a faint hope laced it, a conviction that bordered on madness.

• Mercenaries discover Borael in the dead of night… while a raging blizzard lashes outside

The Promise of Tomorrow, Hope Through Lasting Storms. Borael watched over those who huddled by fire and warmth to withstand chilling blizzards and relentless conditions. He watched with awe as brave sailors cut through deadly tempests, he admired daring explorers who withstood hunger and dehydration while stranded on desolate mountains, holding onto hope that rescue would come. To witness battles not fought with blade or spell, but with hope and will. Yet seeing mortals perish while carrying such hopes, how their lifespan might flicker out in their own need for sleep. Things became much worse during the Last War, where citizens endured their cities held by enemy forces, hid in their cellars while enemies bombarded their homes. A new storm, made of mortal hands, had begun to threaten the people. The fishing villages of Scion’s Sound were particularly vulnerable to the battles between Karrnath and Thrane. The locals were not unused to danger, but going from being the coast of Thronehold to being the first line against the enemies across the sea forced many to seek out shelter. The Karrnathi are stubborn people, many opted to weather this storm. 

 The angel watched them with pity, when he eventually witnessed another event. In the prison of Dreadhold, nobles had been paying to be petrified. Put into slumber in stone until the war ended… and that fascinated Borael. A petrified creature would not age, nor would their bodies give out. The concept fascinated him. Given his knowledge of ice, he could induce a similar state as Risia’s stasis… So he did. Getting a few desperate villagers into the ice… and more prayed for it. An aspect of Dol Arrah. The sun forsook them, but the cold would embrace them.

 So it was that Borael roamed, and in doing so, reached out to the dreams of the hopeful. He would not simply observe, he would give salvation. As “the Warmth of Dol Arrah” he would save some… but only if they sacrificed others. Borael would encase the “sacrifices” in ice, and send the others to spread his word, or bring forth the situations that would warrant his “salvation”. Borael rarely leaves his anchor point, but while other idols are only able to Teleport back to their own, Borael can Teleport to any location where a mortal prays for him. A combination of Dream, Scrying and Teleport which lets him appear even amidst the worst of blizzards… once invited, it is not long before those within the abode are cast in frozen coffins.

"Lady Illmarrow is older than bones. Some say she came to Khorvaire with the elves, but the way I’ve heard it, she was a queen of the Forgotten People, the humans who ruled this land before there ever were goblins or orcs. She’s forgotten more about magic than the wizards of Arcanix have ever learned. People say she weaves a grand tapestry made from souls—that when she’s quiet, it’s because she’s got all she needs to keep her busy, but when she runs out of thread, it’s time to harvest more. It was Lady Illmarrow who set the Talons of Ice ravaging the north during the reign of Marala ir’Wynarn, and she’s made the boneclaw wyverns that nest in the Icewood.

What’s that? Why hasn’t some bold hero faced this villain? Oh, many have—and many are frozen into the walls of her palace. Haryn Stormblade surely did slay Lady Illmarrow, and brought her crown to his king. But you can’t kill a thing that’s already dead. It was Illmarrow who created the shadow plague that killed the king, and it was her shadow that reclaimed her crown. Illmarrow can’t die, and if she’s stirring again, all we can hope is to wait it out." - Chronicles of Eberron

I took the stats from Eberron: Rising from the Last War for base, then combined her with the recently released Szas Tam and the ancient green dragon from 5.5e. Moving away from the paralyzing touch of liches in favor of highlighting her original use of chill touch as well as her draconic traits given she's not only a lich, but a half dragon as well. Being one of the few spellcasters in Eberron to reach the ninth circle of magic, I also included new spells, including new additions from Arcana Unleashed, to her list.

Lady Illmarrow is fully automated in Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom along 500+ other monsters adapted for the Eberron setting. Additionally, I DM in Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn if you're interested in playing in Eberron against enemies such as Illmarrow!

Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn

DM: West Marches! Welcoming Players and DMs alike!
System: D&D 5e and D&D 5.5e
Date/Time: WM! DM posts when able, players avaliable sign up!
Available Spots: Would you like a chance to explore Cyre, the Mournlands and the world of Eberron? We have a home for you!
Preferred Player Experience: Veterans and Newcomers alike are welcome, we have helpful community who are always happy to help to teach, as well as a value and excitement to playing alongside fellow veterans.
Preferred Player Age: We're proud to host games to people of all ages, from students to parents, we hope to provide a safe pg13 environment where everyone with a love for D&D can thrive.

Do you love Eberron? Have you been struggling to get a campaign going? What if I told you there's a whole community of players and DMs that have been around for half a decade, running multiple adventures and connecting unique characters and yes even making memes just a link away? That's right! Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn is a server in discord where we run D&D games! Not only seamlessly combining 5e and OneDnD content, but adding popular Eberron 3rd party content including Exploring Eberron and other Keith Baker products to our player options. All while DMs bounce ideas and look into popular 3rd party sources like Duran's Guide to the Blood of Vol and the Giant's Guide to Xen'drik for even more stories to unfold!

We have Sharn as our main hub, so even when you're not engaging into quests you can roleplay with a vast community and bring your own stories into the mix. With special encounters avaliable so you can fight crime in the streets of Callestan or help patrol King's Forest against the nerfarious Jungle Boys! We're also actively seeking special events as the Eberron we've expanded on together continues to flourish. Including the implementation of holiday events providing special challenges and opportunities.

For those keeping up with my releases of Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom this is where I run those encounters along my fellow DMs! Join in the fun!

Heeeeeeeeeey so, this month is being extra busy IRL as a career defining exam awaits early. However I wanted to take the chance to celebrate an ongoing milestone, and try to bring in more passionate people to assist in this ambitious endeavor. The two main things I usually do around this subreddit is try to help people find the discord server Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn where we get to play in Eberron together, and share statistics for Eberron monsters I use and am happy to share with DMs online. Among these stat blocks, I've rejected AI usage for the art (and everything else really), instead crediting artists across the web, as we are a creative community working together to bring these ideas to life. Turning some of my dearest one shots and plots and adapting Canon and Kanon idols, as well as those made by myself and invested friends to bring to life the radiant idols in Sharn and beyond.

They've been some of my "main" projects, the radiant idols. Which are fully commissioned pieces by OlieArts himself as well as volunteered (and paid for in DMsGuild) pieces by Albert Holaso. This is due to my personal project and goal this year, taking several of my freely available stat blocks and providing them as a book, Vencyl's Vigils I: Radiant Idols is an upcoming bestiary on radiant idols. Hopefully to be made available in DMsGuild once it is completed, detailing thirteen radiant idols, their cults, how to make your own and a handful of player options. Alongside dozens of stat blocks to further flesh out their cults.

Between myself and a couple very invested friends, we've successfully gathered 8 of the 13, with Olie having just started working on the concept art for the 9th. I've been scarce on more public updates given the time invested in the project and progression, but after the 7th of September I'd like to begin changing that.

Tales of highway robberies are recent, heists on Lightning Rails are daring affairs. From these stories, a new villain has began to be heard: Zelenor is loud, overconfident, and obnoxious. Tailed by his darkling minions, Zelenor is a chaotic villain seeking to strike fear and panic. When not executing daring heists along the Lightning Rail tracks (warranting a bounty from House Orien) he sits in the Scoundrel's Saloon in Thelanis, scheming his next daring heist.

Tales of highway robberies are recent, heists on Lightning Rails are daring affairs. From these stories, a new villain has began to be heard: Zelenor is loud, overconfident, and obnoxious. Tailed by his darkling minions, Zelenor is a chaotic villain seeking to strike fear and panic. When not executing daring heists along the Lightning Rail tracks (warranting a bounty from House Orien) he sits in the Scoundrel's Saloon in Thelanis, scheming his next daring heist.

Tales of highway robberies are recent, heists on Lightning Rails are daring affairs. From these stories, a new villain has began to be heard: Zelenor is loud, overconfident, and obnoxious. Tailed by his darkling minions, Zelenor is a chaotic villain seeking to strike fear and panic. When not executing daring heists along the Lightning Rail tracks (warranting a bounty from House Orien) he sits in the Scoundrel's Saloon in Thelanis, scheming his next daring heist.

The Rakshasa, a champion of the Lords of Dust. A fiend able to bypass almost all magical defenses... versus the sting of one silly lil pseudodragon from the Plane of Order. The odds are more surprising than you'd thing when its 1d20+4.

The silliest thing to happen in Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn today XD

Incredible commission done by OlieArts!

The creature emerged through the treeline, it was huge in form, covered in fur and muscle as it approached with the certainty of a predator. Eyes burning red in the night, followed by the clinking of chains, spread across his sides, binding him. Hazel struggled in her bindings, watching as the lupine horror with stag-like horns stood on it’s hind legs. Body changing, transforming. “You smell of fear, little sheep.” Where the wolf once stood, a large man now did. Angelic in grace, clad in a hunter’s pelts, yet wearing the skull of a stag. Leaving only those shining eyes golden as the moons watching her. “But don’t lose hope when you run. Maybe you’ll outlast your friends, maybe you could find help. Hold that hope. Save it.” He traced her chin with a finger, a cruel chiding in his tone. “Because I love watching it fade when I finally catch my prey.” 

• The shifter Hazel witnesses the emergence of the Horned Hunter

The Horned Hunter was once the Throne of the Hunt. His fall came after witnessing the blue dragoness Lirinith in her pursuit of immortal prey, witnessing her slay a great fiendish wolf deep in the Eldeen Reaches. Growing ever more fascinated with the idea of making his own grand trophies, he came to hunt deep in Eldeen Reaches... where the bite of a loup garou led to his fall and transformation. While Capriel holds no allegiance to the Overlord known as the Wild Heart, the idol shifts from moments of arrogance over his new growing collection of trophies and wild ferocity as he chases down prey, as high on the fear they hold as the adoration of his own accursed cultists, those he binds with a blood oaths becoming lycanthropes of his own unique strain, transforming when Therendor is full to curse at the Azure Sky who expelled their master.

Now Capriel makes his home in the thorp of Greenblade. While he provides the blessing of the Dusk Harvest to allow the faithful to flourish and grow in places the Bandit Lords and Aundair had salted and wasted during the Last War, he makes the demand of new sacrifices to hunt… and too often he craves for Humanoid blood.

The full automation for Capriel, and over 500 other monsters made and adapted for Eberron, are in Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom, and entirely avrae compatible! If you'd like to join in facing encounters like these and immerse yourself in the Eberron setting, Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn is the west marches for you!

Race of Eight Winds pegasus support post as currently approaching such XD

"Sharn is a vertical city, and over the course of centuries the people of Sharn have developed a variety of sporting events that take advantage of the unique architecture of their home. Windchasers dart around the towers following elaborate racing paths, while skyblades joust far above the ground. But one event overshadows the rest: the Race of Eight Winds.

This event draws spectators and gamblers from across Khorvaire. Part race, part aerial battle, this stunning spectacle has shaped the culture of the Dura Ward. Dura, one of the oldest and poorest quarters of Sharn, contains inhabitants swept in from all corners of Khorvaire. They may not have gold, but the people of Dura have the Race of Eight Winds.

According to the commonly accepted — if somewhat unlikely — legend, King Galifar II was fascinated by the use of aerial scouts and cavalry. It’s said that he used Sharn as a proving ground to test the merits of different flying beasts, granting land and gold to exceptional cavaliers. Over the centuries, this activity evolved into an exotic competition involving different sorts of magical and fantastic beasts." - Sharn, City of Towers

Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn

NOW WITH RAVENLOFT HORRORS WITHIN CONTENT!

DM: West Marches! Welcoming Players and DMs alike!
System: D&D 5e and D&D 5.5e
Date/Time: WM! DM posts when able, players avaliable sign up!
Available Spots: Would you like a chance to explore Cyre, the Mournlands and the world of Eberron? We have a home for you!
Preferred Player Experience: Veterans and Newcomers alike are welcome, we have helpful community who are always happy to help to teach, as well as a value and excitement to playing alongside fellow veterans.
Preferred Player Age: We're proud to host games to people of all ages, from students to parents, we hope to provide a safe pg13 environment where everyone with a love for D&D can thrive.

Do you love Eberron? Have you been struggling to get a campaign going? What if I told you there's a whole community of players and DMs that have been around for half a decade, running multiple adventures and connecting unique characters and yes even making memes just a link away? That's right! Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn is a server in discord where we run D&D games! Not only seamlessly combining 5e and OneDnD content, but adding popular Eberron 3rd party content including Exploring Eberron and other Keith Baker products to our player options. All while DMs bounce ideas and look into popular 3rd party sources like Duran's Guide to the Blood of Vol and the Giant's Guide to Xen'drik for even more stories to unfold!

We have Sharn as our main hub, so even when you're not engaging into quests you can roleplay with a vast community and bring your own stories into the mix. With special encounters avaliable so you can fight crime in the streets of Callestan or help patrol King's Forest against the nerfarious Jungle Boys! We're also actively seeking special events as the Eberron we've expanded on together continues to flourish. Including the implementation of holiday events providing special challenges and opportunities.

For those keeping up with my releases of Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom this is where I run those encounters along my fellow DMs! Join in the fun!

"The halflings of the Talenta Plains tell the stories of the Hungry Hunter, Orlasca. The greatest hunter of his age, Orlasca swore to eat every creature he killed. When he was forced to kill another halfling, his oath compelled him to consume his enemy ... and he developed an insatiable appetite for halfling flesh. After he slew his whole tribe, Orlasca was finally slain. But so great was his hunger that his spirit lingered, slipping into the forms of weaker creatures, trying to work its way up to halfling form. One of the basic Talenta taboos is to never consume the flesh of a creature that eats its own kind—because that allows the spirit of Orlasca to pass into you and transform you into a ghoul." - Chronicles of Eberron

Keith introduces the ghoulish hive-mind of Orlasca, but uh... I'm not the biggest fan of paralysis as a condition, and I felt the story presented could some some added statistics to build up on it. So I gave it a shot with the three examples above! The Bladehorn (carnotaurus) and T-Rex took some inspiration from the stat blocks in Dhrolin's Dinosaur book, while the clawfoot is a beloved Eberron classic. With a little bit of MCDM Ghoul on the multiattack to bring it all together.

The full automation for these ghouls, and over 500 other monsters are in Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom, and entirely avrae compatible! If you'd like to join in facing encounters like these and immerse yourself in the Eberron setting, Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn is the west marches for you!

Wish Beyond's filters were better but I'm glad smaller creators are getting the attention and inclusion

"Within the Bones, a former Mendyrian commander remains as a death knight. Laen Mendyrian is tormented by the massacres he set in motion during the conflict, and now lingers as a vassal of the Bone King; he is accompanied by the Silver Wind, a silver dragon slain by the Emerald Claw who lingers as a ghost dragon." - Keith Baker, Shae Deseir

I DMed Laen a few weeks back, the party was sent by the Undying Court to find a rare flower in the Bones for a cleansing ritual. They found it, but one of the characters is a member of the Deathguard who's foiled the Bone King's plans in the material before. So when they dropped their guard, he gave the order. While I do have Silver Wind's independent stats, Laen and the skeletal hordes proved to be more than enough for the group to prove themselves!

The full automation for Laen and over 500 other monsters are in Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom, and entirely avrae compatible! If you'd like to join in facing encounters like these and immerse yourself in the Eberron setting, Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn is the west marches for you!

I'm also wondering if the new stat block showing looks better than the usual, bestiary is getting a huge update and I'm hoping the stat block formatting makes it easier on the eyes for everyone

"In Darkon, Azalin was a tyrannical wizard-king obeyed by the living and the dead. When he first appeared before his people, he adopted an illusion of the form he possessed in life: that of a middle-aged human man with dark hair and a superior demeanor. However, his true form was that of a moldering lich, eyes ablaze with blasphemous energy.

Since arriving in the Domains of Dread, Azalin has been unable to learn new magic. For a wizard who forsook his mortality to pursue arcane studies, this was the ultimate frustration. Despite the limits on his studies, Azalin numbered among the few Darklords who understood the mysterious nature of the Domains of Dread. For generations, Azalin struggled to escape Darkon. His magical atrocities reshaped Darkon and the Domains of Dread time and again. However, these struggles gave Azalin only a glimpse of freedom, and his metaphysical violations inevitably reverted to the Dark Powers’ original designs. Nevertheless, Azalin refused to stay a prisoner. His most recent plot culminated in the Hour of Ascension and the destruction of Castle Avernus. Since then, no one in Darkon has seen the Darklord, and his realm has begun deteriorating.

The stat block in this section presents the Darklord as he was prior to his disappearance and how he would be should he return. Azalin’s current spirit jar is a golden amulet he carries. If this amulet is destroyed, Azalin’s original spirit jar—an immovable dragon skull in the ruins of Castle Avernus—reactivates, and the lich’s spirit returns to Darkon if his body is destroyed." - Ravenloft the Horrors Within

The full automation for Azalin Rex and over 500 other monsters are in Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom, and entirely avrae compatible!

Incredible art commission done by OlieArts! Original lore taken from Dragon Magazine Dreadhold chapter, and greatly expanded on!

“He’s got many names.” The Wardens of House Kundarak were a cold bunch. Yet it was rare for them to be afraid of their own prisoners. Approaching the cell, the Lord Warden continued, grim and heavy. “The Lord of Death, the Right Hand of the Keeper. The Harvester.” Slowly he started undoing the locks on the heavily reinforced door, both physical and magical not undone, merely opened for a moment. “We don’t speak his name, superstition or not we will not risk giving a thing like that ANY power. Bastard is already unkillable to the point the Templars just gave up and tossed him here.” As the seals opened to reveal a warded glass panel, the figure behind could be seen. Dark rags clung to his shoulders, and his own ghostly white hair clung to a face that was dark like a drow’s yet pallid like the dead. Though the chains that bound at his sides restrained the wings, raven black like the night sky, the chains shimmered in gold, burning active, as they trapped his wings around his own body. Slowly those dull blue eyes looked up, even through the glass wards, he could clearly see them.

“Prisoner B-02 is how he is to be addressed." 

• Lord Warden Zaxon d’Kundarak instructs visitors seeking audience with the Harvester

 The Throne of Death, Kotharel once embodied knowledge of all methods and forms which one could meet their end. So Kotharel watched mortals enact their one defining trait: Die. Yet the angel’s true horror came not from the horrible atrocities but from when he finally sought to scry beyond his Domain, looking into Dolurrh and Mabar, it is what he saw there that truly shattered his faith in the cycle of Life and Death. Kotharel grew obsessed with finding an alternative, and in his worship of the Keeper as Sovereign of Death, soon he considered if he could create something more merciful than the Dark Powers or the apathetic observation of the Queen of the Dead. Shaping a new demiplane where he’d bring souls, Kotharel sought to replicate the efforts of the Spirit Idols of the Undying Court in shaping realms of peace and reflection. However once he began siphoning souls, the powers of Dolurrh and Mabar (for once) agreed on calling for justice.

 Shadar-kai and Marut struck the Spire of Death, the Dark Powers of Mabar sought to try and bring the spire itself into the Hinterlands. The sheer planar unbalance was too much for reality to bear, and the Thrones called upon the Panopticon of Daanvi to intervene. The solar Hazariel had long observed Kotharel’s ambitions, his defiance of the cycle he was meant to study a singular aspect of. Kotharel was powerful, and Hazariel needed the aid of the shadar-kai agents and a death knight of the Bone King to finally subdue Kotharel. The decision for execution was swift, for his obsession with death, he would walk the world where mortals lived. Kotharel was made into a Radiant Idol and stripped of his hoard of souls. That should’ve been the final descent of the Throne… but no, it was but the beginning.

After his fall in the 710th Year of the Kingdom, Kotharel spent the next two decades spreading a reign of terror across Galifar, his power as a Throne may have been torn, but his knowledge of death allowed him to draw on the dark magics that predate much of history which combined with his influence over mortals as an idol, allowed him to begin the Bloody Road Cult. At first they only sacrificed their loved ones, but the more souls Kotharel gathered, the more he coveted. Each soul sacrificed to him greatly expands his powers, to the point he successfully restored much of his former power as a Throne. Hazariel felt his power grow, but the solar cannot interfere with the material plane… but her aasimar can. So she guided them, clues and hints. Kotharel would face the justice of the material, mortal heroes would rise against him.

 Discovering the Anchor Point: the catacombs of Metrol, it took the combined efforts of the heroes known as the Knights of Dol Arrah and the Church of the Silver Flame’s templars to defeat him… but not kill him. While idols will usually need time or specific conditions to reform, Kotharel’s recovery is near instantaneous. He was stabbed, quartered, incinerated, even disintegrated twice. Yet as the Throne of Death, his domain would not fail him. Kotharel’s weakness ultimately came from his obsession, so focused on avoiding death, other methods ultimately proved victorious when the wizard who had tried disintegrating him twice instead opted to petrify him, albeit temporarily. The heroes ultimately opted to seal him, to lock him away in the deepest of the cells of Dreadhold. Where Kotharel remains to this day, bound to the Deep Ward amidst the greatest evils Khorvaire has ever seen.

While contained, Kotharel can prove an incredible source of information… Yet the time jailed has only cemented his determination to create a new realm of death. The mass casualties of the Last War followed by oblivion of the Mourning were felt even in the depths of his cell, and Kotharel hungers to “save” all the souls in the Mournlands.

The full automation for Kotharel and over 500 other monsters are in Elsie's Notes of Certain Doom, and entirely avrae compatible! If you'd like to join in facing encounters like these and immerse yourself in the Eberron setting, Eberron: Legends of the 5th Dawn is the west marches for you!