Author Archives: Donny Rokk

I’m Back. Let’s Talk About What Happened.

Well hello there. Or more accurately: hello to me. I’ve finally returned to my blog after a short break. And by “short,” I mean… June 27th. That’s not a break. That’s a geological era.

So what pulled me away?

Life. And the slow, quiet death of my campaign.

The Age of Worms campaign—yes, the big one this entire blog has been circling—wrapped up recently. If you want the session summaries, they’re still right where I left them. But around the time of my last post, I could feel both myself and the players drifting from the story. Not in a dramatic, fiery meltdown. More like a slow slide where you all realize you’re nodding along but not feeling it anymore.

Some of that comes from the material. Most of it comes from me. The GM’s job is to keep the thread tight, and I thought I was doing that. Hindsight proves otherwise.

Anyway, the campaign is done and burned to ash, and from those ashes comes something useful: energy. Specifically, the kind that got me typing again.

This blog isn’t designed to “build a brand” or “capture an audience.” It’s a place to dump ideas, sharpen thoughts, and—ideally—help anyone running their own games. Including future-me, who will absolutely forget his own advice if it isn’t written down somewhere permanent.

So yes, I’m back. And yes, I’m actually excited to post again.

Look for the next entry. With luck, it’ll be sharp, helpful, or at least something worth reading. I’m aiming for “insightful,” but let’s see where it lands.

Age of Worms Session 52: Curios and Curses

Editor’s Note: I wanted to ensure that this was posted. I’ve been slacking lately. I’m writing these summaries for my players so they have something to reference. We play twice a month, so it’s good to have something to jog the memory. I post the session summaries on our World Anvil campaign page for them. I post them on my blog here on the off-chance that someone, someday, might Google “Age of Worms Pathfinder” and stumble across these posts. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll gain a touch of inspiration for their own campaign.

If you find this, I hope it helps. Have fun with it.

—–

The curio shop stank of old incense and fresh blood. 

Glimmerstone’s Curios had been reduced to a charnel house. A grotesque knot of fused bodies twisted in death sprawled across the floor, bloody and twitching in its final moments of unlife. Amid the wreckage lay Damaris Glimmerstone, intact but alive for the moment. Alfie, ever the quiet anchor, called upon his divine power. A soft hum filled the shop as he mended the wounds of his allies. Damaris stirred as well, touched by the healing magic. He coughed, spat blood, and blinked into reality like a man surfacing from drowning. 

The shop’s chaos seemed frozen in time. Cal rummaged through a stained satchel left by the Crimson Glove, finding a diluted healing potion, barely active, and the splinters of a wand with no magic left. He studied a snow globe filled with illusory fish doing tricks no fish should know. Declan found forged maps with arcane markings drawn by an unsteady hand. Oathgar examined his dented mug like it had betrayed him. 

Then Damaris spoke. 

His words staggered out like a drunkard at dawn, slurred but lucid in the worst ways. “Bugs in my brain,” he muttered, “after the seance.” He spoke of the Faceless One and his blood puppets. Of cursed medallions that didn’t just watch, but possessed. Of the niece he tried to save by stabbing a necklace in the night, and the sister who walked in at just the wrong time. 

His voice cracked when he said, “I didn’t mean to stab anyone.” 

The party pushed. He yielded. More secrets came loose. The Faceless One used the bloodstone medallions to create a simulacrum of himself, using flesh rather than snow to form the bodies. Words like “sadistic” and “sick” were used to describe him. Still, there was one secret that Damaris clung to as if his life depended on it.  A secret that, if the prince knew, Damaris would lose his sanctuary. “This place is mine,” he said as he gestured to the shop, “but it’s not really mine if you know what I mean.” 

Then came the knock. 

Two city watchmen entered. Outside the door, a radiant figure, silhouetted in firelight, stood watch – a Blessed Angel, still as judgment. 

The older guard rolled his eyes at the carnage. “Art installation?” he quipped. The younger watchman gagged. 

But when the party name-dropped Prince Voronov, the room’s temperature changed. Swords sheathed. Salutes exchanged. The angel didn’t speak—it just watched them leave, then soared away like justice with wings. 

The Ruinlords walked through Salisgrad’s market district. Lightstones glowed above cobbled streets. Locals raised left hands in casual salute, the tattoos of citizenship shown and passed like currency. Yet near the black obelisks, even greetings died in the throat. 

At the Fellgate Inn, they heard songs below, whispers above, and from a strange fissure in the floor—growls and siren voices. Declan negotiated with the innkeeper for travel supplies. Alfie blessed their food. Cal listened to the walls. 

The next morning, Lashonna arrived. Silver hair, golden eyes, voice like silk hiding razors. She had come to escort them back to the palace. Breakfast was served and poisoned only by tension. Cal cast augury. The omens seemed positive. 

For them, at least. 

Damaris was in chains, a flaming sword at his throat. A Blessed Angel stood ready. The Prince asked one question: “Will you vouch for him?” 

And the party did. 

Voronov, amused and annoyed, spared Damaris but cast him out of Salisgrad. With the Amulet of the Worldbreaker destroyed, the Ebon Triad ritual to summon Malganis would not work. The Prince then gave the party a new task: travel to Egorian, find Lucius Blackthorn, and return with his severed head and the Scepter of Infernal Dominion. A final nail in the Ebon Triad’s coffin. 

No time for protest. They disguised Damaris as an “indentured servant” and entered the Infernal Custom House

The portal chamber reeked of brimstone and precision. Ritual circles glowed, mages chanted in harsh Infernal tones. When the gate opened, they stepped through fire. 

One by one, the flames curled around them, burning away flesh and form—but not their essence. They reformed at Waystation 13, the Ashgate Reliquary. A toll station built from smooth stone and iron, hiding a church, a customs office, and an arcane gate. 

They met Signifer Vittorio Sarvinus, a masked Hellknight who inspected their identities, asked sharp questions with blunted courtesy, and let them pass. In the chapel, Alfie and Cal listened to a young cleric whisper sermons to no one. Halfling servants offered rations with quiet kindness. 

On the road, Declan’s saxophone filled the morning with music and momentum. A merchant caravan offered passage, and the road stretched before them. 

Then the sky tore open. 

A Hellgate split the air—and from it, three Death Knights stepped onto the earth. They bore skull motifs similar to the one worn by the worm mage on the bridge. Once, Ebon Triads. Now, something else. The battle was short and brutal. Blood boiled. Auras drained. Spells cracked the sky. 

But Oathgar and Tike stood tall in the end, black ichor dripping from their blades. They took weapons. They left none alive. 

Egorian loomed. The capital’s gates opened at their false identities. Cal cast Ear of the City, and whispers crawled through cobblestones. Paravicar Cassius Del Vago was dead. The funeral would be public. And Lucius Blackthorn was already a legend in the eyes of the people. 

They approached the Crimson Basilica

And found it… gone. 

A crater, 500 feet wide, hissed with steam. Red-hot stones. Ash in the wind. Smoke curled upward from the ruins. The church had vanished, consumed by hellfire. And with it, their plan. 

The mission had just become something else entirely.

Age of Worms Session 51: Investments and Interrogations

Previously…

Battered from Tymon’s fall and ambushed on the Sellen, the Ruinlords reached Salisgrad carrying the skull of a fallen High Councilor and the shattered Amulet of the Worldbreaker. The Black Gauntlet took notice.

Inside the warded halls of iron and crystal, the party faced more than questioning—they faced the dead. Through the Vox Eidolon, Damaris channeled the bitter voice of Voragon Drakon, revealing grim truths: unfulfilled prophecy, cursed relics, and the Faceless One still pulling strings.

Then the room cracked. A rift tore open. An Emberwrought Shade of Dahak surged forth. Bound by chains of scorched memory, it fought to silence the past. The Ruinlords answered in blood and soulfire—and won.

But victory was brief. A woman in red arrived. Authority overturned. The skull, the amulet, the party—all claimed in Prince Eli Voronov’s name.

What am I reading?

Want to know what happens when death speaks, dragons burn without fire, and princes play gods? Follow our Age of Worms Pathfinder 1e campaign right HERE, where memory is a weapon, prophecy is a noose, and no one walks free.


23 Erastus (July), 4725

The Prince’s Summons

A blessed angel led the party from the interrogation chamber to a waiting carriage—black wood, gold trim, six midnight horses. As the reins cracked, the horses burst into flame, and the entire carriage levitated above the cobbles. It shot through Salisgrad, parting magical traffic like a blade through silk. Oathgar sniffed the air, caught the sharp tang of spilled liquor, and muttered a bitter curse for the waste. Cal’s eyes flared with magic sight. Everything in this city seemed to pulse with runic power. Even the horses were no ordinary beasts. Devil-born. Smoke-cloaked. Infernal.

At the palace, purple-and-black-clad guards escorted the party deeper into the prince’s domain. The halls grew more oppressive with each step. Portraits of Prince Eli Voronov stared down with demonic hands, flanked by statues of Asmodeus and black-iron braziers that never burned out. 

Audience with Eli Voronov

The throne room was vast and silent. Most of the party knelt. 

Alfie stood.

Oathgar offered only a nod. 

Prince Voronov sat upon a throne of stone, encircled by a ring of molten metal floating overhead and flanked by two blessed angels who did not blink. Behind him, a relief carved into the wall showed Asmodeus placing a crown upon his brow. A beautiful elven woman with silver hair and golden eyes watched them silently from behind the throne. Leylines converged beneath the prince’s seat. A nexus of power. A cage, or a conduit—Cal wasn’t sure. 

Voronov questioned them. They answered. Voragon Drakon’s skull had whispered secrets—the Ebon Triad, the artifacts, the resurrection of Kyuss. One relic destroyed. Two still in play. Cal gave them names: Lucius Blackthorn and Erisa Shadowveil. At the mention of Lucius, Voronov’s expression flickered. Recognition. Hate. The Demi-Cardinal of Egorian. Traitor. Asset. Maybe both. 

Declan sang for the prince—something loungey, something smooth. Voronov claimed the Ebon Traid were fools. They could not summon something that was already claimed by another. By Him. Malgorath was already in chains, and his hands belonged to the Prince. Still, the ritual could not be allowed to succeed and potentially free Malgorath from Voronov’s control. He might want his hands back, at the very least. Most inconvenient. The molten crown hovering overhead pulsed. A sudden psychic lash, unseen and unheard by the others, cracked the two who had failed to show the proper reverence to Prince Eli Voronov. Oathgar crumpled. Alfie, shielded by divine grace, stood unmoved. The prince stared, cold and final, and then dismissed them. 

Thexan’s Lab

Thexan Voronov—son of the prince—led them into a twisting warren of corridors until they emerged into a four-story laboratory. Magic warped the space. Constructs. Golems. Arcane diagrams and unfinished projects surrounded them. Oathgar noted dwarven rune-magic etched into the scaffolding. Alfie heard a woman’s voice coming from a bow on the wall. 

These were not a gift, Thexan told them. They were an investment. The Ruinlords were assets for Prince Voronov to use, and the prince wanted them strong. Each of them received an item – Declan, a headband attuned to charm and song. Oathgar, a belt that bolstered strength and presence. Tike, a pair of brutal rune-etched gauntlets. Cal, a cloak woven to resist magical assault. And Alfie… Alfie was handed Deathwhisper, a bow of living steel and dragon-scale patterning. The string hummed as he touched it. Alfie felt as if it knew his name. 

Thexan confirmed Damaris had survived the Vox-Eidolon. He then warned them—Salisgrad wasn’t safe for foreigners. The Crimson Glove hunted outsiders. The law protected only citizens, marked by ink burned into their left hands. Conflict meant death, unless you were lucky—or very fast. 

Arrival at Fellgate Tavern

The party was escorted to the Fellgate Tavern, where Kaelthar Vonn waited behind the bar. Scarred. Calm. Watching. The place was bigger on the inside, centered around a massive pit rimmed with glowing runes. “Don’t fall in,” Kaelthar said. “That’s the Undercity.” 

Cal remembered Kaelthar. Two decades ago, he emerged from the depths with the skull of a demon lord. That bought him the tavern. Now he watched the pit. Let others descend. Never followed. 

Their rooms had been paid for – yet another example of the prince’s good graces.

Alfie’s room, however, was not empty. Saint Alduin waited. 

Alduin’s Proposal

Steel gleamed beneath his cloak. His gaze cut through the silence. He spoke of Tymon – how it fell, how it could rise once again. The undead had begun to spread like rot. But there was a cure. Two gauntlets, part of the divine armor forged for Tynathria’s herald. Armor befitting Saint Alduin. One of those gauntlets, he could get on his own. The other lay in the north, with a lich named Calzurak. Reclaim the gauntlet, and he would cleanse Tymon. 

Saint Alduin came to them because he had to be sure they were strong enough. Killing the Silver Flight? That was the test. 

They had passed. 

Glimmerstone Curios

The party made their way to Glimmerstone Curios, nestled between a forge and a sausage stall. The shop’s wards were sloppy, its signage old. Cal cast an illusion of Clover, Damaris’ niece. Her image spoke. Damaris appeared and broke down when he saw her. 

Tike pinned the halfling against the wall. Damaris begged. Apologized. Muttered something about the bloodstone being a gift that had cursed him, and that he felt like he had “bugs in his brain.” Then the Crimson Glove kicked the door shut behind them, looking to do some business with the halfling. Four enforcers. No citizenship marks. No escape. 

Oathgar knocked one out with a “road beer” mug to the groin. 

Then came the rupture. 

The Faceless One’s Gift

Damaris convulsed. His jaw unhinged. 

A thick, bloody worm slithered from his throat, speaking in the voice of the Faceless One. Tendrils lashed out. Crimson Glove enforcers were instantly drained of their blood, their bodies liquefying and folding into one another. Flesh became horror. Damaris became something else. A red mass of eyes and mouths and mouths and mouths. 

The battle was chaos. 

Oathgar was nearly consumed, but Declan’s masterpiece performance gave him his freedom. Alfie healed. Cal unleashed fire. Potato bit. Tike’s fists shattered part of the creature’s mind. Then, he shattered the rest. Blood sprayed like steam from a cracked boiler. Damaris fell to the ground, detached from the creature. Dead? Hard to say.

But the worm, somehow still alive, spoke one last time: 

“Dragons don’t like it when their plans are foiled. Ilthane did not like having her carefully laid plan with the lizardfolk disrupted. She sniffed out the culprits, and guess where the trail led her?”

 Tike crushed it before it could say more.

Age of Worms Session 50: The Vox Eidolon

Previously…

Battered from Tymon’s fall and haunted by sacrifice, the Ruinlords fled down the Sellen aboard the Sandfly. Captain Lorune, desperate and indebted, planned to sell his prized iron golem armor in Salisgrad to keep his ship afloat. Wounds festered, both old and new—Tike’s soul still scarred, Alfie’s healing stretched thin.

At dusk beneath a ruined bridge, shadows struck. Ebon Triad cultists ambushed the ship, joined by a worm-ridden Seer and the devil Arnyx—now branded with the Triad’s mark. He demanded Voragon Drakon’s head. He got steel and fire instead. Cal’s flames tore through the ambushers. Potato silenced a fleeing cultist. Alfie bled, Oathgar struck true, and Tike crushed the devil to ash.

By dawn, only questions remained—etched in worm-script and blood—as the Sandfly drifted toward Salisgrad.

What’s all this then?

Want to know what happens when the devil’s debts come due and the worm-prophets scream louder than the gods? Follow our Age of Worms Pathfinder 1e campaign right HERE, where fire answers prophecy, death isn’t final, and the river runs dark.


23 Erastus (July), 4725 

Rain slicked the deck of the Sandfly as it drifted into Salisgrad’s harbor, the stormlight making the city’s magical runes pulse like veins beneath stone skin. The sky spat mist as two city watch and a pair of ironclad sentinels boarded the ship in silence, steel helms gleaming dull under cloudlight. Then came the Blessed Angel, wings of smoldering flame trailing smoke as she descended onto the gangplank without a word. 

Captain Joseph Lorune spoke first, eyes still tired and haunted. He admitted having fled Tymon as the city fell. The party mentioned their delivery for Bishop , Senior Officer of the Black Gauntlet, and interest shifted sharply. The name opened doors. The death of an Ebon Triad High Councilor—revealed, perhaps unintentionally, through Lorune—sealed their appointment with the Black Gauntlet. 

The Ruinlords were led through corridors of metal and warding runes to a chamber paneled in steel and veined with blue abjuration crystals, humming with restrained power. Bishop waited. Cold. Precise. He wanted to question the relic they carried: the skull of Voragon Drakon. When told of Dunner’s death, he nodded once and began arranging the retrieval of the body, belongings, and honors befitting one who had struck at the Triad’s core. 

What followed was not conversation. It wasn’t a ritual. It was an interrogation of the dead.

Damaris Glimmerstone—formerly known as Thistlefoot Glimmerstone—took the conduit’s seat beneath the arch of the Vox Eidolon, a device that blurred the lines between the arcane and the occult. Brass thorns pierced his skull as his soul and mind became one with the dead. Voragon’s voice returned, hollow and resentful, echoing through the halfling. From his withered skull, truths spilled like black water: prophecies still unfulfilled, the Triad’s unholy relics, and of the Faceless One—the architect threading the darkness between them. The Amulet of the Worldbreaker, shattered by the party, had crippled the Triad’s progress. The end goal was to use the three magic items possessed by the High Council once the prophecies were fulfilled. Now, one of the items was destroyed. The heroes rejoiced at potentially stopping the coming of the Ebon Triad’s Overgod known as Malgorath.

Then the rift opened, and the celebration died on the spot.

Ash boiled from the tear, and from it came the Emberwrought Shade of Dahak—a skeletal wyrm wreathed in fireless heat, its breath an entangling storm of iron chains and scorched memory torn from Voragon’s divine connection to the evil dragon god. Bishop sealed the chamber with a pulse of force, a protection protocol to keep the creature from escaping. 

It also meant the Ruinlords would be unable to retreat. Not that the option was ever on the table anyway. 

Declan’s voice rose like a battle hymn, magic and fate coiling in harmony. Alfie used his healing magic to undo the damage dealt by the shade while his owlbear Potato, wide-eyed but unyielding, darted through the fray. Cal, ever precise, whispered the syllables of Boneshatter and collapsed ribs with surgical cruelty. Oathgar drew blood, blade flashing through the smoke. Tike, bruised and growling, took the final steps, driving his fist into the Shade’s core. It exploded in soulfire. 

Silence. Then Bishop lowered the seal. 

Moments later, the door opened—no knock, no permission. A woman entered, skin pale, lips crimson, wrapped in a red negligee that defied armor and dared defiance. With a smile that wasn’t a smile, she informed Bishop that Prince Eli Voronov had summoned the party for a personal audience. Bishop started to protest, but he caught his tongue. The word of Prince Voronov was final. 

She took the skull. She took the broken Amulet. She took the party. 

And just like that, the balance shifted again.

Best Ways to Gear Up Alts Fast in WoW War Within Season 2 (2025 Guide)

If you’re gearing up a fresh alt or returning character in World of Warcraft: War Within Season 2, this post will walk you through every relevant method to accelerate the process, from undercoin spending and warbound gear to PvP, dinars, and even timewalking exploits. Whether you’re jumping back into WoW or optimizing your 5th alt, here’s how to efficiently catch up.


1. Veteran Gear from Delves (Undercoins & Wave Scramblers)

Start with Sir Finley Mrrgglton in Dornogal. Once you’ve progressed far enough in the Delver’s Journey (Battle Pass-style system), you can use Undercoins to buy Veteran 623/8 gear that upgrades to 645. This is better than last season’s Adventurer gear and can be mailed between characters.

Tips:

  • Undercoins aren’t always warbound, but the gear is.
  • Wave Scramblers summon Delve bosses, rewarding maps and gear, especially useful at high-tier delves.
  • Even doing one delve a week makes meaningful progress on the journey.

2. Enchanted Weathered Undermine Crests

Crafted gear is another strong starting point. Combine Enchanted Weathered Undermine Crests with rare gear recipes to craft 629 ilvl gear, including two embellished pieces.

Sources of Weathered Crests:

  • Outdoor activities, LFR, low-tier delves, heroic dungeons.
  • Renown turn-ins (especially on new alts with pre-existing account renown).
  • You can downgrade Carved Crests into Weathered ones.

3. Warbound Gear (WoE & World Bosses)

Check your Warbound bank for leftover gear—addons like BetterBags or WeakAuras help track it. Weekly world bosses guarantee a Champion track warbound piece, great for stocking up before you even level an alt.


4. Dinars (Puzzling Cartel Chips)

Run 4 bosses from raid or M+ to earn Cartel Chips (3 from the first clear, then 1 per week). You can purchase Hero track weapons, rare trinkets, and other best-in-slot gear.

Key tips:

  • Limited to 9 total chips per character lifetime.
  • You don’t need to run Mythic—LFR counts.
  • Prioritize powerful raid weapons or trinkets for best return.

5. Cyrce’s Circlet & Upcoming Delve Belt

The Cyrce’s Circlet (patch 11.0.7) remains viable until dual Myth track rings. Upgrade it via Siren’s Isle content—or look into alternative methods (ahem, party sync “shortcuts”).

Coming June 17 (patch 11.1.7): A powerful Delve Belt, expected to scale to ilvl 700+. Avoid crafting or purchasing belts until then.


6. Auction House BOEs

If you’ve got gold but no time, Auction House BOEs can jumpstart gearing:

  • Look for Veteran or Champion track items.
  • Prices vary by slot and server economy—check often.
  • Don’t overspend on slots soon to be replaced by guaranteed drops or crafted items.

7. Renown Rewards & Reputation Vendors

Many renown milestones give relevant crests and gear:

  • Even on fresh characters, pre-earned account renown unlocks these instantly.
  • Cartels of Undermine offers Champion gear (e.g., gloves at Renown 14, boots at 7) and crafting mats.
  • Use resonance crystals instead of undercoins.

8. Nightfall Events (Flame’s Radiance)

These hourly events offer Champion track tokens on a weekly basis. Just complete the scenario and redeem the token for a gear piece of your choice.

Benefits:

  • Deterministic gearing (pick your slot).
  • Adds crests and valor stones on the side.
  • Works even if you’re only semi-active on that character.

9. Horrific Visions (Coming Soon)

Launching next reset: Horrific Visions return with 2+ Hero track pieces per week and high-quality rewards. Harder than Delves but worth it—especially for characters that can solo or group efficiently.


10. PvP Gear (Bloody Tokens & Conquest)

PvP is surprisingly efficient:

  • Sparks of War quest = 1,000+ Bloody Tokens.
  • Purchase Veteran track 4/8 gear (better than 1/8 delve vendor gear).
  • Conquest buys Champion gear (e.g., wrists, helms—socketable with Prized Jeweler Settings).
  • 1,400+ rating unlocks Warbound PvP boxes—send to alts.

Even casual PvP players can benefit from a few weekly quests or war mode runs.


11. Valor Stones (Warbound Currency)

You can now transfer Valor Stones between characters (20% loss). Cap is 2,000 per character, so shift them around to avoid wasting gains.

Efficient Valor Sources:

  • World Soul Memories (5 Radiant Echoes = up to 400 stones).
  • Chatliss Quests (Undermine faction).
  • LFR Bosses now reward more Valor + Crests (especially the last two).

12. Catalyst & Tier Set Crafting

Use the Catalyst to convert any seasonal gear into tier pieces. You likely have enough Essence of Kamesh to complete your 4-piece set by now.


13. Timewalking Events & Skips

Huge sleeper tip: Timewalking Raids (e.g., Black Temple, Ulduar, Firelands) let you:

  • Complete the Timewalking weekly raid/dungeon quest.
  • Kill the final boss for a Hero track item.

Search “skip” groups in Group Finder:

  • These raids are pre-cleared except for the last boss.
  • Join, kill, loot, repeat weekly.

14. Mythic Zeros & Weekly Events

Other high-yield activities:

  • M0 Dungeons drop Champion gear up to 658.
  • Weekly dungeon quests (e.g., 4 Mythics) = Hero raid piece.
  • Delve Bonus Weeks = Champion gear.

Final Thoughts

Even if you’re completely new or returning from a long break, War Within Season 2 has layered systems that make gearing manageable—if you know where to look.

Prioritize these based on:

  • How many alts you’re managing.
  • Your available gold vs. time.
  • Whether you’re aiming for high-end content or just functional gear for casual play.

Happy gearing!