*You hear something large troddding nearby*

[kalbaern]

As many of you may have noticed recently, especially in the High Forest encounters, often when an encounter fires it's preceded by an emote or some sort of flavor text message. EX: *You hear something large troddding nearby*. In this case, it could mean a Greyrender is near, an Ogre or many other large things. *Howling breaks the silence* could mean wolves, worgs or even a werewolf. Sometime the messages ar more specific, sometimes purposefully vague.

As I go through the module, I'm updating many encounters with these little flavor messages. Originally, I'd just used them when setting up the "Epic" encounters in the High Forest. Later, I added them to most of the dead things that leap out of tombs and crypts. now I'm working on fleshing out the rest of our encounters here. Don't fret, this doesn't take up a lot of my toolset time. I usually copy scripts into "notepad" files for this kind of editing so I can work on them from my laptop when on work breaks or during commercials if watching TV. Later I just cut-n-paste the changes into the actual script in the toolset and recompile it at Voila! Anyhow, "Jaynah" has asked more than once where I come up with phrases, names for things, random emotes for NPCs and other things. Names are easy. There are tons of good online random generators for that. Other times I just let my mind wander. Anyhow, if folks have any suggestions for the messages attached to various encounters, feel free to add them below.

[Wids]

Okay.

"Reddish specks drift and settle here. Is that...rust?" What else could it be? Rust monsters.
"Close ahead, many reptilian screeches sound as one." A hydra.
"The very air here crackles with a hint of lightning." A behir, a storm giant or some other large, electrical beastie.
"Your nerves are suddenly a-tingle. Are you being watched?" A beholder, an umber hulk, a mind flayer or other True Seeing/psionic beastie.
"That 'stubborn' gray squirrel in your path turns out to be quite petrified." A medusa, a gorgon or a cockatrice.
"Here, the reek of rotten flesh chokes the very atmosphere." A ghoul, a ghast or a carrion crawler.
"Your lungs are greeted with the stink of any number of rotting things." An otyugh, a neo-otyugh or a shambling mound.

Kind of like that?

[holyrage]

*A low rumble echoes all around you, deep and reverberating. Your stomach sinks as if in answer to it.*

*The faint rustle of leaves and undergrowth can be heard ahead, followed by frantic scraping and skittering.*

*The dry sound of a snapping twig, followed by utter, unnerving silence. You feel as if the forest is holding its breath around you.*

*A half-gnawed bone, bleached at parts and blackened at others, stands out right in front of you. Whether set thus by chance or malice, you cannot tell.*

*The air grows cold around you and a prevailing sense of frost makes your limbs weary and heavy. Your senses scream silently; this is not the way things should ever be!*

*Shimmering sheens of furnace-hot air blast your face abruptly and your skin howls in protest at the sudden abuse.*

*The reek of pungent acid pierces your lungs, much like a sharpened, murderous dagger. Even breathing becomes a labor.*

*Your eyes are abruptly deprived of the world around you. You find yourself suddenly swimming in a sea of darkness.*

*A half-shredded boot gapes emptily at the path in front of you.*

*Ancient stairs, brittle and worn with the passage of time, croak in protest as weight is put on them ahead of you.*

*A deafening roar imposes itself on everything else; the very earth around you trembles and quakes. A mighty shadow engulfs you!*

*Shrill, maniacal laughter echoes ahead, coupled with a faint tinkling sound.*

*The air around you becomes moist and heavy. Overgrown liches and briars seem to suffocate the very walls.*

*A sudden cascade of rocks and dust blasts through the silence of the gullies, followed by heavy footsteps.*

*The poisonous stench of brimstone invades your nostrils, a hellish glow growing around you by each passing second as the air warps and howls. Truly, something unnatural is afoot!*

*The lake's murky waters ripple and froth angrily, the surface becoming an angry gurgle of mud and water.*

*Perched impossibly on the mountain's edge, a rapidly growing black blotch grows rapidly within your line of sight. A feathered creature approaches swiftly!*

Do these work perhaps?

[kalbaern]

Sept 20, 2019 11:22:18 GMT -5 holyrage said:

*A low rumble echoes all around you, deep and reverberating. Your stomach sinks as if in answer to it.*

*The faint rustle of leaves and undergrowth can be heard ahead, followed by frantic scraping and skittering.*

*The dry sound of a snapping twig, followed by utter, unnerving silence. You feel as if the forest is holding its breath around you.*

*A half-gnawed bone, bleached at parts and blackened at others, stands out right in front of you. Whether set thus by chance or malice, you cannot tell.*

*The air grows cold around you and a prevailing sense of frost makes your limbs weary and heavy. Your senses scream silently; this is not the way things should ever be!*

*Shimmering sheens of furnace-hot air blast your face abruptly and your skin howls in protest at the sudden abuse.*

*The reek of pungent acid pierces your lungs, much like a sharpened, murderous dagger. Even breathing becomes a labor.*

*Your eyes are abruptly deprived of the world around you. You find yourself suddenly swimming in a sea of darkness.*

*A half-shredded boot gapes emptily at the path in front of you.*

*Ancient stairs, brittle and worn with the passage of time, croak in protest as weight is put on them ahead of you.*

*A deafening roar imposes itself on everything else; the very earth around you trembles and quakes. A mighty shadow engulfs you!*

*Shrill, maniacal laughter echoes ahead, coupled with a faint tinkling sound.*

*The air around you becomes moist and heavy. Overgrown liches and briars seem to suffocate the very walls.*

*A sudden cascade of rocks and dust blasts through the silence of the gullies, followed by heavy footsteps.*

*The poisonous stench of brimstone invades your nostrils, a hellish glow growing around you by each passing second as the air warps and howls. Truly, something unnatural is afoot!*

*The lake's murky waters ripple and froth angrily, the surface becoming an angry gurgle of mud and water.*

*Perched impossibly on the mountain's edge, a rapidly growing black blotch grows rapidly within your line of sight. A feathered creature approaches swiftly!*

Do these work perhaps?

Yes, no, maybe? Most of yours are quite detailed for the randomized encounters, but ... I've copied them into my notes for trigger based flavor text in dugeons and other areas. So, thanks! A few will be found in the encounters soon though, along with some Wids posted. Thanks guys.