Well today’s errand got a tad bit busier(and more expensive) than I’d expected, so this update is now about 3 hours behind schedule.  Hopefully you won’t mind the delay too much.  We now have just barely over a week left in the campaign now, and we’re still very far from making even the Quill goal, so if you want to see Exile, Magus published via Inkshares definitely continuing recommending it to others and trying to get the word out alongside me, and if you haven’t already ordered then do so.  Thanks to everyone for the support you’ve shown these past months, and hopefully will continue to show going forward.  Now, on to dragons.

As mentioned with last Friday’s update, the nature of each dragon is largely taken from their Progenitor with the differences between species typically being due to their other ancestor, whether father or mother.  Last time I covered jungle dragons which resulted from a mating with a (mostly) corporeal entity.  This time I’m going to touch on a draconic species which originated from a mating between their Progenitor and an elemental queen, presumably one of air or water with some theorize that the elemental was actually a crossbreed of air and water itself.  The species in question are the ice dragons.  I’ll paste a description of one that appears in Chapters 12 (Reunion) & 13 (Ascencion) of Exile, Magus.

It is a massive beast, being at least twenty feet tall at the shoulders with its long neck bringing the top of its head to nearly twice this height. Its body is sleek and powerful, the might of its muscles apparent even under its thick scales. These scales are an icy blue at their base blending to a snow white at their rims. As they progress up its neck the scales shrink from the large, shield sized scales of its body to the nearly pebble sized scales of its face. The light piercing the snowstorm glints off of the scales in a manner which only serves to highlight their icy appearance. The beast’s head is smooth and serpentine along the top with large forward facing milky white eyes. The motion of these pupiless eyes is noticeable only by a slight change in the subtle patterns on their surface. Its teeth are short for its size with razor sharp backward curving fronts and inward curving, almost invisibly serrated backs. It slides its short, pointed tongue along the inside bases of these fangs while anticipating the meal it will soon indulge in. Small horns with only a very slight rear curvature protrude from the bottom of its jawbone, and these are covered by multiple thin layers of ice which only adds to the illusion that icicles hang from the beast’s jowls.

The one described above has reached adulthood, although not so advanced in years to have reached its full growth (as such, for my D&D players/DMs the stat block I intended to be posting up at the bottom of this update was for an adult ice dragon, as opposed to the young jungle dragon from last time, but I forgot that I had only stat’ed up an ancient, so you’re getting the biggest).  The elemental nature they inherited from their mothers ties them more closely to the elements themselves than would be the case if the Progenitor had been the race’s mother.  As such they draw most of their sustenance from the elements themselves.  In the ice dragon’s case this means that the cold, snowy nature of the frozen north provides them with most of the energy they need to live, though they do still love to kill eat living creatures such as mountain goats(or even the occasional dwarven trio who dares trespass in their domain).  The amount of such physical food necessary to sustain them is much less than one would imagine from their size, an ice dragon of the size described above could conceivably survive on 2-3 goats a week.  Ice dragons tend to have a gluttonous streak though, so they’ll typically try to eat the equivalent to 1 goat a day however.

Ice dragons also tend to be on the lazy side, preferring to lay around on their treasure hoard (after carefully arranging and kneading said horde of course, much as a cat does to a pile of blankets).  In their younger years they’ll spend much of this time reading or listening to the lessons of loremasters/skalds they’ve forced into their service.  As they age they grow lazier, however, until eventually they tire of lessons, casting out books/loremasters/skalds(though they are just as likely to just eat the former two when properly aged) and moving to less intellectual entertainment such as jesters, comedians, circus performers and the like.  Eventually they reach an age at which they can’t be bothered to wake up except to hunt and eat, at which point they typically eat whatever performers they have forced into service first.

Due to their lazy nature, ice dragon lairs are among the most simple in their layout.  Typically its only a large central chamber to serve as the dragon’s bed chamber/treasure horde vault with either a short tunnel leading to the entrance/exit or simply a hole in one wall that leads outside, and a tunnel sloping down from this into which the dragon can expel its physical waste.  When a dragon does have a chamber beyond this, it is typically just a small chamber with straw covering the floor in which it makes any captured servants live when they are not entertaining/educating her.

They are also short of temper when they find someone to be annoying, and often this temper is the only thing (aside from hunger of course) powerful enough to overcome their laziness.  With their abilities gained from their strong ties to their elemental ancestry, they are even more formidable opponents than they look.  In addition to being able to breathe out a forceful blast of supercooled vapor which can freeze most creatures solid (a bit like being dipped in liquid nitrogen really), they are also able to use more primal elemental magics to command the air and water(furthering the theory that their elemental ancestry was herself a hybrid).  These abilities are of course in addition to their deadly teeth and claws, which they actually prefer not to use to kill their quarry.  Their favorite tactic is to merely freeze their opponent solid with their breath, then use their claws to break off chunks and pop them into their mouths leisurely.  They very much enjoy both the sound and texture experienced while eating frozen chunks of meat, bone, and related viscera.

Well, that’s a fun last sentence to end on, so I’m gonna call this update done with that.   By the time my next update comes out the contest will be over and I’ll only have 2 more updates before the end of my campaign which only just noticed is also election day (11/8).  My 3rd update from now will then either be to celebrate hitting goal, or to discuss what my plans for the future after failing to do so are.  We’ll see which it is when the time comes.  For now though, I’m going to try to have another map done by this coming Wednesday.  I ran out of monsters/races I intended to cover a bit earlier than expected, so if you have any you would like to know more about then feel free to let me know, either through commenting on the project page or direct messaging me.  For now though, I hope everyone enjoys their Halloween/Samhain.  Thank you for you continued support, keep reading and enjoying!

Ancient Ice Dragon

Large Dragon,  Neutral or Neutral Evil

Armor Class 21 (natural)

Hit Points 350 (20d20+140)

Speed 30’ / Burrow 15’ / Fly 60’

Str 26 (+8),  Dex 8 (-1),  Con 24 (+7),  Int 16 (+3),  Wis 14 (+2),  Cha 12 (+1)

Skills - Perception +16,  Stealth +6,  Survival +9

Senses - passive Perception 26,  Darkvision 120’,  Blindsight 60’

Saves - Dex +6,  Con +14,  Wis +9,  Cha +8

Languages - Draconic, Common, Primordial

Challenge 23 (50,000 XP)

Immune Cold damage.

Vulnerable Fire damage

Change Shape The dragon magically polymorphs into a humanoid or beast that has a Challenge Rating no higher than its own, or back into its true form.  It reverts to its true form if it dies.  Any equipment worn or carried by it is absorbed or borne by the new form (the dragon’s choice).  In a new form the dragon retains its alignment, hit points, Hit Dice, ability to speak, proficiencies, Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma scores, as well as this action.  Its statistics and capabilities are otherwise replaced by those of the new form, except for any class features or legendary actions of that form.

Icewalk  ignores movement restrictions caused by ice and similar slick surfaces.

Innate Spellcasting (Charisma Based, DC 16, can cast the following innately without the need for material components)

  At Will - Sleet Storm,  Gust of Wind,  Fog Cloud,  Resistance

  3/day each - Control Water

  1/day each - Commune with Nature

Legendary Resistance (3/day)  When the dragon fails a saving throw it can choose to succeed that saving throw instead.

Multiattack  Frightful Presence, 2 Claws, and 1 Bite

Bite  melee weapon attack,  10’ reach,  +6 to hit,  2d10+3 piercing (14)

Claw  melee weapon attack, +6 to hit, 2d6+3 slashing (10)

Tail  melee weapon attack, +7 to hit,  2d8+4 slashing (13)

Frightful Presence This targets all creatures of the dragon’s choice within 120’ that can be seen by the dragon and see the dragon.  Each targeted creature must succeed at a Wisdom Save at DC 16 or be Frightened for 1 minute.  Creatures can reroll this save at the end of each of their turns, ending the effect for themselves on a successful save.  Once a creature has successfully saved it is immune to this dragon’s Frightful Presence for 24 hours afterwards.

Breath Weapon  90’ cone of freezing Cold.  12d8 cold damage (54) to all creatures in the area and be Chilled for 1d6 rounds (disadvantage on attack rolls and on Dexterity saves, advantage against fire-based spells).  All creatures are allowed a Constitution Save DC 23 to reduce the damage as well as the Chilled duration to half.  Any creature reduced to 0 hit points by this breath weapon is Frozen - treat as Petrified but will thaw out within 2d6 hours (or 2d6 minutes if actively warmed).

Legendary Actions (3/turn)  The dragon can choose to use 1 of the following actions after another creature/character’s turn.  It regains all 3 uses of legendary action at the start of each of its turns.

Detect (1 action)  The dragon attempts to detect using perception.

Tail (1 action)  The dragon makes 1 tail attack.

Wing Attack (2 actions)  The dragon beats its wings and lifts into the air.  All creatures within 15’ of the dragon must succeed at a Dexterity Save DC 24 or suffer 2d6+8 bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone.  The dragon can then move up to 1/2 of its Fly speed.

Greetings from Hell frozen over, home of the World Series-hosting Chicago Cubs...

First, the good news

Okay folks, this is it. By now, if you ordered a physical book, you should have received notice that it’s in the sky or on the highway and en route to your front door. (It may have even arrived already.) The books took a little longer than we’d hoped to get from the printer to the office, but I think the wait is worth it. Speaking honestly, they look even better than I’d hoped they would. I’m delighted with the finished product, and I hope you are too when it reaches your door. (Quick note: Despite what the email said, they are jacketed hardback copies and not paperback.)

(Quick note #2: If you haven’t received a shipping notice, check your spam folder, and if nothing’s there, let me know and I’ll pass the word on to Inkshares. They’re a small but terrific group of folks and they’ll get it sorted.)

Now some bad news, followed immediately by good news

Due to circumstances and scheduling issues, there was no time to reschedule my September flight to Inkshares HQ to sign the books. But because I want to make good on that, I commissioned a big sheet of personalized illustrated bookplates (fancy word for sticker) that I’ve signed and will send out to all who want them for their copies. Just send your address to me via email (billyok@mac.com) and I’ll take care of the rest. It’s not quite the same as me writing my name in your book, but it’s close. (Alternatively, if you’re local, let’s just meet up and I’ll sign it right before your eyes.)

Now some more good news

In fact, if you’re in the Chicago area on the evening of Saturday, November 5th, you can get them signed in person by attending a launch party at one of Chicago’s best independent bookstores. I’ll be at Lincoln Square’s The Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave., starting at 6 p.m. It’s right down the street from the Western Brown Line stop and there’s plenty of street parking in the vicinity as well. Come on by, say hi, and celebrate the imminent passing of this horrid election season.

And finally, a quick but hugely important favor

I’ll spare you the details and make this quick, but I cannot emphasize enough how crucial reviews are to an author’s ability to attract new readers on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes & Noble. The benefits of receiving at least 100 ratings/reviews on each are tangible, and given how much weight those three sites carry, those benefits can be of make-or-break importance. So if you have accounts on any or all of these sites and can spare a few more minutes, I’m asking for your help in hitting that magic number. Even just a click on the star rating thing helps (though if you have some kind words to throw in, those are of course appreciated).

Here are links to take you straight to all three, all of which are accepting reviews now. Thank you so much (yet again) for whatever you can do.

— Amazon: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942645236#customerReviews]

— Goodreads: [https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/30007120] 

— Barnes & Noble: [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/these-are-my-friends-on-politics-billy-okeefe/1123852462?ean=9781942645238] 

That’s all for now. Be nice to each other. November 9 is almost here.

Look at us go!
 

That’s sixteen in one day! a bit short of my target, but only just barely. With just three days left to earn 60 more pre-orders, we need to shoot for no less than twenty a day. That can be anywhere from twenty new readers buying one copy each, ten people buying two, or two people buying ten. I’ll take whatever I can get!

It should be noted, however, that the success we’ve seen today isn’t even all mine. Tantalus Depths has had yet another honor bestowed on it!

That’s right! We’ve been backed by another syndicate! This time we’ve received the great honor of being October’s pick for the Rite of Passage Syndicate: a newer syndicate that specializes in supporting first-time authors. Their support has really helped keep this campaign on track in its most crucial hour. All the thanks for today goes to these heroes!

Let’s not let up now, though. There are a few minutes left on today’s clock to reach our original target of 19 orders. Heck, getting a head start on tomorrow would be fantastic as well. Either way, we need to scrape together 60 more orders by the weekend, so keep pushing! The end is in sight.