The Merfolk and their adjacent creatures, like Sirens and Deep Scions, are often forgotten at most tables.  Pirates campaigns or the rare voyage across a fog-covered sea might bring them to bear, but the lore and construction of these creatures are, at least in my experience, rarely explored.  
  And that's why we're here today, dear readers, for a brief look at the link between two very underused civilizations.

First, we zoom in, beneath the depths of the crashing waves, below the shades of bellowing voices and past the false eyes we conjure in our minds; beyond this veil rests a world entirely its own.
  It begins with spires of coral and luminescent, volcanic rock.  It gives way to a sprawling metropolis; an underwater civilization of numerous tribes and castes.  Crab-like smiths forge in steam and bubbles, while a siren bard sings upon a stage; a consort of the queen rides in on a seahorse of rainbow while a tailor shows off their latest in seashell fashion.  It is a whimsical, Aquamandian-acid trip of glorious wonder.  A fantastic opportunity to cultivate rare knowledge, materials, and metals forged in the deep pressures of the depths.  And for all this joy, every Merfolk knows the stories - heeds the warning; "Do not heed The Call of The Deep."

In Ionian folklore, tales of the Merrow are well-known among sailors.  The spun songs of shipwrecked crews failed to rescue, only to be speared from behind and dragged to the murky depths below.  Young lasses dangling trinkets over the side, only to be snatched from sight in one errant splash.  "Caution be to the depth of three, ye Siren, yo Kraken, and da Merrow of de sea."
  And yet, for every tale of salt and blood, once in a long while there stems a different tale.  Like that of Alexander Gush, a deckhand hurled overboard when the fabled Wingsong's Blade clashed with the kraken lord Ukathane.  The poor boy was thought dead, but washed ashore three days later off the coast of Glaz Dukot, not a scratch on him.  He was full of stories and hope and light, of crystal cities and blue-skinned guards, and a very kind princess with a crown of living coral named "Kalvira."
  Where light and hope shine, they cast shadows, and the entwined lore of the Merfolk and the Merrow help spin dichotomous tales and the lure of the depths.  Some believe that when Merfolk travel beyond the bounds of the known ocean, into the dark places of their world and their minds, the Call of the Deep is what twists them, and what comes out of that dark is a pale horse of death.  Death to the kingdoms of coral and light, death to the known and the lords of the shallows, death by trident of bone and mire.  
  And isn't that fun?

This post is simply your reminder that Water Breathing isn't that hard to get a hold of.
See you at the table.
-Adamus

Shoosuvas have a history deeper than 5th Edition.  
  With the prevalence of the gnoll in Dungeons and Dragons legacy, the Shoosuva went hand in hand, though their art has certainly evolved.

But I prefer its most recent rendition in 5th Edition.  The patchwork fur, as if striated from a living corpse; the exposed rib cage, with light emanating from within, so when the thing opens its maw, the nauseating yellow glow from within pours out, the last thing a victim sees before it chomps down on their head.  Leprous throats, glowing and bloated eyes, and vicious, jagged teeth...don't you just wanna' hug him?
  You'll have to stand on your tippy-toes - these good boys are 6 feet tall, with a series of bony spikes and ridges running up the spine, ending in a glistening, barbed tail with a poisonous stinger (which causes paralysis).  Super fun.  You want one of your own?  Then you'd better stock up on spare carrion, as this thing's favorite food is rancid meat.  Though you might be able to coax it with your wit and wiles, as, especially by gnoll standards, these things are pretty smart (Int 6-8), but not THAT smart.
  Getting a cleric on your side to turn or tame one might be a wasted effort, too.  Though they look undead, their forms seemingly powered by that necrotic light within their torsos, their demonic lineage grants them the tell-tale resistances to such radiance, along with the standards of energy damage - most are resistant or immune to things like Lightning, Fire, Poison, and Cold, not-to-mention that ever-tricky "damage from non-magical weapons" deal.
  By the numbers, a Shoosuva is a hefty beast for most middle-level adventurers, and a deadly encounter for young parties.  Thing is, they're rarely alone; fighting alongside a gnoll war band and, most likely, a seasoned gnoll warrior who's a cut above their fellows.  Their demonic nature cuts most damage in half and you can kiss that charm spell goodbye.  Their natural armor isn't amazing, but they make up for it with a boatload of hit points and an extra attack.  Plus, they share the gnoll's iconic Rampage ability, so the moment the wizard goes down, you can bet he's coming for your cleric next.  The thing to really watch out for is its Tail Stinger - it's got a 10-15 foot reach, rocking d8s in damage, and a nasty Constitution save or be PARALYZED (hits become crits, yo).  Creatures can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turns, if they survive that long.

The gods are tricky beasts, and Yeenoghu is one to involve himself in the lives of his followers through portents, visions, and signs.  To his sovereign best, however, a Shoosuva was crafted as a personal bodyguard and intermediary to his favored warriors.  Shoosuva in Gnoll translates directly as "returner", and were believed to be the reincarnations of Yeenoghu's greatest disciples; a glimpse of the honorable next step for his favored here in the material.  Die in glorious battle and return one day in this new form to fight again.

As the tides of time passed and Asmodeus led his mythic Consolidation, Yeenoghu and his disciples fled a collapsing Abyss and held court among the stars.  This disruption led to the ascension of another demigod to bless the Gnoll tribes...and free them from their fiendish hunger, a ripple that erupted across the magical bindings of a Shoosuva and their companions.  Suddenly, a demon bound for life began a journey all their own.  
  Would they wander the wastes of this new world?  Find packs of their own, or evolve into something new?  Only time (and games), will tell.

See you at the table.
​-Adamus 

The original sage's lore for the Girallon paint them as so much more than gigantic apes.  Their hereditary affinity for ancient ruins and their strange anatomical appearance lead many historians to believe that they were created or manufactured through magical means - a guardian for some lost empire long ago.  
  In my worlds and others, the Girallon lost this purpose whenever that civilization fell, turning feral and spreading out into the realms at large.  However, tales of intelligent Girallon tribes have made their way into the bardic lores.  These mythic monstrosities communicate through sophisticated sign language and evolved vocalizations, their own form of Beast Speech.  Some bards even say a few can lurch their way through Common.  More importantly, they have learned to use their superior strength and dexterity to industrialize - creating armor, weapons, and simple tools. 
If you're keen on a death wish, one can try to find them in the fog-covered continent of Vysoria, beyond the Great Expanse to the east from our central continent.  A few have ventured there; wayward, plucky scholars with dreams of discovery glinting in their eyes.
​
...None have returned...


Now go eat a banana.
​-Adamus

Let's talk about Mercy.

  Overwatch, after its numerous snowflake "scandals" on showing athletic busts and butts in a fantasy world, remains one of the top tier titles in the first-person team shooter world.  All of the assembled heroes cover distinct roles to help fill out an effective team: Defense, Offense, Tank, and Support.  These are pretty straight-forward, but let's cover our bases.
Defense: defensive units excel at holding down a location and laying out damage to DEFEND a position.  Widowmaker, Bastion, and other sniper types fit this model.
Offense: offensive units are fast, mobile strikers with high damage output, but don't do well in heavy fire.  Folks like Reaper and Tracer do best here.  
Tank: with shields, crowd-control, and high health, tanks pull aggro from enemies and keep the fire on them cuz they can take it.  The big boys and girls of Reinhardt and D.Va are your go-to's here.
Support: support is the backbone of a team.  Buffing, building, and healing, characters here keep everyone up while bogging down your foes.  Mercy is the easy example here, but folks like Symmetra and Zenyatta fill in too.

Now, just like in any decent game, these roles serve merely as a guideline in and not a concrete directory of what hero to pick in any given round.  Meaning, not unlike Dungeons and Dragons and others of its ilk, characters can pivot when the situation deems it necessary.  However, Mercy shouldn't be relied on to make kills.  Sure it's possible, but that's not really the thing to do.
  Now, I've been a Mercy main before, and the weird thing is that...not a lot of people are.  In fact, the majority of players are the other three.  I go in order of priority = Support, Defense, Offense, Tank.  I LIKE being the healer when I'm playing with others.  Same thing happened in City Of Heroes (back when it was good).  Of my 6 characters, 3 were healers, and 2 were built to be the best support characters in the game.  I could stick myself in the melee and burst low healing to allies, while I cue large healing to the tank, and prep resurrection for the strikers that went in over their head.  And, if someone pulled aggro and died in a tunnel somewhere, I could teleport their body next to me and queue their resurrection next.  Every battle was a tactical switchboard between positioning myself enough out of harm's way to keep healing, and tracking the output of my allies to keep them moving, which in turn pulled enemies off of me.  MUCH grinding later, I could burn area buffs on top of everyone else, making my team way more effective at their jobs.  It was a lot at once, but I need that kind of strategy stimulus.
  Being "the healer" had a bunch of social benefits, too.  I'm never without an invite to an adventure.  EVERYONE needs a healer, and you learn quickly what kind of group you're signing on to.  Some are obnoxious, others are happy to play, but everybody gets in over their heads at some point.  You learn to manage the group's needs while cueing them into threats; a few times I was gifted the "team leader" mantle after running with a specific crew, because I was good at recognizing where the AI would move and would at least offer my two cents to keep everyone alive.  (Resurrection has a countdown timer, so you can't wait around to get folks back into the fight - if it goes to zero, they return to the HQ spawn point and it takes FOREVER for them to come back to y'all).  There are jerks in every party, but most of my interactions were positive, and when I was playing a lot over the summer between college breaks, I found and kept a solid crew of 3-4 other players that vibed well on missions.  It was a good time.

Psychologically speaking, I'm sure my therapist has a few things to say, so I'll paraphrase.  
  Support classes are acts of service at their core - their main goal is to make the team around them better and to make their foes worse (buff/debuff).  They are absolutely essential, but they require checking your ego at the door, at least in the beginning.  They don't feel heroic, despite making the hero even better...in the background.  They're also the main healers in a game - later levels net powers that can SAVE encounters in a single round, but the majority is still mitigating damage.  They also have to be protected, and sometimes it's hard to prioritize defense over offense, so a support character needs to also take care of themselves...something I needed to learn in the real world, but that's another story.
  My point is that for all their benefits, people still look down on the Support characters in any genre.  They're a lot less flashy,  lacking on NOVA, and often get to be the butt of the joke for no discernible reason (until you need a medic, that is).

There are two board game types I excel at: Deck Builders and Machine Builders.  Deck Builders involve starting with a base deck of cards (or some shuffled resource) and buying/trading for other cards to add to your deck.  The cards you add make your deck more efficient, effective, and versatile, until you are unstoppable.  Machine Builders are similar - start with a basic flow of resources and production, and use that production to upgrade your "machine" until it "comes online" and you really start wrecking shop.
  In Dungeons & Dragons, Clerics have been a staple of the experience.  Early in the editions, Clerics were the only class to tap into healing abilities, but in a lot of cases that was ALL they could do.  Later editions expanded on the Cleric's role, and they became the quintessential Control-Support, especially in the first two tiers of a campaign.  In 5th Edition, it is important to consider that, yes, healing is great, but the power of the Cleric is found more consistently in the rolling buffs and debuffs they can lay on the battlefield, and the consistent "chip damage" of spiritual weapons and guardians.  Thing is, they take a couple rounds to come fully online.  Here's how to do it.

Ruling Initiative is hard with this class.  You tend to have low or even negative Dexterity, prioritizing Wisdom and Strength instead, so without an Alert Feat to help out, you are at the mercy of the dice here.  However, make a Twilight Cleric and use their Vigilant Blessing to grant Advantage on initiative for one creature (including you, which is what I'm saying here).  Going first or close to it lets you turn on your buff and debuff abilities early, before enemies start restructuring your priorities.  If you go later in the initiative, chances are that you might be putting out the fires they set on your allies instead of getting the ball rolling into a boulder.
Priority 1 - Raise the Fallen/Fix the Broken: notice I didn't say "heal the party."  Damage is negligible until a character is unconscious.  We know this to be true as players; you are just as dangerous at 1 Hit Point as you are at 100 Hit Points.  The difference lies in how much punishment you can take until you go down.  On your turn, if anyone is down, get them up if you can.  Healing Word is clutch not for its healing amount but for its RANGE and economy.  60 feet, Bonus Action, get your people up, that's the BEST use of that spell.  Keep it locked and loaded for emergencies.  If you need the character up AND very healthy, you'll have to burn your turn getting them up instead with an "upcast" Cure Wounds (and at later levels, the obvious Heal).  In later levels, spells like Lesser/Greater Restoration, Revivify, and the Mass Cure Wounds/Heal live here.  In other words, always put out the fires first. 
Priority 2 - Prepare the Field: IF your peeps are healthy or at least standing, you can risk popping off a Bless or Bane as your Action on the party or the enemies, respectively.  Personally I would use Bless over Bane, as Bane requires a Saving Throw on your opponents (if they fail, they take a -1d4 penalty to all Attacks and Saving Throws, which is just embarrassing), meaning they can succeed against the effect, while Bless JUST WORKS.  Three allies add a 1d4 bonus to all their Attacks and Saving Throws.  The more you all hit, the faster the fight ends.
Subsequent Turns need to be spent taking care of Priority 1, while stacking on benefits (without compromising concentration) from Priority 2; spells like Sleep and Command are very powerful in early game, use them to effectively remove key enemies from the encounter for a round or two, or altogether if you don't kick them while they're asleep.  As you gain levels, though, your options get much more awesome.

Early game you will likely be nervous about allies going down.  Characters have low hit points, low defenses, and all it takes is a lucky shot to knock out your tank.  Having a spell slot saved for Healing Word is going to be your main focus, which means you might have to clock a few fools in the face with your warhammer and draw some fire.  Lucky for you, a decent DM won't push a dragon on you at this stage, so your enemies should be in a similar boat as your party in terms of power level.  For the following, let's assume that the encounter is at least a little balanced.

TURN 1 - fulfill Priority 1; otherwise pop Bless (concentration) for three buddies.  Yeah, you didn't hit anything, but THEY WILL.
​
TURN 2 - fulfill Priority 1 (this is always first, I'll stop saying it*); otherwise use your Bonus Action to cast Spiritual Weapon, then use your Action to Toll the Dead on the enemy that's taking the majority of the damage.
+ Spiritual Weapon conjures a floating, flying translucent weapon that can be moved and swung on subsequent turns as a Bonus Action (including the turn when you cast it).  It moves 20 feet, and it can't be hurt (can't flank, mind you, but it passes through objects and creatures).  It also deals Force damage, which a lot of our monsters aren't resistant to.  Plus, it is one of the few spells in the game that adds your Wisdom Modifier to the damage.  Best part?  It isn't concentration, so it's a perfect cog in your machine; it stays around for its duration - a lever you can always pull once it's out.

+ Toll The Dead is a cantrip that does more damage to enemies that have already TAKEN damage.  It requires a Wisdom Saving Throw to avoid the damage, but on a success, you're rolling 1d12 of necrotic damage.  (if they are uninjured, it's 1d8).  Counterpoint - a creature suffering from Bane is easy to gang up on with this spell in tandem.

Subsequent Turns - keep yourself out of direct damage lines to avoid concentration checks, and keep knocking them out one by one from a distance.  If you have the spell slots, use Command (1st level) to knock out an enemy for a round.

TURN 1 - *;  pop Spirit Guardians (concentration) for the field, with you at its center.  Then wade into range.  Sorry, my fellow DMs.
+ Spirit Guardians summons a 15 foot sphere of spirits (you at the center, 10 feet out surrounding you).  This field requires enemies entering it (like when you cast it) or starting their turn there to make a Wisdom Saving Throw.  On a failure, they take 3d8 radiant (if you're good) or necrotic (if you're evil) damage.  On a success, they still take half damage.  This spell is arguably the most effective radial chip damage in the game.  By now, your allies are beefier than early game, so switching to an offensive concentration, again, ends the fight faster.  And casting it even one level above 3rd, will give you an additional 1d8 per level to the damage (4th is 4d8, and 6th would 6d8).  Remember, they still take half damage on a success, so if they're in the range, they're guaranteed getting hurt!   
​
TURN 2 - *; use your Bonus Action to cast Spiritual Weapon at the highest even spell slot you can afford (I mean it, I'll explain in a moment), then use your Action to Toll the Dead on that unfortunate soul.
+ If you cast Spiritual Weapon at an even spell slot above 2nd level, it does an extra 1d8 of damage per even level.  So, if you cast it at 4th level (which you gain access to at character level 7), it deals 2d8 + Wisdom Modifier every round you swing it AS YOUR BONUS ACTION.  Baller.  6th level = 3d8, 8th level = 4d8.  That's not nothing, and it perpetuates.  However, if you have defensive spells ready to go that use those even spell slots, buff the party first.

+ By now, Toll the Dead is dealing 2d12 of necrotic damage.  Given that most offensive cantrips for the cleric require saving throws, and it's got a long range, this is still an effective slam for damage output.

TURN 3+ - *; you are officially online.  If your allies are being forced to make a lot of saves and failing, it is still worth it to drop Spirit Guardians to bring up a higher level Bless (casting it at higher levels grants the effect to more creatures).

+ If YOU are under direct fire, it is also worth it to try the following "hack":  Use your Bonus Action to cast Sanctuary on yourself (it forces enemies to make a Wisdom save in order to swing at you), then take the Dodge Action (leaving Spirit Guardians active, and Spiritual Weapon waiting to be triggered).  As per RAW (Rules-As-Written), Spirit Guardians is a spell that was cast prior to Sanctuary, so its damaging effects are already in play, and therefore would not break the Sanctuary effect (if you attack, directly damage a creature, or cast a spell on a creature).  Coupled with Dodge, IF the enemy beats the Wisdom Save, they still swing with Disadvantage due to you Dodging.  If/when you are no longer a main target, use your Bonus Action to swing the Spiritual Weapon, breaking the Sanctuary, and return to business as usual.  [If your DM won't allow this in RAW, taking the Dodge Action while you bop enemies with your Spiritual Weapon is still super effective to buy time].  

IF THINGS GET BAD
+ Word of Recall is one of the best GTFO spells in the game.  Period.
+ Channel Divinity is your Superpower.  Twilight Clerics use Twilight Sanctuary, which buffs their allies with Temporary Hit Points that scale well (and if they lose them in the duration, they can get more) and end debilitating effects like Charm or Fear on them.  It also lasts for 1 minute without Concentration, so it doesn't interrupt the machine.  Look at your additional Channel Divinity options for your Domain to consider your "superhero moments."
+ Heal (6th level) has other benefits.  On top of healing 70 HP, the creature is cured of Blindness, Deafness, and any Disease.
+ Mass Heal (9th level) is freaking amazing.  700 HP divided as you like within range.
+ When you need someone up and completely reset, Power Word Heal is your jam.  9th level spell to heal a creature up to their full HP and end any charm, fright, paralysis, or stun condition immediately.  They can also use their Reaction to stand if they like.
​
STACKING THE MACHINE
Once you are online, stacking your machine with other spells becomes a mini-game in and of itself.  When and how to debilitate foes while still smacking them around with your Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardians is kind of bonkers.  Some spells to consider (with warnings and recommendations).
GUIDING BOLT (1st) - Clerics aren't big damage dealers, so Guiding Bolt helps us feel powerful.  If you hit, it's 4d6 radiant damage, with a temporary boon - the next attack made on the creature has advantage.  Great way to setup the Rogue.  Honestly, though, if damage is your goal, might I suggest:
INFLICT WOUNDS (1st) - nothing complicated.  Melee spell attack, 3d10 necrotic damage.  BUT, every spell level you cast above 1st adds another 1d10.  You can do 7d10 with a 5th Level spell slot.  When you need to take somebody out, THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT (also, it's an Attack roll, meaning it can CRIT).
GUARDIAN OF FAITH (4th) - a great "salt in the wound" effect stacked on top of Spirit Guardians, the Guardian of Faith floats in a fixed point.  When enemies enter its range (10 feet), they have to make a Dexterity Saving Throw.  On a failure, they take 20 radiant damage, or 10 on a success.  The Guardian is 10 by 10 and spectral; put him right on top of you, and his range equals that of your Spirit Guardians.  Only downside is that the Guardian vanishes once it has dealt a total of 60 damage (but at least it didn't burn your Concentration!) 
HOLY WEAPON (5th, C) - imbue a weapon, like that of an ally, to have them deal an extra 2d8 radiant damage when they hit with it.  You can also choose to end the spell and have it burst with radiance, which deals 4d8 radiant damage and can blind nearby foes.  It does, however, burn your Concentration (so there goes Bless or Spirit Guardians), but it DOES make your DPS offense just a little stronger.
HOLD PERSON (2nd) - devastating against Humanoids because it can Paralyze them, which means every melee attack has advantage, and if it hits...it CRITS! 
DEATH WARD (4th) - costs an Action and lasts 8 hours.  Put this on an ally, and if they drop to 0 HP, they instead drop to 1 and the spell ends.  An excellent insurance policy on an unlucky ally that buys you some extra action economy.
BLINDNESS/DEAFNESS (2nd) - though Constitution saves tend to be pretty strong, a Blinded opponent is a major boon in your favor.


I hope these recommendations add fun and flavor to your table.  
Happy Healing!
-Adamus

ARE.  YOU.  SERIOUS!?
  Not to sound ungrateful, but let's break this down.
Eldritch Strike sounds nice on paper.  Hit a dude, they have Disadvantage on a Saving Throw from a spell YOU cast before the end of your next turn.  That's nice, I guess.  Snag Hold Person and you've got a clutch setup for you and your allies; in fact, because you can switch up the order (in most cases) of your Bonus Action and Action economy, you can achieve this debut in the same round.  ...Still only hitting once, though, as that Bonus Action.
Arcane Charge is pretty nifty.  Wreck somebody sideways, then teleport to another across the battlefield and do it again.  That's cool - I admit it.  Still feels like something's missing, though.
Improved War Magic - at 18th level, you can now cast a Spell (which you've been doing anyway, maybe), and attack ONCE as a Bonus Action.  FACE.  PALM.
*Not featured in the screen cap is a neat little flavor perk where you can call your weapon to you as a Bonus Action.  ...More on that later.

Talk about a lackluster reception, and it isn't for lack of players trying.
  The flavor text of the Eldritch Knight sounds like the BEST TIME playing as a Fighter.  The versatility of low-level Wizard magic and blasting power, and all the standard Fighter perks, plus more Feats than anyone else (so customization options).  I've had a few players go for this build, only to be sorely disappointed by the extra features, to the point that they RARELY used their arcane abilities, defaulting to vanilla fighter most of the time (you know, the one that can attack eight times in a round?).
So without sounding too verbose or long-winded, I propose the following adjustments:  

Let's address the first Treant in the room - War Magic is downright mean to the Fighter's primary ability set.  Just swap it around.  Change the language like this: "Beginning at 7th level, when you use your Action to make a weapon attack, you may cast a Cantrip as a Bonus Action."
  "But what about spells that have a casting time of 1 Action!?" I hear you scream.  
Don't care.  Sorcerers get Quickened Spell, Eldritch Blast fires multiple separate rays, and Fireball has been around for three levels.  Get over it and let the Knight swing their weapon into a skeleton twice and rock a Firebolt on the sabertooth tiger gnawing on your Cleric.  It's their job - let them do it.
  And later, just upgrade the Bonus Action to a spell of 1st or 2nd level.  Yes, you're effectively "quickening" those spells, but the Fighter still burns their VERY LIMITED resources in the form of spell slots.  By 18th level, they hold no ability to be a more effective Wizard than the Wizard, but they CAN hit 3-6 times a round and unload a Hold Person beforehand.  Don't lie to yourself, you WANT that on your side.
Side Note: if you REALLY feel like they should sacrifice more to get that spell off, have them lose ONE of their attacks.  But not more than that.

  These tiny adjustments I ensure will make your Eldritch Knight more effective, exciting, and FUN to play, while still honoring the spirit of its origin.
For every failed dynamic, I used to throw myself into a complete overhaul of a class or archetype, or worse, made my own; flawed and devastating in ways I could never have imagined - all in an attempt to fix what was only minutely broken.  Grace (and age) have taught me that subtle adjustments carry the most elegance, and truly make all the difference.  

There ya go.  Eldritch Knight to Eldritch King.
You're welcome.
​-Adamus

These proposed adjustments, though allowed at my tables, are indeed HOMEBREW.  Be sure to ask your DM for approval before utilizing them.

The monsters of Dungeons and Dragons sometimes fall into the swirling cyclone of the diametric.  Two sides of an arcane coin, unequivocally linked to one another.  Some grow out of opposition, while others are twisted transformations of one - a dark miasma of spitting fire and screaming madness.  
  With all my talk of pendulums swinging and balances shifting, my lens lingers on creatures of this influence.  They are fascinating to consider - beyond our stats and alignments, to explore the STORY of their nature and what gives way in the imagination's gates when you do.

  The white winged horses known as Pegasi soar through moon-touched skies, a vision of grace and majesty.  When glimpsed by mortals, they linger only for a moment, touching down for a drink from mountain springs or crystal lakes.  Intelligent and vigilant, any sound or sign from the local wildlife will send them back into the safety of the clouds above.

Born in dens of starlight in the realms of Arborea, the overwhelming positive good of a newborn Pegasus would spill out into the astral sky, alighting new stars and sending the nearby plants to bloom.  An equine marvel hatched from an egg, a Pegasus embraces flight almost immediately, its feathered wings glinting with astral efflorescence.  
  Pegasi nests are commonplace in Arborea, and the wondrous sentience of the creatures makes them loyal mounts to the Seldarine - the pantheon of Elven gods.  Faster and calmer than any wyvern, a Pegasus must be persuaded to serve their rider, entering a partnership that can last millennia.  The Seldarine will sometimes send Pegasi to the Material Realms to aid their followers or serve as messengers of their will, but depending on the forces in play, sending these faithful creatures has its own risks...

A visage of hellish terror, a Nightmare often appears in a cloud of roiling smoke, its mane, tail, and hooves wreathed in fire.  The creature's onyx form moves with a wraith's speed, vanishing into the night in a burst of brimstone.  
  Though it can be ridden by the occasional antihero on a redemption kick, the Nightmare is a prime mount for creatures of exceptional evil.  Demons, devils, death knights, and liches all call this fiendish horse a steed, and many more repugnant souls seek to claim their own by summoning one from the Lower Planes.  Thing is, if you don't feed that hell horse a worthy sacrifice upon its arrival, it has no reason to stay loyal to you.  A good many cultists have been burned to a crisp due to this small omission in the fine print.

This is where things get interesting.
  According to Dungeons & Dragons canon, a Nightmare isn't BORN, they are MADE.  It takes a dark ritual involving the torturous removal of a Pegasus's wings, the more brutal the better.  Literature is mixed, but the theme here is cruelty; the slower and more horrific the removal, the greater the Nightmare produced.  And this isn't a bait and switch situation; the Nightmare IS that tortured Pegasus, driven insane by brutality and dark magic. 
t's sick.  And I kind of love it.
  Because this relationship raises a few pathways that I want to consider:
First, the inner circle of the Seldarine would be indirectly responsible for the creation of a Nightmare in most cases, as these dark rituals often take place at the hands of mortals - or those directly tied to them.  To send a Pegasus as an avatar of the Seldarine opens them to possible capture through dark forces, perpetuating a dangerous silent war of astral attrition.  How insane to fathom an Archfey riding into battle only to come face-to-face with their old trusty mount, twisted by darkness and brutality.  
Second, the Nightmare retains the intelligence of Pegasus form.  This is no mindless beast bent to one's will, and though the rituals require sacrifice to link the mare to the rider, I would venture that a mental or verbal bargain is still required.  In fact, I could see the maddening steps of a certain ritual play out deliciously - fool a Pegasus into believing it is making a heroic pact and companion, only for the creature's true nature to slowly twist the poor being into its Nightmare; like a frog slowly boiling in the pot.  
  You're not breaking down a pet, you're convincing a sentient creature - this requires more nuance.  I like to think that every Pegasus has a name, a personality; hopes, dreams, goals, not unlike a heroic PC.  How does one twist and manipulate a hero into becoming a villain?  If the Star Wars prequels taught us anything, it was how NOT to portray one's turn to the dark side (sudden is bad writing) - what if this process could be more insidious?  Slow and manipulative, with a grand payoff.
Finally, the monster lore stated that the more brutal the shift, the STRONGER the Nightmare.  Which pulls me down the jackal hole.  If you have a particularly twisted or prolonged "ritual", could you create a "greater" Nightmare?  I'd imagine that Pegasi under the Seldarine would make names for themselves similar to their heroic riders.  Perhaps the greater the renown, the harder the fall.  Such a change might yield something along the lines of a Night Terror (or "Knight Terror"); the twisted mirror of a once great heroic steed.
  And if this is possible, could a Nightmare be redeemed?  Perhaps its flight is never restored, but its good nature and starlit white coat, with blue fire for its crest, restored.  What story could that creature tell?

As I research, I leave you with one more idea through the ether.  A Nightmare canonically can pass through the Ethereal Plane, carrying its rider and several others along for the journey.  Imagine what it sees in the mist of the dead.  Old soldiers failing to pass on?  The spirits of lingering beasts and the wisps of old sages?  Or do they see themselves...the Pegasus inside, a haunting specter of their past life. 
And does a Pegasus dream of its other possible lives?  Does its innate senses of fate and danger paint the picture of its dark future, its Nightmare, in cool reflections of mountain springs.  

The pendulum swings.  
Take care, lovely people.
-Adamus

A cursed mix of wings, talons, and a vampiric stag's head, the Peryton is a monstrous entity.  It is depraved relentless in its vicious pursuit to maim and devour the hearts of other creatures, holding a specific hatred for humans and elves.  Even injured, these creatures will hunt down detected foes, until at least one of them is dead.

Their feathering from a distance could be considered beautiful, and with wings tucked, settled upon the ground, the Peryton might pass for a lesser woodland being.  The moment one gets closer, though, you'll notice a good many things are off.

First, actually, would be the smell.  In this case, a lack of one.  Less sensitive noses would identify the creature as human, but those with a modicum of training or enhanced primal senses would pick no smell at all, coupled with an overwhelming sense of dread.  
  Standing over 7 feet tall, the Peryton's demonic stag face smiles with rows of razor-sharp teeth.  The plumage of their chest might tell you their gender (males tend to be blue, while females are a pale white), but soon you won't care.  Their antlers, jet black and harder than steel, are used to rend and impale, and their depraved form is resilient to all but magical weapons. 
As their eyes of orange flame pierce through the fog, any light that passes over them lies about their true form.
  For you see, the most peculiar element of a Peryton is their shadow.  This winged, evil beast will hiss before you, but its shadow will present as human.  Always.  Human.  

This oddity presents a plethora of curious theories, but few had evidence to match.
  Some Loremasters believe the false shadow to be an echo of the last creature the Peryton killed.  Given its penchant for violence against humans and elves, this was the prevailing theory for hundreds of years.  It wasn't until the haphazard findings of one Grenaldi Mayweather, a gnomish priest under the cover of twilight, who one night happened upon a nest of the creatures in the Ghastshadow Mountains.  She observed the flock tear into a pack of roaming Aarakocran, ambushed or set upon as they slept.  Just as history told us, the Peryton ripped open the chests of their victims, consuming the still-warm hearts with grim satisfaction.  Mayweather watched in dread curiosity, eager to solve the riddle of the shadow...  But the humanoid echo remained.  No winged shadows manifested.
  Mayweather was lucky to escape with her life, but returned soon after for more observation, this time with an elite guard to watch her back; the knowledge was too important not to be careful...

It would also be Mayweather that would witness the first instance of a Peryton being born.  Though there are documented family units of a male and a female Peryton (though they'd be hard-pressed to care for their young, if not kill them), this instance within the nest involved two females.  
  Both left to hunt, smelling blood on the wind.  They were gone for hours.  When they returned, blood dripping from their claws, they delivered several chunks of flesh to the next to feast upon, and a still writhing human man!  Mayweather watched as her lookout - a young brown-eyed ranger - was clutched by one of the pair and pulled toward the other, like it was presenting a gift.  Firey smoke and twisting gray tendrils spilled from the one in waiting, before its teeth sank into the man's chest, ripping his beating heart from the cavity.  His body went limp, and Peryton female scarfed down the heart, her eyes shifting translucence in the penumbra.  
  Then Mayweather heard a sound that sent chills down her spine.  
Like an echo of a child's laugh.  A giggle in the gloom, small and innocent.  Then it grew, warping and dancing along the walls, raising in pitch and warble, until it is a chorus of cackling.  The other eyes in the nest rise and join in, their necks convulsing and twisting backward with the sound, a malevolent inversion of mirth and satisfaction.  The sound becomes a beast in and of itself, a roiling mass of whoops and hollers, striking chords and stark dissonance.  Vibrations spill out the mouth of the cave, whispers at the ears of the hidden spies, and shouts upon the walls that surround them.
  The guards around the gnome begin to clutch and claw at their ears, the cacophony bringing a few to tears.  Mayweather instinctually covers the sob of her closest ranger, insisting that he get himself together.
Then.
Silence.
  The smell of dread hits Mayweather's nostrils as she dares to peer into the nest.  All the Peryton stare straight ahead, their mouths gaping open - a frozen, terrifying smile.  Until they all snap their eyes...to her.

They made it out with one casualty.  Her second blue-eyed scout, snatched by a rogue talon before he could slip into the wooden door of a magnificent mansion.  
  Safe within the dimensional space, Mayweather vigorously wrote down her conclusions:
1. New Peryton are born by a female consuming the heart of a freshly killed humanoid.
2. Their shadows flicker into monstrous forms during the process of incubation.
3. When incubation begins, nearby Peryton gain heightened senses to protect the pregnant female, becoming even more violent.  The more there are, the stronger the pack's senses.
  Her fourth note she added weeks later, when her guards - while out hunting - were set upon by a pair of Peryton, seemingly tracking them for miles.  When they finally confronted the creatures, they were surprised to see two young Peryton, newborns - one with brown eyes and the other with blue, both with shadows of human form.  ...Felling the creatures was tough, but much worse for their psychology.  Poor guys.
4. Newborn Peryton share the eyes of the creature whose heart they were born from.  As they get older, and kill more for their own survival and pleasure, the blood tarnishes the eye color, shifting it to match the orange-red of the others.

Mayweather and others theorized that the first Peryton was a cursed human or elf, twisted by a god of chaos.  The bards of old expanded upon this, marking its origin to infidelity, curses, and carrions feasting on cursed corpses.
  Given Mayweather's most recent expeditions, however, the clearest line exists through pure vehemence.  These aren't cursed humans - they were MADE by something.  Sometime in the first age, when great magics could be wielded by mere mortals, a wizard general - whose name is lost to time - sought a tactical edge against the elven and human alliances.  So he juxtaposed what he had on hand with fiendish blood.  An intellect unmatched, the alchemist rivaled the gods for a moment - before his heart was ripped from his chest...

Mind the shadows.  Watch the skies.
See you next time.
-Adamus

These little buddies are so intrinsically in tune with the magical world that I have taken the liberty to codify a few with magical persuasions of their own.  Sure, you'll have the standard pseudodragon flapping around your nooks and crannies and old libraries, but if you dig deep enough and scour long enough, you'll undoubtedly run into one of these variants.
  Illusory - Pseudodragons don't have a specific language, instead communicating telepathically simple ideas.  Those that are steeped in illusion magic has found a way to interpret the innate basics of their school to help communicate better, manifesting in a sort of "thought bubble" above their heads communicating more intricate picturesque ideas.  I just love the idea of a pseudodragon with an ellipsis over its head as it ponders, and then watching it blip back and forth between steak and its studies; the ultimate SQUIRREL moment.  :)
  Evocata - a little friend who spends a lot of time around battle mages and explosives can evolve into a combustion dragon.  Highly emotional, passionate, and excitable, an Evocata will manifest its core magic in explosive bouts.  Get too excited?  Fireball.  Or Fog Cloud.  Or Plant Growth.  Get too sad?  Cast Darkness.  Get protective of their master, their binky, or their new bestest friend that they've known for five minutes?  Ray Of Frost.  Or Finger Of Death.  You know, TOTALLY NORMAL reactions.
  The list continues, and I have a feeling the more I play with this concept, the more hilarious it will become.  Does a Cleric use her Pseudodragon as her own personal lie detector because it's infused with Divination magic?  Does a diplomat use his to win over a crowd because he steeps in Enchantment?  The possibilities abound!  
(and now my players know...good luck)

See you at the table.
​-Adamus
  

I've been running campaigns long enough that I've stacked up NPCs like Pokemon cards, ready to unleash them onto unsuspecting players.  Sometimes they work wonders, other times they suck wind through a straw.  Let's take a look at a few and see what I could have done better.  

Core Concept: Jedrek is a one-man army.  Built by a broken monastery as a final solution, a Blackweave monk wields the power of the broken weave.  Using his skin as parchment, a Blackweave covers himself in arcane runes and tattoos, each connected to an ancient power.  By engaging a tattoo, he can cast the spell that was inscribed upon him, wielding the cosmic powers of the lost tribes of wizards.  But once the tattoo was spent, the ink burns off of him, lost forever.
  A Blackweave can add permanent augmentations to his body by inscribing runes upon the skin, and burning them over 100 days.  These marks become infused scar tissue, sewn with residual power.  One can use this technique to add extra ways to manipulate their Ki, make their bodies more formidable, or make their minds sharper.
Version 1.0: A Way Of The Long Death Monk at Level 17, with a Level 14 Gunslinger as backup VS a party of five level 10 adventurers.  Low Con saves and lucky rolls on my end put the melee friends on the stun train pretty fast, but things got pretty close.  A Tattoo of Contingency - Revivify was placed on him as a last resort by his Compendium (the order branch), which saved his skin.  Using Step Of The Wind, he escaped, healed, and returned for his quarry, killing a PC and taking the body. 
  Notes: It was a tough encounter and a decent field test for the build, but he didn't use a lot of his tattoos.  As it stood, his action economy required use of his Bonus Action to engage a tattoo.
Version 1.5: The players, now at full force: 10 characters at Level 13 VS 1 Level 18 Long Death Monk.  Taking no chances, the resident pyro cast instead Telekinesis, holding Jedrek aloft and restraining him.  As Telekinesis is a contest of checks, not saves, Jedrek's Diamond Soul (proficiency in all Saving Throws) doesn't engage.  Good job party!  However, because of one small wording technicality in Jedrek's build language...he wasn't entirely shut down.  He still had access to ALL of his Weave, so every round he'd struggle against the Telekinesis (fail), then spend a Bonus Action to engage a spell that was laced onto him.  It was a "chip damage" fight; still interesting and dangerous, but felt off somehow.  It also took a long time.  They killed him and burned the body (evidence), and felt good about avenging their ally.

Future Adjustments: We finally figured out what was bugging me.  Engaging the tattoos can still be a Bonus Action, but I propose a few limiting factors.  Certain on 1 and 2, entertaining 3 and 4.
1) He has to touch the tattoo, which requires movement.  If he's restrained, he can't do that.  Telekinesis should have shut him down completely.  It's the anti-monk spell!
2) There should be a Ki cost to engage the spell.  Either Spell Level = Ki Points spent or 1/2 Spell Level (rounded up) = Ki Points spent.  Cantrips are always 1 Ki Point.
3) I'm considering a spell level limitation.  Like no spells above 7th...  Then again, even with a 20th level monk, using 9 Ki to cast that crazy Meteor Swarm that others at my level can also crank out ...as a Bonus Action...  Yeah, no.  We're limiting this crap.  No 8th or 9th level spells.  7th I MIGHT be okay with.  We'll play with it.
4) The Runes he's burned take up attunement slots, or 1/2 an attunement slot.  They take a lot to get, including cost and training (100 days, remember), but they *are* permanent; so someone with a lot of time and resources can add on Runes easily.  They already have a maximum of 3 Runic Augments before their body can't take the strain anymore, but after that we've got Bracers of Defense, a Ring of Protection, and a Cloak of Protection (a total +4 AC, and a total +2 to all saves).  With Runes that make your Martial Arts 1d12 (instead of 1d10), allow you to Hunter's Mark, and others that grant you Sneak Attack for Ki...  Don't want anyone to get too beefy too fast.
Why?: Action economy is too far broken.  He can be a better wizard than a wizard, and still PUNCH REALLY HARD.
Is the Blackweave dead?  Nah.  But it requires more tweaking as a subclass.  Monks have A LOT of options already, so it may serve better in another class (Ranger could be interesting), open-ended to all classes (needs some secrecy), or needs a few more limitations/refinement.

Core Concept: The Daughters of Syn had been a consistent villain group all throughout campaign 2 on Tuesdays, and I'm a big fan of using common mythos and turning it on its head.  In this case, we're using the Seven Deadly Sins as our model.
  "Sly" is Sloth.  Laid back and lazy, this knight doesn't want to do much, instead opting for her familiar, Freya, to do most tasks for her.  But for all her laziness, if ever you were to hurt Freya, or try to hurt her more severely, she would finally show you her true power - frightening and efficient, she'd like to end the fight as soon as possible, so she can return to her nap.

Encounters and Impressions:  Sly was my absolute favorite side villain.  Every moment the party encountered her, they fell in love with her dry wit and lack of commitment.  She would often show up on the outskirts of a battle (showing that she was always watching for her mistress, Syndrosa), smoking a pipe and giving raucous commentary of the fight, quick to crack jokes or just shrug at veiled threats.  In fact, the first time she met the group, she helped most of them escape the Underdark (I wonder if that endeared her to them a bit).  She was really just gathering information on them at that point, but she really didn't care either way, so killing them would be boring.

Fight 1: The first real encounter with Sly involved the group trying to rescue a little girl trapped in the Underdark.  Sly had an amulet on her person with a soul trapped inside (but the party didn't know that, only that she had a nice amulet, it looked valuable).  The party turned into bugs and snuck into her room, while others tried to deal with Sly's partner, an Oathbreaker Paladin named Naz (Pride).  For most of the fight, the party simply kept Sly occupied as she played with them, always at the edge of caring.  It wasn't until Naz was killed that Sly began to show her true ferocity.  Sly's first boon involves Freya; the fire fox fuses with her form, granting her lycanthropic strength and speed, as well as some Greater Invisibility.  Couple this with the fact that she's already a Level 16 Druid by now...and we've got something serious on our hands.  The party has A LOT of close calls, but manages to kill her, her form crumbling away in strips of...ice?

Fight 2: MUCH TIME PASSES and the group assault the now Queen Syndrosa in her OWN LAIR, and are promptly defeated.  Despite this Full Party Capture moment, the players were SO HAPPY to find out that Sly was indeed alive, and the version they killed was some sort of Clone or Simulacrum.  Heck, she even helps them escape the follow-up encounter (again: she doesn't really care).  But upon returning to the Fortress of Syn, now better prepared and after taking out Lust and taking some weapons from Wrath, they come across the real Sly.  She toys with them a little...and then the Paladin kills the fire fox.
  A Storm of Vengeance, and A LOT of near-death experiences (2 deaths total, but yay Revivify), a well-timed Power Word Kill drops Sly for good (strange, she could have totally Counterspelled, but she didn't...).  The party was the SADDEST I have seen them after this fight - they didn't want it to end!

Build and Boons
Class: Druid 20, Circle of the Moon (not that she cares)
Standard Boons: Boon of Fortitude (HP +50, Temp HP Ward +20), Boon Fey Step (Movement +30 as a Misty Step)
Boon of the Fire Fox - grants the Knight a familiar in the form of a fire elemental.  This familiar can heal you from a distance and merge with you to grant extra physical bonuses and a burst of fire damage at the end of every one of your turns.
Boon of the Sloth - Aura of Relaxation (little things don't stress you out, Calm Emotions at all times, advantage on saving throws against being charmed).  Social power of Disarm (disadvantage for foes to resist your relaxed charm).  You have entertaining and informative visions involving the people you observe; you no longer sleep, but napping opens these visions to your perfect memory.  Whether you act on them...is totally up to you.
Is Sly gone for good? - Mmm.  Tricky thought; death can get weird in D&D, and resurrection moreso.  Depends on where her soul ended up, and who cares enough to get her back.  I have a feeling her return would not be an unwelcome one, at least by a few PCs. ;)

Core Concept: A Circle Of Spores Druid hell-bent on conquering the world of beasts, controlled by the Mantle of the General; an ancient artifact forged by the Erlking of the Feywild.  Woof.  That's heavy.
  Anox was a product of the Erlking's choices; after the Archfey took the Helm of the Hunt, his purging Valkyries decimated the forces of Anox's predecessor, Gurlanik, the Fade.  To rectify this, Anox used his only son as a lure to other beings touched by Fey energy, and used his Circle to "seed" them with necrotic powers - and his control.  The resulting Treant-Hybrid army, coupled with the stolen Mantle's innate power to call nearby beasts under his command, Anox began preaching dominion over the Wilds beyond and amassing an army of druids who shared his ideals.
  His son, Darius, finally fed up with the loss of innocent life, formed his own pack of druids - attempting first a coup, then, when that failed, an all-out-assault upon his father, while freeing those that would be hunted for his dark purpose.  This betrayal marked the beginnings of Anox's madness, and the Mantle began to wrestle control away where it could.  Soon, the two entities became indistinguishable from one another, and the more Anox used the Mantle to augment his magic, the more it took from his mortal body...but he could not die as long as it was bound to him.

Boss Fight: This fight was...problematic.  There was a spore lair with infectious actions, a whole one on one duel where the PCs made strange tactical decisions and then got mad when they didn't work out.  And this was already a difficult campaign to run; huge mix of experience levels and play styles clashing all over the place.  If I were to run this in the now, 4 years wiser, I'm confident it would have been earned.  Honestly, I was still cutting my teeth on this one.
    There were personal stakes with a PC, which, in any other case, would have made this much more charged - the end result here...was confusing.  Misinterpretations of rules and descriptions, intentions, and flow; it got pretty awkward at times.
  What I WANTED to happen was a dynamic battle of shifting landscapes and status effects, a ticking time bomb of spore growth, and a possible moral quandary of tearing the mantle free to destroy it or don it yourself.  Instead, it was a jumbled mess with a few great moments (I'll give that to my seasoned players), tarnished by that constant confusion or rules-lawyering.  Different group, different time I guess.

The Build: Druid 18 [Circle of Spores], Warlock 2 [Great Old One*]
  The Warlock element of this build required a lot of homebrew.  This Great Old One ends up being the Mantle itself, a semi-sentient immortal object (one of my "Legacy Artifacts") that has held many hosts before, and draws power equally from the Shadowfell and the Feywild.  It had regenerative properties, negated by radiant damage, and the Mantle has its own suite of innate daily spells - it could even cast additional spell effects by placing levels of Exhaustion on its user.  
  At the time, I wasn't confident with custom Legendary Actions, but a second go would simplify Anox's action economy to that of a standard druid, and the Mantle would act with Legendary Actions of its own, illustrating the dichotomy of the two entities joined.  I could then drop better hints as to the artifact's nature, and I would allow the PCs to attack the Mantle directly, adding a puzzle to this duel of fates.
  As it stands, Anox - and myself - learned a lot from this boss fight, and we haven't seen the last of his character.  Perhaps a new version will retcon the old for us all. 

Anywho.
It's important to look back now and again.  To consider where our lessons lie, and what new adventures we can craft with them in mind.  Maybe I'll do this again - I've got plenty stashed in the mental basement.

If you enjoyed this, maybe say so, or check out the Patreon (it could always use some love).  
Stay warm out there.
-Adamus

Pulling our visions into messy arcane studies, pits flanked by dangerous ooze, and dark caverns of mystery, we rest our eye upon one of my favorite little critters in this whole game.
  Sporting leathery skin and angry spikes, with claws for climbing, and a mouth often gaped, the Nothic is unnerving on its own, but its enormous, unblinking eye sets it far apart from its other cave kin.  Despite its stark appearance, though, the Nothic can form rich bonds and motivations, even spilling themselves into an industry all their own.

Like I said, the Nothic uses to be a spell caster - a creature devoted to the arcane.  This means that those cognitively aware enough of their own affliction would seek to remedy it.  Which births Nothic alchemists and artificers, brewing elixirs and constructing shadows, seeking to silence the incessant voices of their fragmented memories.  
  For those who drink the ill-made elixirs, further mutations plague their forms.  Orcish blood infuses their body with resistance; devilish magic turns their blood to smoke, their steps to shadow; Fey magic infuses the spines and spurs with wild magic that explodes with their emotions.
  On the other side, the unhinged artifice breathes new terrifying life into their visage.  An extra set of arms of offset their twitchy nature; electric infusers to inject them with strange mutagens, all the better to defend their workshop from intruders.  If you were driven to mad industry to silence the voices in your head, what would you make?

See you at the table.
-Adamus