Not So Little Drummer Boy

Another long rest roll by the DM means another wandering monster. Let’s see what Laughing Bear Games painted up for us this time!

With our 3D-printed Wilderness Trek Wandering Monster table complete, let’s keep chipping away at our Dungeon! After today’s entry, we’ll have just four events left! And this time, we’re doing another disruptive encounter rather than a combat encounter to keep that variety going!

Let’s start by highlighting our mini-maker: Loot Studios. We grabbed this 3D sculpt from their greenie-meanie Orcs of Butcherhold set. Orcs are a bit of a staple in many dungeon crawls so this race seemed like a slam-dunk pick.

Now that we’ve got our monster type and pulled down a great STL from a kick-a$$ creator, we need the right splash of color. Once again, we look to Laughing Bear Games to enter the gauntlet with its mighty magic brush in hand! Sir Arkansas Adam fears no one!

This Wardrummer Orc lept off the page when we reviewed this chaotic evil set due to his striking details and overall uniqueness. Can’t you just hear those drum beats like in the Jumanji movie? We 100% have our next wanderer! It’s so good that DM Ben will also use that drum beat as his main sound effect!

Laughing Bear Games’ coloring details are absolutely wicked here. The drumsticks, the harness, all the dangling skulls, and that big ol’ green belly brought nothing but oohs and ahs when we unboxed this one. We knew we were gonna have some fun with this one!

So, let’s set the scene. The players have found a spot to rest in their deep, dark dungeon. During the watch, a player will hear the faint sound of drums. Tension-filled seconds pass as the melodious thumps get louder…then louder…and then faster. What on earth is going on?!

Anyone awake and exposed to this repeated drumming must make a Charisma saving throw (DC 13) or suffer a unique version of Charmed. Anyone failing the save has their eyes gloss over as violent war-like visions fill their head, and they start aimlessly walking towards the direction of the thunderous drums.

The nightly drumming keeps the Orc rank and file in line. These are simple creatures and easily brainwashed. The Charm spell wears off with the usual snap-to-it methods like a good slap or water to the face. However, each additional night the affected player spends in the dungeon calls for a new Charisma save. Even nuttier, non-affected players never hear any drums.

Players suffer a level of exhaustion each night they hear those pesky drums, a drummin’, and fail their Charisma save. Lesser Restoration or Remove Curse will end the pulling effect.

If you’re itching for a little combat, you can expand this Dungeon Delve Wandering Monster encounter by having the affected player ultimately walk right towards a nearby Orc patrol.

Once again, a huge thanks to Arkansas Adam for his fantastic paint jobs!! We’re really jazzed to share more of his excellent works in future posts. Be sure to visit his Instagram, Facebook, and Etsy (where you can request a custom quote for some paint jobs on your own pile of shame).

Now, all that’s left to do is update our table!

Until next time!