Terrain Tuesday: Pound Metal

There comes a special time in every dwarf’s life when he/she acquires very first anvil. It’s a special and memorable event. Well, that time has come for one of our players so let’s flush out the details together so that maybe you can plan something similar when the time comes.

First, let’s catch you up. Our level four dwarf, Monsignor Reginald, broke his beloved hammer (aka, “Whammer”) and sought out a local blacksmith to help him fix it. Thus, DM Ben felt this was the perfect time to create a smithy one-shot side quest. And so Waterdeep’s best blacksmith, Krufer Promentory, has lost his beloved son to a Night Hag in the High Forest. In exchange for his boy’s return, he will forge a valuable lucky coin.

Originally, that’s where the quest was going to end but then our game group dwarf did an epic move where he dressed up like his character for game night! He went all out and even 3D-printed his helmet! How can 3D RPG not reward such a feat?! This was also the perfect time to ultimately grant him his very first anvil.

Let’s start with the anvil itself. Deep in ol’ Krufer’s shop lies a dusty, old anvil. It was the very first one he ever used to open his business but due to the anvil’s size and the demand for his services, it was ultimately deemed too small. Still, it’s the perfect starter anvil for any aspiring smithy! Not too fancy or flashy – just enough to get the job done. Sadly, we can’t tell you where this little FDM-printed piece came from but be sure to check out Cast n Play, EC3D Designs, or STL Miniatures for a slew of options.

Will a plain ol’ anvil do here? Nah. We want to spice things up a bit. First off, Krufer will give him a set of blacksmith tools including a hammer, tongs, charcoal, rags, and a whetstone all rolled up in a leather case. These tools grant advantage on one crafting roll once per day.

As for the anvil properties themselves, DM Ben went to Reddit for our player, Monsignor Reginald:

Reginald’s Razor: once per day, you can summon your anvil and fine-tune a player’s weapon. This TLC allows that player to re-roll the damage on one attack of their choosing. The blacksmith must spend one uninterrupted hour sharpening, adjusting, and putting the selected weapon back in peak condition. Caster level 4. This idea was inspired by user Kibbles.

Monsignor’s Migraine: once per day, you can summon your trusty anvil above a creature’s head within 60 ft: The creature must make a DC 15 Dexterity Saving Throw or take 3d6+3 bludgeoning damage and be squished like a pancake until the end of its next turn. While in “pancake” form, the creature is restrained. Caster level 5. This idea was inspired by user ExistentialOcto.

Wham Bam Bolt: once per day, you can craft a +1 bolt. The smithy must acquire the proper materials (50 gp) but the crafting (2d4 hours) is an automatic success. The bolt explodes on impact whether the attack misses or hits. All creatures within 10 ft take 1d4+1 damage. The bolt can be a bit temperamental though and has a 20% chance of misfire. Caster level 6. This idea was inspired by user Louiscypher93.

DM Ben is going to level-release these rewards. Meaning, that the more our dwarf uses his beloved anvil, the better at it he naturally becomes (and learns new ways to craft even cooler things). Now, all this priming and pounding is a loud affair so it’s also going to send some unwanted soundwaves out (which could alert nearby unfriendlies). Lastly, these effects don’t stack – the beholder can only select one of them once per day.

Once again, DM Ben used Felraider RPG and their PDF Magic Spell Cards template to create the corresponding spell cards. We’ve used their tools a couple of times now to make all sorts of slick card accessories for our DnD game. This way our player has all the anvil mechanics at his fingertips.

The moral of this story: when a player goes all in to lift the spirits and atmosphere of the group, as a DM, you gotta reward that enthusiasm and do something special!