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The Larvate Sublimity The nobility of Grimfest Masks and secrets More than human The first individuals to take advantage of the harvesting of flesh from the Tarrasque quickly realized that, beyond simple meat production, the flesh of the Tarrasque could be used as the core materials of many different kinds of products.  These included potions and other magical items.  Additionally the consumption of the flesh, prepared in certain ways, could prolong the lifespan of a living being, albeit with side effects.  While a person could live far beyond their normal years, the flesh of the Tarrasque was rumored to have mutagenic properties that would distort the body even as it enlivened it. Most of those original families now called themselves the Larvate Sublimity, and rule of the city of Grimfest as local nobility.  Their research into the Tarrasque has led many of them to become powerful magic users, while others merely content themselves to fantastic wealth. ...

We played the first session of our new D&D 5E campaign last night, set in the city of Grimfest (detailed in the last few blog posts).  There were a lot of logistical elements at work here, so let me break it all down. First, I have ten players in the campaign, which is far too many for the table.  What I've done is set up three gaming sessions a month on the calendar, and asked everyone to pick two of them, with a general cap of six or seven per session.  So far for January, that has worked for most people, although at least two could only make one of the sessions.  I'm not sure how to handle experience points for the people who can't make two sessions a month and having them get behind the others, but I'll puzzle that out later. The group's composition: half-orc paladin elf monk human rogue tiefling warlock dragonborn sorcerer elf druid dwarf ranger half-elf bard human cleric undecided The first six played in the session last night.  They...

Continuing with my introduction to my 5E campaign... The City of Grimfest Indifferent to peril The monster within An economy of flesh It is not clear if it was the magicians to halted the path of the Tarrasque or others who realized that the miraculously regenerative abilities of the monster could be exploited by harvesting its flesh.  The Tarrasque became a never-ending supply of meat for the region, and a community rapidly grew around it. Beyond just carving off chunks of flesh for food, the body of the Tarrasque could also be farmed for scales, claws, horns, and other body parts which were used for the raw materials for armor, magical unguents, and other things conceived by the early entrepreneurs who formed the backbone of Grimfest's society today.

Author's note: I'm launching a new D&D 5E campaign with my Friday night group, and decided the best way to give the backstory would be to just write about it here and link to it through the group's private Facebook page (some time I'll talk about how our group uses Facebook).  All of the material for the campaign will have the label "Grimfest" in the post.  So, let's begin and the beginning... It would be impossible to tell the tale of the origins of the city of Grimfest without talking about the Tarrasque. The Tarrasque Living Mountain of Rage Virtually Indestructible Grisly Cornucopia for the City The origins of the Tarrasque are a matter of myth and speculation.  Avatar of an angry god?  Magical experiment gone horribly awry?  Regardless of where it came from, the Tarrasque has moved across the surface of the planet for centuries, a living cataclysm in whose wake history has shifted.  Empires have been torn asunder, mountain ranges ...