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- I Cast...Brainstorm issue 36!
I Cast...Brainstorm issue 36!
A weekly newsletter of ideas and advice for D&D Dungeon Masters, players, and fans
Dave Palmer
December 12th, 2025
In partnership with
This week — A Gargantuan Elemental from the Far Realm, and a Magical Ink
Thanks for reading I Cast…Brainstorm!, a weekly newsletter with ideas and advice to help make DM-ing and playing D&D (and other TTRPGs) easier and more fun.
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Let’s brainstorm some fun!
In this issue...
Hello, Brainstormers! December is always a tricky month for scheduling sessions — holidays, parties, travel, and visiting family can make sticking to a regular schedule really difficult. On the other hand, if most of the players get some time off around the holidays, maybe you’ll be able to squeeze a couple extra sessions!
If not, there’s always holiday themed one shots and board games to enjoy with whoever can make it. May your planning be easy and your games be full over the next few weeks!
As always, thanks for reading.
A Gargantuan Elemental from the Far Realm
Caution — this is un-playtested material and quite strange. Use at your own risk!
A creature of the Far Realm, the Elder Elemental of the Void is composed of the dark, cold, lifeless stuff of the vast incomprehensible void of the cosmos. Those that engage with the creature risk glimpsing the void, and losing their minds.
The creature hunts at night, flying silently hundreds of feet above the ground, and when it sees the living below, it will fly swiftly down and use its Welcome to the Void attack before the unfortunate victims can react.
Elder Elemental of the Void
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 210 (20d12 + 80)
Speed 0 ft., fly 90 ft. (hover)
STR 23 (+6)
DEX 20 (+5)
CON 18 (+4)
INT 6 (–2)
WIS 10 (+0)
CHA 10 (+0)
Damage Vulnerabilities — none
Damage Resistance — necrotic, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons
Damage Immunities — cold, poison
Condition Immunities — exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious
Senses — Darkvision 120’, Blindsight 30’, passive Perception 10
Languages — Deep Speech, Telepathy 120’
Challenge 20 (25,000 XP)
Proficiency Bonus 6
Features
Magic Resistance
The Elder Elemental of the Void has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, and any features that mimic spells.
Unusual Nature
The Elder Elemental of the Void doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.
Sunlight Sensitivity
While in sunlight, the Elder Elemental of the Void has disadvantage on all d20 tests.
Amorphous
The Elder Elemental of the Void can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Actions
Multiattack
The Elder Elemental of the Void makes three Slam attacks, or two Slam attacks and uses Welcome to the Void, if available.
Slam
Melee Weapon Attack: +12 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target
Hit: 33 (6d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 13 (3d8) cold and 13 (3d8) necrotic damage.
On a hit the target gets a glimpse of the vast incomprehensible darkness of the void, and must succeed a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the start of the Elder Elemental of the Void’s next turn, as it stares hopelessly into the void.
Welcome to the Void (Recharge 6)
The Elder Elemental of the Void enters the squares of all creatures in a 20’ x 20’ area. All creatures enveloped by the Elder Elemental of the Void in this way must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or take 34 (5d12) necrotic damage and 34 (5d12) cold damage, and become afflicted with Short Term Madness from the table in the D&D 5e 2014 Free Basic Rules, found here — https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/basic-rules-2014/running-the-game#Madness.
If the save fails by more than 5, the target is afflicted with a form of Long Term Madness instead, from the Long Term madness table found at https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/basic-rules-2014/running-the-game#Madness.
If a target’s saving throw is successful it takes half damage, does not become afflicted with any madness, and is immune to Welcome to the Void’s madness effect for the next 24 hours.
A Magical Ink to Enhance Spell Scrolls
The adventure series I’m writing involves a new kind of magic item I’m devloping — powerful, brightly colored inks — and a new kind of wizard that creates them. I’m still working on the details, but I thought I’d write up one type of ink to see how it feels. Let me know what you think. Is it something you’d use in your games?
Zertz’s Wondrous Ink of Upcasting
Wondrous Item, rare
The process used to create this orange-hued ink is a secret well-kept by the mystical artisans who invented it. Usually found in 1 ounce vials, the ink can be used to craft a scroll as usual and imbue the spell with added power. Any scroll written with Zertz’s Wondrous Ink of Upcasting allows the user to upcast the spell from the scroll by 1 level, and any cantrip scribed in the ink can be cast from the scroll as if the caster was 5th level instead of 1st.
The amount of ink needed to scribe a scroll per level is as follows —
Cantrips 1/10 of an ounce
1st level 1/5 of an ounce
2nd level 1/4 of an ounce
3rd level 1/3 of an ounce
4th level 1/2 an ounce
5th level 1 ounce
6th level 2 ounces
7th level 3 ounces
8th level 4 ounces
Legend has it that the Ink of Upcasting can be formulated in darker hues and greater strengths, but if so, its creators keep those powerful pigments to themselves.
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RPG Recommendations
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Brainstorming Links
The Arcane Library — masterpiece adventures, and Shadowdark, too!
https://www.thearcanelibrary.com
The Angry DM — so angry….so many great ideas….
https://theangrygm.com/
DMDave — on point analysis of D&D rules, and a ton of fun ideas
https://bsky.app/profile/dmdave.bsky.social
RPGBot — whip smart critique and explanations of 5e rules
https://rpgbot.net/
Sly Flourish — a DM’s best friend who is also a better DM
https://www.slyflourish.com/
Treantmonk — years of helpful advice and clever ideas
https://www.youtube.com/@TreantmonksTemple
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The original ideas in this issue of I Cast….Brainstorm! are covered under the Creative Commons BY-SA license — all content is free to use (including commercially) and change, with proper attribution.
You can read about the license here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
