Like Real Life

Session 6: 50% Casualties

2012-01-06T21:27:00.001+08:00

Jade hadn’t heard from the other investigators for some time so after learning her new spell (The Yellow Mist), she hops into the Mondeo and heads for the Golden Ram club.

Meanwhile, Jackson, Don and Griff are trapped in an underground tunnel listening to the sorcerer Abagalia explain her plot which I’ll summarise here:

Exposure to the ‘dead pixel’ eventually causes the growth of a seemingly benign tumour. However, the tumour eventually grows into a small winged entity that bursts out of the eye when fully formed. The experience is always fatal for the host. The ‘entity’ quickly grows into an exact likeness of the host. Abagalia refers to this as the birth of the new flesh.

Thanks to InstaCOM, an entire village in Africa is now comprised solely of new flesh (she started in Africa because, hey, who in America gives a hoot about a third-world continent a zillion miles away)... Abagalia explains that soon, when the stars are right, entities that have for aeons slept, shall awake; in doing so, the earth shall be crushed like a bug. Why? Because these alien overlords are so powerful that they wouldn’t notice one tiny planet... Unless, Abagalia can create a sizable following of new flesh to worship the new gods.

Abagaila realises that there’s something special about the investigators - the ‘new-flesh effect’ began to take hold of Griff in hours instead of days. She gives them the option of volunteering for the transformation and collecting the reward for the safe return of Jessica.

At this time, Griff’s ancient ‘mobile’ phone rings and the mysterious caller again tells her that the portal is near and it must not be entered. Griff starts to ask some detailed questions but the caller asks her to be more general and basic in her communication - he says that she can understand him perfectly well because a) he has an excellent voice coach and b) everything he will ever say has already been said whereas every word Griff utters is spoken for the first time - a fact which results in garbled speech at his end of the line. Don thinks this means that the messages from the phone are coming from the past (must give that man an experience point).

Jade joins in the discussion with Abagalia via mobile phone conferencing whilst she is busy donning her Dark Cloak (and essentially becoming invisible). Jade sees Detective Mitch Baxter from Lennox County enter the club.

The door at the far end of the corridor opens and a disoriented Jessica Landers staggers in, wearing nothing but an old blanket. She wants to know what’s been going on and where Ray is because she can’t remember a thing.

After a brief Q&A Jackson offers to help Jessica escape and they head towards the door she originally came from. Abagalia’s not too chuffed and announces that if he passes through the door “he alone shall die” I statement that turns out to be quite prophetic. Jade believes this means that Jessica will kill him and that Abagalia is not trying to protect the earth but instead speed the awakening of these new gods by creating ready-made believers or somehow bringing these entities into the world through the transformations.

At this point, Mitch Baxter comes through the door; Jessica drops to the floor and he fires! Griff takes a chest would and is splattered against the door (not dead but with just 1 HP left, not too healthy). Don returns fire and pings poor Mitch with a burst that reduces him to a mushy pulp.

Jessica gets to her feet and announces that as long as the investigators do as they’re told, she’ll only kill one of them... Jade remembers the MUSIC and tells everyone to switch on their phones’ MP3 players. Handel’s Water Music fills the passage and Jessica is incapacitated by the din (Abagalia switches off the intercom). Don quickly introduces Jessica to Mister AK47 and drills her with 6 shells. Enough to stop a rhino and just enough to stop her.

Meanwhile Jade steals the Red Tops’ stretch limo from the Golden Ram and drives it (hitting every free-standing object en-route) to the front of the Brandiero Kiln. She connects her iPod to the stereo system and Handel literally rocks da house. She guns the engine and smashes through the factory’s main gates, ploughs through interior walls before wrapping the vehicle around a steel truss. She dodges a Red Top and sees Abagalia dart through a door some 10 yards away.

Don uses the AK47 to open the other door which leads to a vast sunken temple lined with ancient grey pillars, the floor hidden beneath a layer of shifting mist... They descend.

Below the mist, the chamber is filled with ankle-deep liquid slush (it turns out to be blood and entrails). The main features of the temple are three blood-stained sacrificial slabs and a pair of stunning frescos. The first depicts a scene that the investigators recently experienced first-hand: The forest where they encountered the Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath. The image shows a hideous tentacle rising from the woods. Opposite, a second fresco depicts an old-fashioned drawing room but the perspective is slightly skewed... Griff recognises ‘the portal’ and hits the answer-button on the phone 3 times (as requested by the caller from the past).

At this point, the ‘thing’ emerges from the forest-fresco: a huge tree-like creature with three giant tentacles at the top of its trunk and three goat-legs at the base. The midsection is split with a vertical maw. The players make Stability rolls for their characters and all fail. For Don this is bad news, his already fragile grip on reality is shattered and he sinks to the floor, a gibbering wreck (in fact he slips below the blood level and starts to drown).

Griff starts shooting at the terrible creature (not realising that Chthonic critters aren’t too fussed by guns or bullets) just as Abagalia enters the temple from the opposite side - closely followed by an invisible Jade.

Jackson takes a pot shot at Abagalia but she’s protected by a magical shield that deflects bullets so he runs to the spot where Don vanished below the mist.

Jade has liberated a handgun from the Red Tops’ car and shoots Abagalia too (it has no effect but it does start to wear down the protective spell).

In the mayhem that follows I lost track of who did what to whom but here’s the highlights:

Jackson pulls Don out of the blood and grabs his AK47, fires at the beast but is scooped up in its tentacles and fed into its toothy maw. Later, bits of him are regurgitated. He is completely dead.

Abagalia tries to call off the monster so she can use her sacrificial dagger on the survivors but it’s not interested, it’s too hungry now.

Finally, Jade casts her spell and the mist in the chamber turns a sickly colour, for a moment, the beast cannot see the investigators. Someone (possible Griff) shoots Abagalia and she falls into the mist minus her shield and 75% of her head. The babbling Don is helped from the temple... The players wonder how things would have turned out if Jade had cast that spell earlier...

Alas, outside, a large number of Red Tops have gathered and brought their favourite automatic weapons. Things are looking grim until the gangsters are caught in a searchlight and a chopper descends. The crooks flee.

Six SWAT-style troops spill from the chopper and race past the investigators into the temple. One of the men is dressed in what looks very much like a 1960s space suit. Much gunfire is heard from the temple and 4 of the 6 men emerge shouting ‘pull back!’

They clamber aboard the chopper and it rains explosive shells on the factory as the investigators flee. The upper stories of the building collapse burying the underground temple; the chopper switches to stealth mode and drifts off into the night sky.

The survivors clamber into the Mondeo and Jade drives off.

The phone goes again - the caller from the past tells them to head for 147 Hamilton Street where someone will be waiting to help them.

The session winds down there with Brad rolling a new character (Doctor Jim Steele) - he’s the guy at 147 who will help the characters.

Don is slowly recovering, Griff has a broken collar bone, broken ribs, chunks of missing flesh and some internal bleeding... Good job Jim is on the scene...

Session 5: Bait The Trap

2011-12-27T18:21:00.002+08:00

Once again, the harried investigators return to the LennoxMotel. This time, Emma is unable to play (Christmas shopping duties) so hercharacter, Jade Craft stays at the motelto study the journal that Don found in from Iraq. This fits in well enough asJade should have begun play with asingle spell, I've consistently forgotten to fix the omission so Jade is nowofficially learning her spell!

Griff checks her smartphone again to discover anothermessage from Pimm, this time it's a little cryptic: “Most of the action takes place below ground; the metal detector couldjust be for show.”

The characters conclude that Pimm is referring to the GoldenRam club at 34 Beech Street in Chicago. The characters decide to drive into thecity, case the joint one last time, pick up some guns (if possible) then kicksome tentacled ass.

For thefirst time, the players spend some hard-won experience points. Some skills aregained or increase, Griff gets more “powerful” and Don finally gets a point ofResources; his veteran's pension finally hits his account.

Returning to Chicago, the investigators trawl though somehock shops hoping to find a proprietor prepared to ignore the State firearmslegislation and hand over some hardware today. After a few hours they find sucha man and procure some heavy firepower thanks to Jackson's seemingly bottomlessbank account.

Later that evening, the investigators scope out the GoldenRam. They see a few revellers arriving surprisingly early (8.30 pm); theyweren't expecting any action until after midnight.

Eventually numbers pick up so they try their luck. It'seasier than they expected - all they need to do is provide the password (ShubNiggurath). Given that the characters have already encountered the securityguards and some of the key players in Griff's conspiracy theory, I wasgenuinely surprised that none of the investigators stopped to consider thatthey might be stepping into a trap... Of course, they might have done but noneof the players mentioned it.

Once inside they discover a kitsch Hawaiian scene withhula-skirted hostesses and an outrigger canoe suspended from the ceiling. Asecond door clearly has an airport-style metal detector in front of it. Donremembers that the owner of the Brandiero Kiln is from Hawaii and they'dearlier encountered some picture wing flies that are native to the island.

Beyond the metal detector (which doesn't beep as theinvestigators pass through) is a large sunken room that looks much more like atraditional nightclub; there is suspended lighting rigs, wide-screen LCDs, loudmusic and many party-goers.

After a quick circuit of the room, Griff gets picked up byan older drunk man who invites her downstairs to Goatswood. The man looks vaguely familiar (it's the actor JackNicolson) and is well known to staff who refer to him as Mr Smith.

Griff and Mr Smith exit through a dimly lit glass door anddescend further below ground. Don and Jackson note that there are rather a lotof bouncer-type characters in attendance (but still no one mentions the possibilityof a trap) before meeting the owner, Abagalia Kawena. She welcomes them andbuys them a drink before leaving them to enjoy the club. Jackson enjoys hisdrink but Don tips his into a pot plant. The men then decide to try outGoatswood for themselves.

Meanwhile, Griff and Mr Smith meet the receptionist in theoctagonal-shaped room below. Smith decides he wants his usual room and thereceptionist throws a switch opening one of the 7 other doors. Beyond is a fauxFrench renaissance hotel room with period costumes and some S&Mparaphernalia.

Smith suggests that Griff should slip into something morecomfortable whilst he fixes some drinks. Fortunately, Smith is asleep beforeGriff removes anything more than her jacket.

While Griff is exploring the room (she finds an maintenancetrap-door under the carpet but doesn’t open it…), Don and Jackson have selecteddoor #4 and entered a Roman bathhouse room. They are soon kitted out asgladiators and consider staging a scene from Spartacus... Who knew eh?

Eventually Griff and the boys emerge to find thereceptionist missing and a door to a well-lit corridor standing invitinglyopen. Don changes into his street clothes but Jackson sticks with his Romanleathers and fake sword.

The corridor switches back on itself and takes them deeperunderground. Here they find a glass-doored security room and two other doors,one at the end of a long passage.

Before checking out deserted security area, Don examines thenearby door and sees Jessica Landers through the inspection grill - she'sstrapped to a chair watching one of the InstaCOM magic monitors... Don can't get the door open so the three intrepidinvestigators step into the security room where they find banks of monitors (recordingthe various activities in the club and private rooms) and a climate controlledglass case full of picture wing flies. There's another door in the securityarea. Ted Wijinski, InstaCOM's CEO emerges with a gun.

This was going to be the point at which I allowed one of theNPCs to reveal the grand plot but before Ted can utter a word, he is shot byboth Don and Jackson. D'oh!

Next come some STABILITY rolls as the clearly dead Ted,picks himself up and starts talking with Abagalia's voice... The undead Tedbarely gets through the first sentence before being dismembered in a hail ofgunfire. Griff, who by this stage is quite highly-strung starts smashing up thesecurity computer equipment. Briefly, Abagalia appears on one of the screensdesperately trying to reveal my plot but Griff blows the image away before shecan say more than a few words.

Next Don tries to pick the lock to Jessica's room, failsthen fails epically to knock it down. He does manage to shoot the evil computerscreen (must remember to hand out an experience point for that) but it's toolate; Jessica's left eye ruptures and a grey-winged thing explodes from thewound. This scene should remind the investigators of the aftermath of RayCarlino's alleged suicide...

With only one door left to investigate, the characters ploughon into a long passageway that heads towards the adjacent tile factory. At theend of the passage, a locked door is found and the voice of Abagalia cracklesthrough the intercom... At last, my NPC might be able to get a word inedgewise!

But that's the end of session 5.

The Thing in the Woods

2011-12-04T20:05:00.001+08:00

The session begins with the characters picking up the piecesat the Lennox Motel.

Back inside her room, Griff decides to plug the SIM cardback into her (potentially) compromised smartphone and check her messages. Thefledgling detective Randall Pimm has left three!

1. “How come we aren’t getting together to share information”and assorted other waffle

2. Randall has bribed one of the guards for thisWednesday’s password for the Golden Ram Club (the password is Shub-Niggurath)

3. The Jessica Landers kidnapping is finally newsbut importantly she’s the Illinois state governor’s niece… It’s the governorthat received the $250K ransom demand

Griff phones Randall who explains that the Golden Ram is at34 Beech Street and the ‘guards’ are members of a street gang called the RedTops.

The PCs don’t seem remotely interested in the fact thattheir initial murder investigation has now turned into a kidnapping. They can’tdo anything about Ray Carlino (they found out he wasn’t dead, and then killedhim), they could attempt to save Jessica but it all sounds a bit too hard forour intrepid investigators!

Next they decide to head to Calumet Heights and check outthe Golden Ram in daylight. The neighbourhood looks like a demilitarised zoneand they find a clay tile factory (Brandiero Kiln) on the same lot as the club.Red dirt is much in evidence – like that found on the tyres of Ray’s truck. Aninternet search reveals that Brandiero is pretty swish. They have aview-by-appointment show room in Chicago and there’s no mention of the CalumetHeights presence. Both the factory and the club are surrounded by tallhurricane fencing.

In a delusional moment, Jackson Wells (perhaps believingthat he is the indestructible hero of his best-selling novels, Lee Gold) decidesto blast his way into the factory with Don’s shotgun. The other investigators(and probably the players too) tell Jackson that he can go ahead with thatapproach but not to come back afterwards… He settles down, for the time being.

Instead Jackson prowls around the perimeter fence and scansfor cameras (he sees none but rolled really badly). By the time he returns tothe car, a limo full of armed Red Tops arrive to sort out the trespassers. Thegangsters make a show of strength and the investigators make a strategicwithdrawal.

Next, they head off to check out the legitimacy of Ray’sworkplace – InstaCOM. They meet the affable CEO (Ted Widjinski) who gives themthe full background to the company and tries to solicit a donation from the wealthyMister Wells (and his assistant, Jade Craft). The company has been refurbishingcomputers, fitting them with legal Windows XP operating systems and sellingthem at cost to African NGOs. The plan is to expand the distribution network tothird world countries that can afford to pay for a profit margin and don’t want‘free-ware’ computers. Net result: income for the founder members of InstaCOMwho took second mortgages on their homes to establish the business and drawminimum wage to keep it afloat.

Jade meets Lisa (one of the original founders) on the workshopfloor who gives out some free merchandise – one of the group’s first laptops.

Back in the car, the team discover that the laptop isinfected with the same malevolent dead pixel as Ray’s computer. Don neutralisesthe evil machine with his boot.

The investigator’s take lunch at a nearby diner (it’salready been a whole hour since Don last ate) and spot Ted sizing up theirvehicle and talking on a mobile phone.

Later that evening, they return to Lenox County to returnthe ‘borrowed’ computer to the Ed, the helpful desk sergeant. However, whenGriff gets to the reception desk, Ed is gone (off sick…) and the brooding Ambrose Wilkes stands in his stead.

Wilkes draws a gun and demands the computer. Griff compliesand legs it (fretting about horrible global conspiracies “everyone’s in on it”she cries – probably due to the recent heroin induced coma…).

Outside, a 4WD nearly kills Griff in an attemptedhit-and-run; the characters give pursuit in their newly hired sports utility.

Their quarry disappears into the woods but the investigatorssoon spot the glare of the halogen spotlights and home in on the 4WD’s location.

Suddenly the enemy abandon their vehicle and head into thewoods. The investigators give chase on foot (there’s no alternative) but aftera few hundred yards a terrible screeching, bleating sound fills the forest andDon spots something big and unnatural heading from the south (he hasnight-vision goggles).

Don eases off a short burst of automatic fire and takes outone of the fleeing men, a second burst goes wide and the ‘thing’ continues toapproach. It almost gets close enough for Don to see the creature in the fleshbut at the last moment he decides to leave his goggles on, reducing the horrorto indistinct blobs of colour… With that he turns and runs for the car –realising that the other investigators are way ahead of him.

The session ends as a giant pine crashes from the woodsnarrowly missing the investigators’ car… They speed off into the night.

A Cthonic Interlude

2011-11-20T20:21:00.001+08:00

Here’s the play report for aCthulhu campaign that’s three sessions in. I’ll sum up the first three sessionsfairly briefly, then, beginning withsession four, I’ll post a blow-by-blow blog to help my players recap. I gavethe adventure a title before writing began but to avoid giving the game away, I’llsave that nugget until the end…

The investigators

Jade Craft: explorer, archaeologist, magician
Don: ex-Desert Storm, mechanic, brick
Jackson Wells: writer and proponent of the second amendment
Griff: ex-MP, body guard and private investigator

The game is afoot…

The first session begins withtwo doses of railroading by the Keeper. First each character comes to the tablewith at least one encounter with the Cthulhu mythos under their belt (I wrote 4half-page intros and distributed them randomly) and I start the game with allof the investigators sharing a carriage on the way to Chicago after each hasreceived ticket, expense and one quarter of a mysterious letter. Once all fourparts of the letter are pieced together, the following is revealed:

The letter:

Travellers,

Our world has changed and cyclopeanchallenges await those who would turn back the dark tide. You have caught aglimpse of this new world, of that, I’m sure.

Use the next few days, at my expense todecide if you would do something about it or whether you wish to close youreyes and ears and minds. For some, ignorance is bliss, knowledge a curse andthe truth, that which must not be believed.

Ray Carlino died October 5. The police PD (NewLenox PD) declare it a suicide and have closed their files. But there are alarminginconsistencies; with your help I’m reopening the case.

§ Sue Leon, a technician at the CountyMorgue expressed concerns with the Coroner’s findings

§ The crime scene has been tampered with,three letters were written in blood on the walls (O, T and D) but they havesince been removed.

§ Ray’s personal laptop is absent butpieces of it (the return key and the cracked DVD drive cover) were foundbeneath his blood stained recliner

§ Ray worked for a company (InstaCOM)that has returned zero profit for each of the three years of its existence – notsuspicious perhaps but certainly curious

To assist in your investigations I’vearranged hotel rooms, a vehicle and a credit card to cover modest expenses. Oneof you will find a cell phone in your room. I will make contact with you viathat phone; keep it with you at all times.

These may be useful starting places:

CookCounty Medical Examiner

2121 W Harrison St · Chicago

(312) 666-0500

RayCarlino (deceased)

420 Manor Court #C

New Lenox, IL 60451

YourHotel (Welcome Inn)

600 N Martingale Rd

Schaumburg, IL 60173

1800-780-5733

InstaCOM

CEO – Ted Widinskji

2424 W Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL(offices and adjoining storage)

(773) 267-8200

A Friend of the Silver Twilight

That was the end of the rail-roading;the investigators decide to look into the matter and discuss their earlierencounters with the weird.

Arriving at their motel, Jadefinds the promised cell phone in her bedroom. It is a massive Bakelite brickwith a convex screen, valves and a single button. The makers stamp carries a1927 date.

Jackson and Don check out thehire car – a Ford Mondeo. The only odd thing about the car is the CD on thedash: Handel’s Water Music. Well, that’s not so odd, but the disc case describesthe recording as King George’s attempt to rid the Thames of malevolent entitiesin 1717. The music has a strange raw quality about it that Jackson enjoys.

First port of call is Carlino’slow-rise condo in Lenox County, just south of Chicago. Their they discover theremnants of the crime scene; the blood stained walls are covered withpicture-wing flies and maggots (native to Hawaii) and a mysterious dog lurksoutside to keep the curious at bay.

Don introduces the mutt to bothbarrels of his shotgun and the dog flees (not before taking a bite out of Griffand forcing Jade to pull on that strange cloak that causes others to ignore her(and costs her 2 points of Stability).

Also in the house they find evidenceof a clay used in upmarket roof tiles (on Carlino’s shoes and pickup tyres).Additionally, the investigators find 30 tubs of expired peanut butter and alead-lined cavity beneath the bed with its own power supply. Alas there’s noclue as to what the contents may have been.

Outside the house they arephotographed by a detective in a cleaning truck (actually he’s a cleaner thatreally wants to be a detective). The characters pursue him and interrogate him.The meeting ends amicably, cell numbers are exchanged and the detective(Randall Pimm) turns over a copy of his current case on CD.

Pimm’s Case:

Jessica Landers, a 20-somethingsocialite, has gone missing upstate (Buffalo). Her father thinks she’s run awayand occasionally receives texts from her saying she’s okay and asking formoney. Pimm thinks she’s been kidnapped by Carlino and has some photo evidenceto support his claims. Among the photosin Pimm’s disc is a long shot of a low-rent house on a vacant block. Notesindicate that Carlino has been there but the address is listed as 34 Beech, noother details. No one thinks to use Google Maps as the players are too used to1920s Cthulhu!

Cook County ME

The characters meet and exchangecards with the ME (Marcus) but manage to get him off-side with Griff’srelentless questioning and Don’s physical intimidation. However, they do learnthat Sue Leon is on 6 weeks study leave and that the ME is adamant that it wasa suicide. No chance of it being otherwise.

At the hospital they meet upwith Alfredo, an intern who has a crush on Sue. He takes them to see Carlino’sbody but can’t find it. Instead he finds a middle-aged Jane Doe with a goldenram tattoo on her thigh. It later transpires that Carlino’s corpse has beenincinerated due to a clerical error.

Thanks to Alfredo’s help theinvestigator’s track down Sue. She tells them that Carlino was pumped up on Viagraat the time of death, had numerous piercings and whip marks on this back. There’sno way Carlino killed himself as there were no powder burns on his face and novitrious humour in the socket. Sue (a wanna-be crime writer) supposes someoneripped his eye out then stuck the barrel of a gun in his socket and blew theback of his head away. Not suicide. She names her source of information asMitch Baxter – a detective with the Lennox County Sherriff’s office. The PCswarn Sue to get out of town until this is all over and she does.

Lennox County Police

The investigators return toLennox county and meet up with Mitch. He’s not very helpful and during Griff’schat with him, she receives a text message which reads: ‘you are in the LennoxCounty Sherriff’s office. Stay away’.

Griff meets up with the deskseargeant who has a gambling problem and bribes him for one of the computerstaken from Carlino’s house (he had loads of tech that he’d apparently stolenfrom his employer InstaCOM). Griff liberates a computer and promises to returnit the following night.

A further warning text isreceived so the characters move to an out of town motel and get throw-awayphones. After setting gup the computer Griff does some searching and locates anannoying dead pixel on the screen. They plug the drive inot Jackson’s laptopand the dead pixel is there too. Finally they plug the computer into the motelflat-screen and the pixel appears again. Griff has been looking at it for sometime and is getting agitated. She gets violent, has a terrible headache andsteals some of Jackson’s heroin stash before collapsing in a coma.

In the middle of all this, theinvestigators get a visit from the presumed dead Ray Carlino. Don puts sixshells from an AK47 into Ray who finally drops (but it took a long time). Theydispose of the body and consider their options for the next session…

Session 2 of Labyrinth Lord continues

2011-09-23T12:27:00.004+08:00

Kilburne continues along the winding semi-natural tunneluntil he comes to a wooden platform suspended by four mighty-chains. In thecentre of the platform, a rope pulley; it looks like the only way is down.Using all his dwarven cunning the doughty Kilburne elects to descend alone,gather any loose treasure, kill all the monsters and return a mighty hero.

Fortunately for all concerned, Halfnir the hireling turnsout to be a lot smarter than I’d previously given him credit for (and Kilburnea lot dumber); Halfnir suggests an even more cunning Plan B which entailsreturning to the rest of the party, appraising them of the situation andgetting them to journey below and share the hit point losses. ReluctantlyKilburne agrees (no doubt claiming the idea as his own).

Meanwhile the semi-sane contingent of the party havetethered the mules inside and bought in much of the supplies and all of thefood from the cart. Urnst wanders outside to hunt for tomorrow’s sacrifice forhis fearsome god Wodan. Instead he hears the roar of Old Black (an ancient anddeadly bear) and returns to the cavern to ponder the value of a sacrificialmule.

Songara has lost the urge to explore alone; having almostcome unstuck at the hands and clubs of vicious Morlocks. Sparrow is still downto one hit point and is reluctant to move just in case she bumps into someoneand sustains a fatal injury.

So, whilst the second henchman, Yorg, sets up a campfire andstarts to prepare a meal, Kilburne and Halfnir return to tell of their findingsand it is agreed that after a nights rest, the platform will be explored.Kilburne announces it’s not quite his bedtime yet and wanders off to explorethe rest of the barrow. Halfnir shakes his head and follows. Somehow the NPCfeels responsible for the poor misguided dwarf; much as you might care for aderanged family member.

In the first room, Kilburne spies a sarcophagus in an alcoveon the far side. Surprisingly he walks around the outskirts of the room toreach it, completely missing my cunning spear trap! He finds the coffin isruined and the long body within is nothing more than a skeleton. He does noticethat the little finger on each hand has been meticulously removed. Additionallythe stone coffin bore some kind of ancient dwarven runes that Kilburne couldnot decipher.

The next room is similarly laid out with a sarcophagus onthe far side. Expecting more of the same Kilburne edges around the room and isnearly slain by the ghoul that leaps out of the stone casket. That’s a slightoverstatement actually; the ghoul failed to surprise the dwarf but does go onto win initiative. Astonishingly it misses with all three attacks (I don’tthink I rolled above a 9); Kilburne scoffs and attacks – but misses, too muchscoffing methinks.

In the next round, Halfnir shouts out a warning and Urnstgets ready to assist. Songara waves him, on: ‘You go, I’m still eating. Plusit’s only the dwarf.’

Kilburne wins initiative, attacks, misses (of course) and isstruck by the ghoul in return. He fails his saving throw and is paralysed. Imanage to suppress my laughter. In the next round Halfnir steps in to assistthe dwarf and strikes a telling blow but is himself, wounded.

Finally Urnst arrives and calls on the power of Wodan tobanish the fell ghoul. Ordinarly the dice roll would have turned the 2 HDcreature but ghouls turn a 3 HD foes!

The ghoul goes on to carve a few more hit points out ofKilburne before Urnst puts it out of itsmisery.

After the battle Halfnir is wounded and paralysed –naturally Urnst takes the opportunity to pose the paralysed bodies in a ratherembarrassing embrace. In the coffin, Urnst finds a few handfuls of coin and amagic potion in a stoppered bottle. He tastes and correctly divines thepotion’s power but I won’t say what it does here.

The ghoul was a powerful foe so the god Wodan considers thathis sacrifice and in the morning, Urnst heals Sparrow completely and the crewhead off to the elevator.

After about 40 minutes of working the pulley, the platform comesto rest near what seems to be an underground salt-water ocean. A long dockstretches to the East with a large pair of gaping stone doors at its furthestreaches.

Songara marvels at this hidden underground ocean – the worldabove is so dry and dusty… Kilburne grumbles about all the water and trundlesoff.

Three crumbling lookout towers are perched atop the dock andwhilst the party slowly examines one, a fat black bird with bat wings and along, long beak perches nearby. It watches intently for a moment beforefluttering off into the darkness.

The PCs find a sunken barge along the dockside and Sparrowvolunteers to get wet and explore as there is clearly an old corroded chestamidst the ruined boat, some six feet below the surface. Songara made anattempt to hook the chest with her rope and grapnel while Sparrow strips offbut only manages to dislodge one of the chest’s handles.

Sparrow deftly recovers the chest from the freezing coldwater. It reveals another stoppered flask and a heavy gold goblet – Sparrow quicklysecures both items in her backpack which she describes as the repository of ‘partytreasure’.

Halfway along the docks is a massive bronze door inscribedwith images of dancing skeletons at its border. The door is barred and chainedbut a small and secret door has been revealed in the lower section, beyond is aslack brass lever. Kilburne suggests that the lever was used to open the stonedoors at the far side of the dock. Songara pats him on the head and moves on.

As the party approaches the huge stone doors, two more ofthe strange birds flutter into view and perch on a lookout post. This is morethan poor Kilburne can take and in his ongoing mission to seek out new life formsand put a bolt through them, he shoots his crossbow and puts a bolt though oneof them.

The second bird takes flight but instead of fleeing, circlestoward the PCs where it is quickly bisected with the aid of Songara’s massive,gleaming, two-handed sword. Splat. Urnst mumbles that ‘he could have sacrificedthat…’

The stone doors lead to a grand chamber covered in dust butcriss-crossed with a myriad foot prints. The floor of the chamber is comprisedof one-foot-square tiles each bearing an ancient rune – similar to those seenin the barrow above.

Whilst the others are arguing about the significance of theweird birds and Kilburne reloads his crossbow, Sparrow is convinced she canhear voices coming from one of the doors leading from the rune chamber andwanders off to investigate. She sees that the source of the noise lies in whatwas once a guard station but the years have caused the fixtures and fittings tocrumble near to dust.

Within, Sparrow spies two men discussing how they plan toopen a door in the East wall without getting killed by the powerful wizard onthe other side. Sparrow makes herself know and the third occupant of the room(an elven archer named Pipluk) does likewise. The four make their introductionsand it’s clear that the men and elf are in the employ of a powerful witchcalled Dark Odo. The group has come to the Hidden Sea by means of Dark Odo’smagic to carry away the vast treasures of the dead to be found here. The wizardin the other room was a member of the original party but has fallen from DarkOdo’s favour.

Wary of the wizard’s power, the men instruct Sparrow to openthe door and as Pipluk has an arrow trained on her, it’s hard for the thief toobject. She exchanges a few words with the wizard (Amdor) in the small roombeyond then flicks open the door, rolling aside as she does so. The door swingsopen a little and Pipluk fires! His arrow hits only the door and Amdor quicklycloses it again. One of the men (Veneman) instructs the other (Luq) to find Odoand appraise her of the situation. Luq leaves the room which was a greatmistake as Kilburne is out there and his crossbow is loaded…

As I describe the character leaving the room, Brad is quickto explain what Kilburne is doing ‘I shoot!’

Luq is wounded but flees through a door barricading itbehind him. Kilburne (asking no questions) runs after the man (claiming hewants his bolt back) and starts to chip away at the door with his miner’s pick.It’s very, very noisy.

Meanwhile, the other PCs enter the room with Sparrow who isnow a hostage of Veneman, however she slips his grasp and combat ensues.Veneman doesn’t make it past Urnst’s mace which reduces the villain’s face to amushy paste. ‘I could have sacrificed him’ says Urnst. Songara shakes her headin disbelief then quickly convinces Pipluk to surrender. Amdor is released.

Amdor explains that Odo’s party did not descend via thewooden elevator used by the PCs, rather they arrived via boat which Odo latercast adrift, trapping them on the dock. Pipluk makes no comment on this butinstead suggests that he be allowed to leave. Songara talks him into joiningthe PCs for a cut of any treasure and he agrees. Amdor also tags along.

Kilburne finally breaches the door and wanders off withHalfnir in tow whilst the party chat with the two new recruits. He takes thesmaller of the two passages beyond and finds himself following a winding tunnelthat ends in a stout door. It is clear that water lies on the other side soheeding Halfnir’s wise council, heads back to the rest of the group.

After some discussions and a stalled attempt by Kilburne toshoot Pipluk, the party return to the ‘water door’. Beyond is a sunken roomfull to knee-depth with cold, clear, sea water. In the centre of the room is aten foot deep pit, at the bottom, is a skeleton clutching a horn and mace.Urnst volunteers to collect the items and quickly strips off. He surfacesmoments later with the skull-crested mace (magic no less) and the mysteriousbone horn.

More to follow in session 3...

Labyrinth Lord: Session 1

2011-09-02T19:48:00.000+08:00

Dungeons and Dragons returned to our gaming table this week in the guise of Labyrinth Lord (classic flavour to start with and no house rules).

The Characters
Kilburne the Doughty (male dwarf), Brad
Songara** (female Red-Sonja style fighter), Jane
Sparrow (female thief), Emma
Urnst Hoblinger* (cleric), Mike
DM (or Labyrinth Lord), Me

*Urnst is a cleric of Wodan the god of war, winter and wolves. Each day he must conduct a sacrifice before his god will grant him the magic he needs.
** It’s clear Songara doesn’t like dwarfs, she refers to them as tunnel-dwelling rat-eaters which Kilburne does not dispute (despite his limited height, he seems above such things).

The session begins with the characters returning to their homeland, a small community on the edge of the ‘civilised world’. The main settlement is Blackwall Manor and it is there they find their first adventure.

On the manor’s green, the characters espy a tall but bloodied pavilion flying a wolf’s head standard from its peak.

At the tent two soldiers explain that their party was travelling the Grand Road when they were ambushed. First by goblins and then by ‘other’ spindly things that called forth evil magic. Indeed, their captain, Isen, fell under a terrible curse. He is stricken with a hideous disease and drifts in and out of consciousness.

Urnst wipes the crushed frog from his gloved hand (this morning’s sacrifice) and offers to try some healing magic on Isen (Urnst sees the wolf flag and assumes that like many in these parts, the man is a worshiper of Wodan). The soldiers readily agree, as best they can since one of the Northmen speaks no common other than his name “Yorg” and the other speaks haltingly; Urnst enters the tent alone.

Meanwhile the Northman Halfnir explains the situation: Isen has gathered a band of skilled adventurers to assist in returning an ancient relic of some long-forgotten god to its rightful resting place. Halfnir calls the god the Lightbringer but knows little else of Isen’s deity. The temple Isen seeks is a ruin hidden in the region referred to as the Barrow Lands, a place where it is believed, many non-humans, goblins and worse, bury their kin.

In the ambush along the Grand Road, two of their number were lost, a third (a rough spell-slinger called Hurkinbrow) returns to the tent (he’s been in the tavern) and is immediately worried that the PCs are trying to muscle in on the mission. He manages to insult Kilburne, exclaiming: ‘Ooh, you’ve got a dwarf, does it talk?’

Songara tries to calm him down (by telling him to shut up and do as he’s told - it’s her way) and makes a reaction roll. Even with a CHA bonus, the roll is an epic fail and Hurkinbrow storms off back to the pub promising to loot their crow-pecked bodies in the very near future.

Halfnir offers the characters the opportunity to join their group and attempt to complete Isen’s mission without him - perhaps doing so will ease Isen’s passing or perhaps offer a divine cure? The purse is 25 gp upfront and a big chunk of any treasure recovered.

Meanwhile, Urnst is in the tent checking over Isen. The man is deep in fever and covered with rashes and puss-stained bandages. It doesn’t look good but Urnst is game to try his spell regardless. However, Isen struggles to raise a hand and whispers that terrible dark magic is eating away at his flesh and petty magic cannot save him (Brad and Mike consult the rulebook and quickly discover that the spell required is Cure Disease; out of their league for now).

Urnst joins the gathering outside in time to vote in favour of joining Halfnir’s journey to the hidden temple (although he does struggle with an inner voice telling him to ask for more money upfront).

Even though we began with pre-generated characters it took a while to get started as I gave them a little information on the area that their characters should be familiar with and Jane was enjoying flexing her character’s uncompromising STR 17 muscles and taking the Micky out of poor Kilburne.

Anyway, the journey gets underway and it turns out the Northmen have a pair of mules pulling an ornate wagon that holds excavation equipment, travel rations, Isen’s relic and a good many other useful items - at this point, the thief Sparrow quietly returns all of the stuff she’d just stolen from the cart - ‘Easier to let the mules carry it’, she says...

After heading East for a few miles (one hex on the map), a group of goblins is seen approaching across a dusty track.

‘Will they be unfriendly?’ Asks Sparrow.

‘Shortly,’ says Kilburne as he loads and fires his heavy crossbow (but misses).

The goblins start to spread out as Sparrow knocks an arrow and kills one instantly. Kilburne waits a round to reload then wounds a second. Urnst fires a sling bullet and no one is surprised when he misses. The goblins rout and scatter, they are not seen again that day.

As night falls, the party approaches the Barrow Lands. They know from bitter experience that a great and powerful (if ancient) bear called Old Black lives in the hills and they hear his roar as dusk settles. As night is falling they decide to press on since it looks like they have stumbled upon a barrow that matches a map Halfnir has.

Inside they find worn stone steps leading down to a broad, dark chamber. Kilburne declares he will advance alone, relying on his infravision.

Kilburne’s heart skips a beat as he spots five heat signatures in the room below but then he realise they aren’t looking at him. Kilburne employes his tried and tested strategy, he fires a crossbow bolt into their ranks with a cry of ‘Have at you!’ Or something like that... But misses.

Songara lights a torch and secures it in a wall sconse, the others spend the first round preparing for battle.

The characters win initiative with Kilburn and Urnst taking out a pair of revealed goblins. Three goblins attack Kilburne and, amazingly, all of them miss! The battle is finished in a further two combat rounds with the good guys not taking a single hit! Urnst is most upset, he had hoped to keep one goblin alive for tomorrow’s sacrifice.

Riding high on the adrenalin of the first battle, Kilburne walks straigh to the back of the barrow where Halfnir’s map indicates a secret door will be found, and it is (I roll a ‘2’ for Kilburne’s detect secret door ability). More worn stairs are revealed and Kilburne heads down (instructing Halfnir to wait at the top with a torch, so he can scope the area below with his infravison). Brave or stupid I wonder? Nope, definitely stupid.

I did warn the players that first-level D&D is deadly, don’t get attached to your character just yet... I think Brad is testing the statement.

Meanwhile, Sparrow and Songara realise that they completely failed to loot the fallen goblins, they rush to redress that error but find Urnst doing just that (he liberates a paltry 23 electrum pieces). Next Songara wonders at the sealed doors that Kilburne walked straight past. It is agreed to do a little exploring (Brad groans that already the party is splitting up - he declares that ‘no good will come of such folly’; he’s so right).

The first room is empty and appears to have once housed long stone sarcophagi - definitely not goblin size - which puts paid to the myth that goblins and their ilk bury their dead here. The second room contains a group of exploring morlocks; Songara rushes in to attack. She wins initiative but misses. I rule that only 3 of the 5 monsters can attack in the confined space; two misses and a nasty hit. First blood!

In the next round Sparrow and Urnst join the battle, Sparrow is knocked to one hit point and immediately regrets the decision, Songara takes another hit and Urnst offs one of the pale critters.

A few rounds later the morlocks are dead and both Sparrow and Songara are down to their last hit point. Urnst can’t decide who shall get his healing spell (Songara is demanding it!) so Mike asks Jane and Emma to each roll a six-sided die with the high roller getting the boon. The spell goes to Songara and she is restored to 6 hit points. Urnst promises to heal Sparrow in the morning.

In the darkenss below, Kilburne follows a long and winding natural passage, he spots some lifeform on the ceiling (fungus or somesuch he guesses) but continues with Halfnir hanging back, his torch out of view...

There we left it for the night with the party split and wounded and Kilburne wandering off into the unknown deeps...

Wrath of the Red Dudes

2011-07-15T23:37:00.002+08:00

Just punched out Wrath of Ashardalon and took the game for a little solo spin.

It started off pretty straightforward, perhaps even a bit dull, then this little kobold appeared in the Long Tunnel and all hell broke lose as the little chap went exploring.

The photo was taken 3 short turns after the kobold turned up.

Mine is the blue guy. Everything else is an enemy.

Two turns later (and a reem of horrible encounter cards due to my Curse) and the dwarven warrior was no more.

Enjoyed it though...

Session 4: Near TPK

2011-07-12T17:27:00.000+08:00

The characters approach the huge stone statue of Gamosh. As they grow near, two clay urns issue forth great streams of cold magical flame, illuminating the vast chamber. The light strikes the statue’s single faceted ruby eye and turns the ceiling into a sea of shimmering blood-light.

It is Ardyn that first notices a glimmering sheen of wet blood that lies across the surface of the altar stone before Gamosh. He first brings it to the attention of the others then, like a moth to the flame ambles up to the gruesome slab and dips the tip of his spear into the blood!

It goes without saying that his boon companions were counseling him in terms most strong not to touch the blood and instead, flee as if his very undergarments were alight. However, Ardyn throws caution and his wits to the wind and with his now familiar and defiant cry of “well, I’m doing it anyway!” watches as two droplets of magical liquid raced up the spear, then his arm, disappearing under his cloak. Aside from an uneasy feeling, Ardyn seemed no worse for the experience.

After that brief encounter, everyone was getting jittery and Forester proposed a withdrawal to the surface where they could spend some of their newly acquired riches.

The characters returned unmolested to daylight and a chill winter wind. Bane the wolfhound was waiting faithfully for Forester who took the time to magic-him-up a steaming plate of tasty meats.

The journey back to Lawsend was almost without incident. Just as the party enters the dense woodland near the village, the air fell still and all was quiet. Then a darkness came upon the area with but one light silhouetting a single slender man with the mantle of a stag.

The elf came forward and asked for the return of his stolen crown... Forester blushed a little and took it off then handed it over. The elf retreated from view promising the friendship of the woods in return.

Upon the character’s return to the village, V holds up the displaced eye of Moriban the Ogre and there is much celebration. Great volumes of food and mead are consumed and most of the characters retreat to a deep and grateful sleep. All except Forester that is; somehow he has attracted the attention of a young wench and departs to her pallet (which causes some lip-curling from Miskar). Forester has no grasp of the language and takes to calling the women Esmerelda. Suffice it is to say, Bane slept in the cold that night.

On the morrow, the villagers manage to reclaim much of the reward money collected by the characters only the night before as the PCs go on a mighty shopping spree. Armour and weapons are purchased, together with much miscellaneous equipment nearly filling Miskar and V’s character sheets. At this point I realise that my game has no price listed for arrows... I pluck the price of 10 silver for 12 arrows out of the air but Ardyn doesn’t like it (did I mention he was tight with his money) and leaves without purchasing them.

Ardyn does however decide he too wants a dog. Lawsend isn’t known for it’s canine stock so Ardyn comes away with a knotted ball of white fuzzy muscle and teeth called Horse. For want of a better offer, Horse follows Ardyn at a safe distance.

V is now barely visible behind a wall of gleaming armour but feels safer for it. All characters now carry what they believe to be sufficient torches and oil. Miskar notes that she was unable to find a suitable 10-pole. Something else I need to fix...

After returning to the Maze of Nuromen, the team decide to explore the northern reaches of the dungeon rather than facing the icon of Gamosh. A curious turn of events but this time I’m ready, I’ve actually re-read all of the adventure!

The group explores a few largely deserted chambers without much excitement; so little in fact that Miskar wanders off on her own (which is something Ardyn is more likely to do, perhaps she really is miffed about ‘Esmerelda’)?

Miskar returns to the subterranean garden and takes some of the surprisingly clear water from the fountain. She shares a few glugs with some of the plants but they are long dead. Just like Nuromen?

Miskar then comes upon two doors in the north, one big and impressive, the other slightly ajar. Nudging the open door she is illuminated long enough for a lone goblin archer to loose off an arrow. Against all odds he misses and Miskar returns fire with her sling (again, missing; I’m sure she’s hit something with that thing I just can’t remember what... Ardyn perhaps?). Realising the folly of the sling, Miskar closes with sword drawn quickly offing the blighter, oblivious to the drama unfolding in the very next room.

Right next door, V, Forester, Ardyn (and the rather quiet Adrin) return to the heavy, swollen door that’s bested them before. I stress that it would be quite a task to open and remind the players of the unpleasant smell issuing forth but they persist with Forester unsubtly taking his axe to the door!

The large dining room beyond contains a macabre scene: ancient skeletal figures gathered around a table as if instantly slain during a meal decades, or centuries past. The ceiling is high and wind whistles through an open fire grate but the chamber is 1,000 feet below ground - could the chimney reach all the way to the surface?

Pools of rank steaming feces are splattered here and there with dark stains on the room’s many pillars and in the shadows above, 3 hungry harpies stir...

I knew this was a really tough encounter but I also knew I had to let it play out without giving the players or their characters any breaks (although it turns out that through omission or stupidity, I did just that).

The battle with the harpies was the longest encounter we’d seen so far and I genuinely thought that we’d have a TPK on our hands, a Total Party Kill.

First off, let me explain my error - since I clearly don’t know the rules to my own game...

This is what’s supposed to happen: everyone involved in the battle makes a roll to do something, usually an attack. If a player fails the roll, his or her character may suffer a wound. If, for example, 4 fighters attack 2 goblins, even if all 4 fighters fail their roll, only two can be injured as the goblins don’t have the capacity to wound more than two enemies. In this hypothetical situation, all 4 fighters would make a combat dice roll, once all the results are in, the referee would randomly pick 2 to suffer the wounds.

At the start of the battle with the harpies, this wasn’t an issue since there were three enemies and 3 active characters (V, Ardyn and Forester). Once Miskar joined the battle the characters out-numbered the monsters and the players’ tactics overcame the powerful harpies.

During the battle, rather than follow the rules that I’d forgotten, the players set up their attack order once the harpies were outnumbered, allowing them to choose who attacked first and therefore risk getting wounded. Forester also ducked and weaved between the combatants applying healing slaves where he could (and pitching in with his axe).

When it was clear that things were looking a bit precarious, both V and Ardyn unleashed their Mighty Blows allowing them to wound the enemy without rolling the dice. Thereafter, the characters did everything they could to win the day (except run, which is what I would have done). Ardyn managed to expend more than 20 arrows and was forced to switch to his captured goblin bow. I think he hit once...

Forester used his magic to weaken one of them which actually allowed Miskar to score a hit with her sling! Oh, the look on Ardyn’s face... V, by far the best fighter managed 3 hits and at the last, Miskar called on Adrin (the fourth time); he hurled his mace and knocked the last harpy from the sky!

The session ended there. The characters are wounded and out of healing potions, magic points and arrows. Time to resupply...

Note 1: Forester discovered that the gems that were discovered last session were actually ‘magic’ in that they each contained one point of magic!

Note 2: including armour hits, the characters suffered 24 wounds. If Forester hadn’t used the healing poultices, things would have turned out quite differently...

Session 3: A Taste for Treasure

2011-06-17T10:07:00.000+08:00

Before starting play we realise that the characters all have enough experience points to gain one new advance and the players decide to spend those advances now in the hope that their chances of success will be improved.

Forester takes a point of blue magic and activates the Phase spell... He leant back against the cold cavern wall and tried to turn his mind away from his comrades squabbling over the loot. He wished sometimes that he could just fade into the shadows and forget about the cares of the world, and then remembering the vividness of the illusion of the old man in the cell, he made the calculations and...

Miskar takes a point of green magic and reveals Gills. Both V and Ardyn opt to increase their humble combat skills (Ardyn +1 Archery, V +1 Swordplay).

Back to the game...

As the party stares longingly at the treasure chest sitting unguarded on the island, an almighty crash and roar breaks the silence bringing clouds of dust and chunks of stone down in the corridor behind them. The ruckus continues and it’s clear that the terrible ogre Moriban has found his way down from above but now, due to his size, is trapped in the river chamber.

After some discussion it’s agreed that the ogre should now be dealt with; the monster is blocking the exit should the party need to beat a hasty retreat.

The party makes their way back to the river chamber where it is apparent that Moriban is quite wounded after his descent and is huddled in the shadows on the far side of the chamber, about 25 metres distant. The plan is this: Ardyn will step out from behind cover and let off as many arrows as he can, when the ogre chases him into the corridor, V will attack any bits of ogre that can fit into the passageway (an arm and head perhaps?). Forester looks on sagely whilst Miskar elects to watch the drama unfold from the safe distance of about 50 metres.

The plan kicks in and Ardyn fires with the roll of 10. A good shot by any standards but the ogre has an FR of 14 so not good enough. The arrow sticks into the ogre’s shoulder but is brushed off like a gnat. Ardyn doesn’t like the look of that so rather than firing a second shot, runs for safety!

Moriban, or at least his arm, is not far behind Ardyn but as the creatures slams into the rock, a pillar is dislodged wounding both V and Ardyn.

At this point the inscrutable Forester casts his Phase spell and, blinking in and out of existence, walks through and past the ogre into the chamber beyond. Phase is normally a combat spell that allows you to attack without risking being wounded yourself but I like Forester’s cunning use of his new power and allow the action.

Forester distracts the monster long enough for Ardyn and V to marshal their reserves; both unleash their Mighty Blow power (which allows any foe to be struck at the cost of damage to themselves). Moriban reels from 2 savage hits as Ardyn slides between the creature’s feet and punctures an artery with his spear; V rebounds off a wall, turns that into a somersault and lays bare the orge’s spine with a mighty slash. But both V and Ardyn take 2 hits themselves.

Miskar, who is now a little closer (being impressed by Forester’s spectral appearance), urges the NPC priest Adrin to help; this is the third time he is called upon for assistance (Esme told them that Adrin could only aid them 6 times before becoming ‘undone’).

Adrin steps in and delivers the final blow; Moriban falls face-first into the river. It’s over! Ardyn and V wash the blood from their sore bodies then Ardyn takes the ogre’s third blind eye as a trophy and proof to the people of Lawsend that the ogre is vanquished.

Treasure Quest!
After finding nothing worth looting on the ogre, the party returns to the chamber of statues but rather than explore the ‘treasure island’ they choose to examine the ‘other’ identical’ statue of Nuromen and indeed, when the statue’s head is twisted another secret door is revealed: a natural cavern lies beyond and Forester sees, on the far side, an urn full of coins and gems, a sword and a circlet-like crown. The party rightly deduce that this is part of Nuromen’s treasure and the crown is that sought by the elf encountered earlier.

Forester happily wanders over and gathers up the loot. At which point two things happen; a disembodied skeletal arm rises from the dust and snatches that sword from its scabbard; and the secret door slams shut!

Miskar who has taken to referring to Forester as ‘master’, following his impressive magical showing with the ogre, quickly casts Portal on the closed secret door which promptly pops open.

Meanwhile, Forester has at the disembodied limb but flails wildly (I think Forester gets wounded but I forget to mention it so it slips through to the keeper).

V strides in ‘swords-a-blazing’ and lays waste to the magic arm. The goods are gathered... Interestingly when the gems are distributed, some characters see different types of gems. Is all as it seems or is there more to these gems (yes). Forester dons the crown and feels duly regal, V takes the sword and decides it is a finely balanced thing.

After the the battle there is much talk of returning to the surface to store the treasure and buy some more stuff (light sources are in short supply). I remind the the players that the chest on the island has gone unexplored and they claim I’m dropping hints... Not so, I know the island poses little challenge and I thought they’d forgotten about it! Anyway, they decide that since I dropped the ‘hint’ they would have to go and loot the chest before departing. I play innocent and they move on.

At the lake, Ardyn dips the tip of his spear into the water and notes the eddy around the shaft, there’s a current here so the water flows somewhere, maybe somewhere interesting (but that is not explored further).

Ardyn picks his way through the shallows and arrives at the island where the spectral figure of Morkainen shimmers into view. I try and describe the deceased master thief appropriately but because I mention a scar and a patch, the players envision a pirate. Matters aren’t helped much when I slip into a pirate character as Morkainen spins his tale.

The ghost explains that he once tried to steal from Nuromen and was cursed forever to guard this chest until a ‘replacement’ guard arrived... Morkainen offers Ardyn a choice: answer a riddle and win the chest, fail to answer and forever be cursed to guard the very same chest... Ardyn is up for it!

Morkainen’s riddle:

My life is measured in hours,
I live by being devoured,
Thin I am quick,
Fat I am slow,
The zephyr is my foe.

What am I?

After a brief spell, Ardyn comes up with the right answer (candle) and Morkainen vanishes in a puff of disappointment. The chest is promptly looted revealing a stoppered clay bottle some 300 ancient silver coins and a dagger in a bone scabbard. Miskar (of course) unsheathes the dagger to discover a gleaming steel blade with a single drop of blood hanging from the tip... She doesn’t like the look of it and quickly scabbards the blade.

At this point the party decide to light a fire in one of the cells near the river chamber and take a nap - they only have one unused torch as V’s lantern has run out of oil. This done they settle down to rest and despite failing to post guards they are not molested during the night. I’m surprised that they chose not to depart but who knows what they’re up to eh?

The next day, the wounded characters are fully healed which is an oversight on my part since there are 3 copies of the rules on the table but only one of which is the current print which specifies that wounded characters recover only 1 lost hit per 6 hours of rest (same as magic points) + 1 if a character with a medical talent is available... I’ll have to reinstate that rule in the next session as without it the party is way too powerful for this little dungeon.

Once again they return to the room of statues, this time opening the one ‘obvious’ door which exits the room. They enter a dim, long hall lined with pillars some of which have collapsed forming a maze of debris which leads to two doors in the south wall. The party forges on to the south but before they get far, a party of goblins breaks cover and opens fire with barbed arrows.

Everything happens pretty quickly but in two short rounds the characters have reduced the goblin scouts to a pile of bloody corpses and pressed on through the south-east door. Following a flight of stairs they emerge into a great temple-like hall, at the south end a fearsome-looking statue of a one-eyed but multi-limbed baboon. The single eye is a mighty ruby of legendary proportions...

‘Gamosh’ says V. she has seen much in her travels with the Sword Dogs Company and knows a little of ‘foreign ways’...

We called it a night at that point.

Session 2: Dungeons Deep

2011-06-03T16:20:00.000+08:00

At the bottom of the ropes the characters find themselves in a vast chamber split by a rushing stream. The walls are lined with ancient columns and the ground is littered with debris; it looks as though stone steps once spiraled up the side of the pit but they have long since collapsed - just like the the bridge that once spanned the river.

The party quickly moves to the river as Moriban the ogre starts hurling rocks from above. He’s not a happy ogre.

V starts drawing a length of rope from her pack but before she can put it to use, Forester grabs the rope and leaps across the river, quickly securing the rope on the other side. The others are briefly impressed with Forester’s athletic prowess but have to quickly cross the river as more boulders fall. Miskar, V and Adrin cross the river with ease thanks to the rope; Ardyn doesn’t fancy getting his feet wet so vaults across the divide with the aid of his spear.

There’s no time for a round of applause; the boulders keep coming!

On the other side of the chamber, lights are lit and a deep pit is seen with a welcome, if eerie hot breeze rising from below. Beyond that a stout wooden door to the north and a passage to the east. A faint glow is witnessed in the east.

Forester is greatly perturbed at his inability to create light so offers what amounts to literally half his wealth to Ardyn (the most mercenary of characters) for one of his torches. Ardyn readily agrees, indeed he offers to light it for a further 5 coins! Fortunately for Forester, flint and tinder is not in short supply.

Following the light the party came upon an old man sitting in a cell reading a large book by candle-light. He speaks of how comfortable he was sitting there, reading and what a fine fellow that Nuromen was, wouldn’t hear an ill word said against him. After a stalled attempt at communication, V wanders into the cell and waves her hand through the illusion. By the old man’s cell is another door heading east. It’s black, ominous yet inviting, clearly they should explore further. The party ignores it! Instead they head back to the first door they encountered and push through into another vast but this time dust-filled chamber.

<Edit> on the way to the north door, the party stumbles across an opening to the south that I’d forgotten to tell them off initially and forgotten to record here! Within they find an octagonal room filled with wooden manikins, armour and weapons in varying states of decay. “Can’t be an armoury,” says Ardyn. “Not down here...” It’s an armoury and Miskar’s ‘treasure-sense’ kicks in, she starts stripping the dummies and quickly uncovers a chain hauberk that has escaped the ravages of time. It’s magical of course and she slips it on.

It would be much better to let one of the warriors take the armour but Miskar, being Miskar thinks otherwise and keeps it for herself.

Brad (playing Forester) calls the armour mithril - he’s made several comments that the halls of Nuromen are a little Moria-like. He’s right... <End edit>

The dust-filled chamber was once a mess hall, as evidenced by the crumbling beds, chairs, tables and footlockers. Miskar feverishly looks around once more, her treasure metre going into the red...

As Miskar plucks a pair of ivory dice from the dust at her feet, a skeletal hand rises to grip her arm! Four skeleton warriors rise to attack the intruders with wicked scimitars.

V immediately draws her sword and decapitates the first skeleton, Forester knocks down another and Miskar takes a futile swing of her own enemy (probably hindered by that magical armour). Adrin steps in to help Miskar and puts down the foe. Is that one of the six times he can assist before ‘being undone’? Ardyn thrusts deftly with his spear, completely missing his quarry, he gets clipped with a scimitar blade for his troubles and takes a hit.

The second round of combat sees Ardyn fell his opponent. Although they were only ‘henchmen’ level foes and easily bested, I’d (characteristically) forgotten that they aren’t hurt by thrusting or missile weapons, so Ardyn’s spear should have been worthless... Next time...

From the mess hall the party uncovers a side room lined with gibbets from which hang the ancient corpses of Nuromen’s foes. Not liking what they find, they head north again finding 3 doors. Behind one, a foul stench, behind another a room of fountains and necrotic plants hung in baskets. Another door is spied to the north but there’s a change of heart and the party decides to return to the door by the illusion (I may have dropped a hint). I am relieved since I was not completely familiar with the bit of dungeon the characters seemed intent on exploring.

Returning east, the party enters an L-shaped chamber replete with statues of many scholarly men. Forester rightly surmises that these are kinsmen of Nuromen, indeed two of the statues carry his name and are identical. After a quick investigation of the nearest duplicate, Forester twists its head revealing a secret door. Beyond, a cold underground lake, in the middle of which sits an island and on the island a heavy wooden chest.

‘Treasure of Nuromen...’ whispers Miskar...

Session 2: The Ruined Tower

2011-06-02T21:33:00.000+08:00

When the party begins to break camp in the morning, Forester notices a pair of boot prints in the frost; someone’s been watching them in the night... Ardyn’s first thought is that someone swung down from the trees, watched them for a while before shimmying back up the rope, pulling it up behind him.

The characters looking in stunned silence at Ardyn.

Ardyn attempts to use his tracking talent to follow the trail but rolls double 1 and wanders off into the deeps of the forest like a blind man.

Whilst the other characters are discussing what might be going on, having ruled out the Tarzan solution, Ardyn does indeed stumble upon the night watcher: an elf clad in a mantle of leaves wearing stag’s skull for a helmet. The elf has this to say...

‘One of our kin came to your land in times past. He met with the man that was Nuromen and neither elf nor crown were seen again. Your path will soon cross that of the necromancer. If you should slip through his grasp, recover the crown and earn the friendship of the forest...’

‘A word to the wise: do not attempt to defeat the dead with weapons of the living lest you be undone. Nuromen may yet perish at your hand but not this day, nor soon.’

Amazingly Ardyn finds his way back to the camp where the others are ready to head north-west looking for the cave from their vision at the stone pool. They contemplate Ardyn’s encounter and the elf’s message on their journey. They conclude that Nuromen is too tough to face at this stage but those with stealth and magic might prevail where a direct assault would meet with certain defeat.

After a time, they come upon a cave in the crags; a narrow, low opening that looks to be the den of an animal (or several animals). Ardyn lights a torch to explore the rear of the cave and Forester observes that the smoke from the flame vanishes through a crack at the back of the cave, there, Miskar finds half-chewed entrails, still warm...

At the mouth of the cave, V and Adrin spot a massive she-wolf in the forest valley, like the boar they met earlier, the creature is impossibly large. V readies her sword and shield; the wolf has spotted them with it’s one good eye. Adrin says that it is an evil spirit - just like the boar (and he’s almost right).

Old One Eye, is a nature spirit that manifests (mostly) in wolf-form but unlike the spirit-boar, Old One Eye is not evil - not good either, she’s a spirit and fickle with it. This time she chooses not to harry the characters and lopes away.

Adrin concludes that his connection with god sent the beast packing. V shrugs.

Continuing north-west once more, the party comes across yet another cave, the approach to which indicates a human occupant.
 At the cave they are met by John the poacher who at first isn’t happy to see V in her King’s Army uniform, he assumes she and her ‘party’ are scouring the King’s woods for poachers just like him. But after the initial misunderstanding, John reveals that he has seen the Lawsend Ogre and he followed it to its lair: a ruined tower to the south-west. The characters accept his hospitality and decide to stay the night.

John proposes a challenge to Ardyn (whom he recognises as a fellow hunter): both should venture out and return with their best catch. It is agreed and Forester also takes up the challenge, although rather that partake in the hunting match, he nips off into the woods and casts his Provisions spell again, returning just a few minutes later with a sting of freshly cooked rabbits (I don’t bother with asking Brad to roll for Forester’s spell casting attempts, it’s not life or death).

Within the hour John returns with a string of six rabbits and is disappointed to see everyone (except Adrin, who thought Forester’s rabbits a tad suspicious) has sated their appetite. Ardyn returns shortly thereafter with a whole stag (having rolled double 6)!

The following morning the characters head off once more and after about half-a-days travel they do indeed spot a ruined tower... As they make their approach, what they thought was part of the tower lurches off on massive thews into the forest; the ogre!

At the ruins, the characters are surprised to see a deep hole in the earth with three knotted ropes descending into darkness. It’s then that the ground begins to shake as Morbain the Ogre returns.

Forester’s dog, Bane, tries to drag him away but instead Forester makes a snap decision and climbs into the pit; Miskar follows him. Ardyn and V stand fast whilst the priest is torn between staying to carry out the mission and fleeing into the hole. Ardyn shoots off an arrow and misses terribly, the target really is the size of a barn door. V and Adrin recognise the better part of valour and rappel into the pit!

It’s about now that I realise two things;

I keep forgetting that Adrin is with the party and
his name sounds way too much like Ardyn... Bad choice there.

Ardyn also leaps into the pit but after climbing furiously for a few metres turns and tries to draw a bead on the ogre, which is now blocking out the sky. It’s not easy trying to fire a bow handing by your legs from a rope that’s being tugged on by an ogre so Ardyn swings to the next rope and continues his climb down. Meanwhile, Morbain pulls up the rope and is confused to find no food at its end...

Next: Dungeons Deep!

Session 1: The Stone Pool

2011-05-20T23:04:00.000+08:00

After a time the path comes to a North-west/North-east fork. To the right the path is overgrown with brambles and looks treacherous. to the left, the path seems straight and well-travelled. Mindful of the growing darkness and the desire to make the most of the moonlight, the PCs elect to take the ‘easy’ path despite Ardyn’s protestations that it’s ‘clearly a trap because it’s too good to be true!’

Pretty much as expected, not 300 metres down the path, the ground shakes and a massive wild boar starts pounding towards them from the South.

Forester takes stock of the situation, sends away his dog, Bane and casts Mighty Leap which sends him soaring (unseen of course) into the tree-tops and safety.

V starts running towards the beast; her intention is to vault over the boar and slash at it as it passes beneath her (quite funky I thought).

Ardyn instinctively looses off an arrow (and hits), Miskar fires a sling stone (but misses). The beast has taken one wound and can only take 2 more but with a FR of 10, it’s tough.

Round 2 sees Ardyn set his spear to receive the beast’s charge whilst Miskar draws her sword. Forester plays a subtle hand and casts Weakening Gaze on the boar reducing it’s FR to a more managable 9.

Sadly the dice do not favour V’s funkyness but the roll isn’t low enough to bring calamity; she does indeed leap over the beast - ending up behind it - but is unable to make a successful attack.

Round 3: even though the boar is distracted by Forester and she’s attacking from advantage (behind) the dice are not her friends, it’s a miss. Ardyn loses his nerve just as the foe is upon him and he doesn’t penetrate its hide and is trampled (he takes a hit). Miskar swings and misses, rolling double 1, normally Miskar wouldn’t be wounded as the boar can only injure one attacker per round but the roll of double ones calls for a casual goring and another wound.

Round 4: Ardyn, Miskar and V are once again ready for action, they all miss leaving Ardyn wounded for a second time.

Round 5: Brad, playing Forester, reminds me that his Weakening Gaze spell is still in effect and swords are swung and spears are thrust. V splits the beast with a massive slash (need a 9, getting a 9) scoring a wound while Ardyn spears the thing in the skull. It collapses dead. Phew... Incidentally, V wouldn’t have wounded the boar if not for Forester’s spell. Interesting.

Forester emerges from his vantage point and Bane ambles back. V uses her military training to clean and dress wounds where required and after a brief pause to collect thoughts for some and trophies for others (Ardyn wanted the tusks and sweat meats...) the party head North again.

After the path peters out, they come across a smaller version of the Wayfarers’ Table, this one is about 9 feet high. V gets the idea to look on top of the stone table and indeed there is a depression which makes for a shallow ‘pool’ the stone pool. She is joined by Miskar and as the moon rises they cast in a silver coin; the water turns inky black and an image of a cave-mouth and a five-star constellation appear.

Meanwhile, Ardyn is ferreting around and sets off a huge rusty bear trap. After he calms down (and decides to stick to the path) Miskar reminds him of the mention of poachers in Esme’s cryptic poem.

V notices the constellation in the North-west sky and they decide to make camp and head that way in the morning.

There ends session 1. Hopefully the next game report coming soon...

Session 1: Istacon

2011-05-19T12:43:00.000+08:00

Lawsend seems deserted but in truth the villagers are assembled in the sod-roofed long hall on the green.

The characters make their way to the hall and are quickly told that strangers are not welcome. Although the locals speak their own language, V has travelled far and can translate enough to get buy on. Fortunately, one of the men, Clywd, can speak Esvidenian. Just when things are starting to turn sour, the door is flung open and a young boy points to the PCs saying “Esme sent them!”

After this, the mood lightens a little and the situation is explained: a great and terrible ogre - Moriban has strayed to the village, crashed through the wall of a farmhouse and carried off two men for food (snapping their necks first). The good folk of Lawsend rightly believe he will be back if not stopped. An offer is made (200 silver) and the PCs agree to help; they are advised to contact the wise man Istacon who may have seen the creature passing as it entered the woodland.

Again Ardyn tries to haggle for a greater rewards (the other players sigh deeply). V turns to Edrin the priest (as they’d forgotten he was there - my fault for not keeping my NPC ticking over) and asks for his thoughts. Edrin of course says that they should take these poor folk at their word, do God’s work and put an end to the monster! Even Ardyn is forced to agree so they head off...

If this sounds familiar to some (some older gamers), there’s a good reason. My adventure is based on a fine Chivalry & Sorcery adventure that appeared in a very early edition of White Dwarf magazine (probably around 1978). It’s always been something of a favourite of mine - particularly for low power games and I hadn’t run this one since the mid-eighties (when I used the C&S rules).

Clywd takes the characters to the edge of the forest, where the ogre was last seen and gives them some rough instructions for finding Istacon.

After a time, the PCs come across an old log cabin with a well tended herb garden (Forester has the Herbalist talent and helps him self to a few choice greens). Under the eaves sits a rickety old bench; on that, a split longbow. The door is ajar and Istacon calls in the PCs...

His hut looks much like Esme (they are both followers of The Wyc, The Old Ways), it’s full of old jars, furs, animal bones and teeth hanging from hooks or piled up on the mantle. Outwardly he appears to be a hunter or trapper but he’s a wizard of sorts.

Istacon tells the PCs that he can’t help them directly since he didn’t see the ogre, only heard it passing in the distance but he can help them indirectly. He tells of a ‘stone pool’ to the North; if a silver coin is dropped in the pool under the moonlight, that which they seek will be revealed.

Istacon waffles on for a bit without revealing any further information; when pressed on the topic of Nuromen, he falls silent and it’s clear he knows something. Eventually he says that Nuromen was trouble enough when alive but now he’s dead he’s far, far worse. (Note this is a reference to an adventure by the name of The Maze of Nuromen written by the talented J. E. Becker).

Ardyn and in particular V are becoming ticked off with my mysterious NPCs and start to make a few threatening undertones. Istacon can see the way the wind is blowing and casts a spell to encourage the PCs to be on their way - which they do.

After Istacon’s hut the path heads West then North (Istacon told them to head North as far as they could).

Session 1: Esme

2011-05-19T07:13:00.000+08:00

My TunnelQuest campaign began in earnest last night. I had already created the characters, to speed up play, and my players were happy to accept one at random.

1. Forester (Brad), a tall weathered man clad as a hunter or scout, he wears a leather helm. Forester is a wizard but since magic is frowned upon to varying degrees, he keeps that aspect quiet. He’ll need to be careful because there’s always some kind of noticeable manifestation when magic takes place in TQ. Forester has a pet dog, a wolfhound called Bane.

2. Ardyn (Mike), a mercenary and skilled archer who wears a cloak of lacquered feathers.

3. Miskar (Jane), a rogue of sorts. A fast-talker but no discernible ‘thief’ skills. However she does know a spell that opens doors.

4. Gildane, changed to Vereledane and ‘V’ for short (Emma), a veteran of the Eastland War with Malador and a soldier in the Sword Dogs Regiment. V might be of noble blood but she’s tight-lipped about it.

The story begins when the characters meet at a wilderness way-station called the Wayfarers’ Table (stone pillars capped with a massive stone slab (the table-top). There they meet Edrin, a Caroledes priest looking for protection on his journey to the village of Wexhill; after some haggling the PCs agree to accompany him. All but Ardyn were happy to help but the archer wanted to squeeze some extra funds out of the deal.

Just prior to the negotiations, Edrin accosts Sully, a vagabond offering a ‘spare’ cloak to the travellers at the Wayfarers’. Edrin observes that the cloak isn’t Sully’s ‘spare’ as he purports since it’s a full foot too long. Sully defends his dubious honour but V intervenes and he is sent from the table back into the rain (“no room for thieves here”).

En-route they find an elderly woman lying by the roadside. Although seemingly dead, this is Esme, a witch of The Wyc. She claims to have been listening for them and takes them to her cottage for a hot herbal tea and some rest from the rain. Edrin, is polite but doesn’t seem to like Esme, he waits outside.

Esme is clearly batty as a barn door but does mumble one strange clue and a warning concerning Edrin:

Seek your fortune where justice fades,
Blood and ruin and monster invades,
Pay Istacon’s silver by the moon’s light,
In darkest woods, poachers and wolves that bite,
Unwittingly the monster leads you,
Nuromen’s treasure awaits, he wakes, anew.

Of Edrin, Esme has this to say: “The priest will help you six times but the sixth will be his undoing...” I have something special planned for Edrin...

They spend the night at Esme’s derelict cottage (which Ardyn and Edrin repair, Ardyn also brings down a deer for the old coot).

Forester casts the Provisions spell and conjures up a hot meal for everyone (it looks as though he took the ingredients from his pack).

The following day the party leaves Esme, travelling East looking for Wexhill but come across a way stone pointing to a water-logged track. The way stone carries the name of a nearby village, Lawsend (Law’s End) which Miskar rightly concludes relates to Esme’s clue (...where justice fades.).

V leads the way and soon they come upon the near-deserted village of Lawsend. This is the first Visni village of the provincial border; the Visni don’t much like strangers, they don’t speak the common tongue or pay taxes... In fact they’re adamant that they are not part of Esvidena at all!

More in the next post...

Writing T&T GM Adventures

2011-05-14T12:54:00.000+08:00

This may apply to solitaire adventure too...

I recently read a nice review of a KSA solo on Danhem’s blog. A quote from Ken’s text was reproduced by the reviewer:

“...suitable for a single human, elf, dwarf, or hobb character with less than 100 adds.”

Like Danhem, I’m a tad confused by this statement. I can easily roll a character with less than 100 adds; with one exception, I’ve never created a character that would be too powerful for this adventure.

If you’re writing a solo, why not just give the gamer the character it’s designed for?

Lots of different reasons I suppose but my point is, I have no clue what power-level of character is right for this mission. Zero is less than 100, right?

The problem isn’t so pronounced with a GM adventure and since this is the type of material I like to write, this is what I want to talk about - and elicit some help.

A reader can look at a GM adventure, review the challenges and traps and decide how to change it to fit their style or party’s ability. But in most cases you will have to make some changes before you start play; my game of T&T is very low-powered, magic items that boost stats are almost never found and if they are, the bonus is +1. An adventure I write for myself isn’t going to be immediately usable by someone using the T&T default style.

Cripes! Where am I going with this?

What I’d like to do is create a set of assumptions that I can use in designing a GM adventure that can readily be interpreted by others without being prescriptive; if I say the guardian wombat has an MR of 36 and in your game the PCs don’t get out of bed for anything less than 100 you have to figure out what to change my wombat’s MR to...

So, instead of me saying Winston (the wombat) has an MR of 36, I might refer to him as being an average foe.

(Type 0) Nuisance: even in large numbers these critters are an inconvenience, they might sneak in a few Spite hits before being pulped under the weight of the character’s blows but that’s it.

(Type 1) Minor: such foes put up resistance for 1 or 2 rounds before becoming Dungeon Paté. These enemies are more often scouts, trap-setters or bait.

(Type 2) Average: the typical foe is of this level. Unless the dice go in his favour, the average foe will not beat a full strength party of delvers. However, a series of average encounters will wear down the party’s resources.

(Type 3) Equal: these guys are tough. They are a match for the PCs; this could mean they have similar dice and adds, a special ability that calls for regular Saving Rolls or access to spells. This battle will be long and deadly; PCs could die. After this battle, they will need a little R&R to recoup their losses.

(Type 4) Heavy: this dude is tough, tougher in fact than the PCs. To beat this foe (or foes) the PCs will need to pull out their best moves, combat stunts, plans, one-use magic items and so on. Heavies don’t turn up often but when they do, it’s a tactical challenge that may cost lives. Sometimes you need to know when to run and hide; this could be that time.

(Type 5) Boss: the boss is like the heavy but moreso. Usually the boss can’t be avoided (but could be duped or bargained with) because he’s guarding what the PCs are looking for. The boss might be a vicious tyrants with lots of zeros after his rating but he might also be nuisance-level creature that explodes upon death killing all within a 100-foot radius....

It’s up to the GM to figure out what, for example, a Type 2 challenge really is but a good start is to take a level 1 warrior with sword, shield and leather armour (typical for level 1 methinks) and compare his average roll against the critters in your stable. Multiply it by 4 for a 4-man team of PCs but don’t take his armour-doubling ability into account. If you double the warrior’s armour you are negating his only special ability.

Okay, now you know where I’m going, the next bit is tougher.

Saving Rolls...

When I ask my players to make a level 3 Saving Roll it usually means curtains for someone. In your game, L3SRs might be the order of the day.

In generalising the SR the base always has to be level 1 since even the toughest delver on the block can fail that.

Class I (L1SR): the default SR level is always level 1. It’s a challenge for new characters and a small margin for error with veterans but there’s still room to fail.

Class II: consider this a median roll. It should give a near-equal chance of success or failure across the board.

Class III: this is ‘Class II plus 1’... You probably need a DARO to hit the mark here.

Class IV: you need at least one DARO and probably more to save the day.

BTW, I’m not suggesting that the Class of SR be set by each character in a GM game (but that would work in a solo), it’s the situation that must be quantified by the GM...

Example: my trap requires a DEX SR to avoid and my character has a DEX of 25. If it’s simple to avoid (such as a trap that ‘might’ be triggered when you walk across it), the SR is Class I (L1SR). If it takes a bit of skill to avoid (a needle is fired from the lock when you turn the handle), a Class II roll might be called for; for my DEX 25 character that would be level 4.

Why level 4? level 3 requires only a roll of 5+, not good enough. My next available option is level 4 which requires a roll of 10+ but no DARO.

A trap that spits out a cloud of poison gas might be Class III and for my DEX 25 guy that has to be level 5, he needs at least one DARO... Ouch!

And so on...

So there you have it. Suggestions and comments greatly appreciated.

;D

Woodland Warriors

2011-05-10T13:52:00.002+08:00

I’d been keenly reading the updates from Beyond Belief Games concerning the new OSR-style game Woodland Warriors so when we were forced to break from our traditional Call of Cthulhu game (due to being a player down) we had the perfect opportunity to take it for a spin.

As I did a little proofing for the author and offered a few, very minor, suggestions, as a result my name appears on the credits page with a thank you.

If you haven’t stumbled across the game on the various old-school RPG boards, it’s a rules-lite interpretation of original D&D. The premise is that the player characters are human-like animals in a medieval world without humans; along the lines of the Redwall novels.

I’m a huge fan of the game rules which are distilled to a D6 system that retains the flavour of OD&D very nicely.

Characters are limited to level 6 (without referee and house-rule intervention) and saving throws are in the 3.0 D&D vein based on attribute scores. Combat is a blast with players rolling six-sided dice equal to their hit dice and aiming for a score of AC or better to hit. Multiple hits result in lots of damage. This is a gritty and vicious little game; a fact cunningly disguised by the friendly looking badger that graces the cover.

The players gathered and rolled-up their characters.

This took a little longer than I had anticipated as there was much procrastination from one of the players who at first couldn’t decide which Kind to play and then which class. We ended up with a squirrel warrior-wizard (Zeela), a mole warrior (Drugal) and mouse scout (Vincenzo with a Super-Mario accent). We played the scenario included in the rule book but I threw in a few early combat encounters to take test out the fighting rules.

The scenario has the characters arriving at a quarry where they speak to the foreman (foremole) about a recent attack by the legendary Owl ‘Shadow’. I started play with the characters still en route and had them rumbled by a couple of rum Stoat bandits. Before I could finish my threatening stoat drawl, Vincenzo was winding up his sling and then chasing after the fleeing stoat (mince get an extra hit die with slings so they quite often hit with a big bang). The remaining stoat was felled by Zeela and his carcass looted before it hit the ground.

Honestly, the battle could have gone either way, this time the characters had higher DEX values and struck first; had the reverse been true, it could have been nasty.

The rain let up and the characters arrived at the Murkenhill Quarry where they sought out the foremole. In the scenario, the head-mole talks with a lisp, I got a little carried away and gave him every conceivable speech impediment which made for a very confusing mission brief and much mirth I’m glad to say.

Next the characters headed off into the woods to explore the scene of Shadow’s attack. There they were set upon by a trio of weasels (the advance scouts for the shrew behind the Shadow attacks). Again Vincenzo chased one of them off with his sling and Zeela battled a second. The third was a distant sniper who shot and killed Drugal in the first round.

In the second round Drugal’s brother (who had been following the group), Frugal, appeared and was shot and killed by the sniper. There was a moments silence as a new character was again created. Meanwhile, Zeela had dispatched her weasel and made her way to the sniper’s nest where she and Vincenzo finished him off.

That was all we had time for that evening but all agreed that much fun had been had. Brad, our mole-man was a little despondent about losing two characters and also had a little grumble about the multi-class rules.

We’ve only played one session so it’s hard to get a proper feel for the game but first impressions are very good. It has a light-hearted feel but it’s clear that it is a deadly game system; life is cheap and making it to second level could be quite a challenge - as it is in any OSR game. For the next session I might have each of the players create a second character (although Brad is fast running out of brothers).

On the blood-thirsty front I wonder if it wouldn’t be a better idea for multiple hit dice to just increase the chance of scoring a single hit rather than having each hit score a die of damage. Time will tell. One thing I will change right away is the multi-classing rules. All agreed it was far too powerful and unnecessary in a game of limited advancement.

Multi-class characters only need a score of 9+ in the relevant requisites to gain all of the benefits of two classes and require only 150% of the experience points to advance.

That aside, we thoroughly enjoyed the game and will certainly play again.

The Esvidenian Calendar

2010-09-19T20:54:00.000+08:00

Months and days as per the earth standard. Why? Because I like it and it adds a little familiarity. Middle Earth used it so why not me?

It is currently year 616 of the Empire of the Rose (ER) or 202 since the Caroledes Schism (AC - Anno Caroledes).

Winter: December, January, February

Temperatures drop to 2 or 3 degrees (Celcius) during December, rarely reaching above 11 at midday. January and February sees the mercury plummet to -10 and below. Blankets of thick snow are common even in December and by the start of February, the snow covers layers of trecherous ice and can be up to six-feet deep, deeper still in the highlands.

Spring: March, April, May

Spring sees temperatures rise to about 10 degrees with 50 mm of rainfall being not uncommon, sometimes twice that in April.

Summer: June, July, August

Rainfall of 20-30 mm are common with August being mostly dry. Temperatures rise up to 20 or so degrees during the day falling to only 9 or 10 at night.

Autumn: September, October, November

Heavy rains and thick fog are common throughout Autumn. Temperatures hover around 17 degrees during the day and light snowfalls at night (during the first weeks of November) are not uncommon.

January 6 - Epiphany

Feb 6 - Mar 15 - Lent

February 27 - Gate of the Black Sun

March 20 - Spring Equinox

April 15 - Feast of the Resurrection

June 4 - Pentecost

June 21 - Summer Solstice

Sep 23 - Autumn Equinox

October 13 - All Hallows’ Eve. The night when Bale (a giant bear with a pumpkin for a head) stalks the land collecting the souls of the lost and wicked.

November 30 - Advent (in preparation of the Feast of Caroledes)

December 21 - Winter Equinox

December 25 - the Feast of Caroledes

Welcome to Esvidenia

2010-09-13T22:27:00.002+08:00

The Empire of the Rose once stretched to the four corners of the world but strife within and without its borders have, over the centuries bought it to its knees. It now exists as a loose federation of independent member states, many of whom have chosen to settle old scores or pursue their own bloody agendas.

With the Caroledes Schism of 416, the church, which once united the empire was forever sundered and in its wake many once-pious men are turning to the grim gods of old.

The Riftlands a once wealthy imperial province stretching for a thousand miles, is now shattered. 20 or more balkanised states vie for the remains of their fading glory; war is rife.

Just east of the Galean Rift (a still prosperous inland sea) lies a trio of kingdoms that have recently settled into an uneasy peace: Guildor, the greatest of the three seeks to distance itself from local conflict and expand its borders to the unruly south; Malador a large and potentially powerful nation crippled by bitter internal politics and Esvidenia, a tiny kingdom surrounded by towering jagged peaks and the deepest forests… Here is where we begin.

ER - Empire of the Rose

AC - After the Caroledes Schism

King Leon Togsvig IV: 12 months ago the king was poisoned during the Feast of St Justine. Although he was not murdered, he was forced to retreat to his sick bed from which he is yet to emerge. For two months Queen Eleanor Togsvig ruled in the king’s stead but an intrigue at court lead to a suggestion that she had some Maladorian blood in her veins - as Esvidenia and Malador were still at war at that time, a regent was sort.

Leon and Eleanor have a son of age - Ruprect (early twenties) but is thought by many to be a simpleton (certainly he is a recluse, in fact he is a magic-user, a secret that none of the royal family will wish to reveal) and was overlooked. Instead Oraldo Maskar (the then governor of Songarten) was installed. Maskar is a weak man who has fallen prey to the machinations of various court politickers.

Queen Eleanor Togsvig: although the war was ‘won’ over 6 months ago, with chances of renewed conflict looking more and more unlikely, the queen is still practically under house arrest at the families country retreat 12 miles north of Milensk (where she tends to her husband).

Ruprect Togsvig: heir to the throne, closet wizard and considered by some to be backward and by others to be the architect of the assassination attempt that nearly saw him crowned King of Esvidenia.

Oraldo Maskar: the regent. A gruff burly general in his early forties, Oraldo is good out shouting and beating his fist on the table but the bluster disguises the heart of a coward. Maskar fought alongside the king in the Harkin Dispute: he witnessed terrible things in those dark southlands that cracked his soul and left him a paranoid emotional wreck. He is desperate for advice and will listen eagerly to any man who can talk with authority.

OSR Game, on Hold Due to OSR Game...

2010-09-02T21:07:00.003+08:00

I’ve found myself more and more sucked into the world of Weird FRP... So much so that my long-running Classic Traveller and the development of my own T&T OSR game has slipped on to the back-burner for a while.

Weird FRP is definitely a campaign game but I don’t want every adventure to fall into the ‘totally Weird’ category; I don’t want a fantasy-Cthulu (or similar). However, I am going to kick off with Weird - most likely the introductory adventure (Stargazer).

Anyhoo. here is the tiny country of Esvidenia. A land-locked region to the east of the Galean Rift.

It’s not quite finished (some of the towns and villages don’t have names allocated as yet but my notes are written.

Exvidenia is a desperately poor state that’s been plagued with war, famine and, well, plague. I’m aiming for a gritty, northern Poland-kin-of feel. Nine months of grim winter followed by a bleak stretch of cold rain. Bogs and marshes abound, much of the unpopulated areas are truly wild - what funds the state doesn’t lose to corrupt politicians is spent on maintaining the nobility and an ineffectual standing army.

TunnelQuest Re-imaged

2010-08-29T00:27:00.001+08:00

My old school RPG is finished.

Oh, I can keep fiddling with it; adding new rules (backpack maintenance, must work on that), but it’s done.

It’s done but it looks like crap.

I suppose I’m not too fussed about that as it’s kind of just for me but I do like to tinker so I’ve started to put together the ‘page layout’ version of my game. So far I’ve completed the entire text except the appendices and the character sheet.

The current version can be downloaded here.

Of course you can still get the complete but ugly version here.

Old School Intrigue

2010-08-22T14:01:00.000+08:00

The Old School Renaissance seems to be as strong as ever, perhaps even picking up speed? If so, it’s a development I’m very pleased with.

The latest set of old-school rules to pop up on my RADAR are from Lamentations of the Flame Princess; with a game called Weird Fantasy Role-Playing. Having said that, the name of the game could very well be Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy Role-Playing. I can live with not knowing.

This set of rules goes further to creating a new gaming experience than any of the earlier productions (in my opinion at any rate) which leads me to wonder whom this product is really for.

Presumably, old-schoolers want a rule system that captures the nostalgia of their early gaming memories. Well, this game doesn’t really do that. True it has the foundations of early D&D but the designer has made intriguing and inventive tweaks that propel the game in a whole other direction.

If you had any doubts reading the rules, you would have none after dipping into any of the published adventures. These are finely written pieces which often contain insightful designers notes (which I love) but I’m pretty sure they’re not old school even though, we’re mainly talking about dungeons here; there are major departures.

The adventures feature very little combat (old school games are usually heavy on combat) but a great deal of atmosphere (not really old school where hole in ground = treasure); they are not linear (um... old school?) and they tend to be aimed at the more mature reader.

So who is this game for? Well, me for one, although some of the design decisions gave me pause for thought, when explained, they made perfect sense. From a mechanical point of view thief skills and encumbrance rules have never been implemented better; looking at the game world, well, there isn’t one but a particular type of play is implied (weird tales) and the atmosphere simply drips off the page.

It’s too early for me to write a review (I’m still ploughing through the huge volume of material)... But soon.

Exploding Dice

2010-08-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

I really don’t like the game impact of exploding dice; by that I mean, if you roll the highest score possible you roll again and add the new roll to the total - and keep rolling until you don’t roll the maximum.

Warrior, Rogue & Mage uses such a mechanic. The good news is that the exploding die only applies when you have specific skill or when rolling damage.

The bad news is that having no cap on your die result makes it very difficult to create meaningful rules to model your game world. Another problem is that the die is mightier than the character; it doesn’t matter how weak, inept and unskilled your character is, you still have a 1 in 6 chance of creating the Mona Lisa. Nope, don’t like it.

Here’s my ‘fix’ for WR&M and its messy explosions.

The Exploding Die

When player rolls a ‘6’ for damage or when attempting an attribute roll with the appropriate skill there is a chance that the die will yield a result greater than 6, this is referred to as an exploding die. After rolling the 6, the player rolls the die again, if the second roll results in a score of 4, 5 or 6, the die value increases by 1 point and a third roll is made. The player keeps rolling the die and increasing his or her score until a 3 or less is rolled; at which point a final score is calculated.

Example: Lyric the thief is competing in a knife throwing competition with her sidekick Edvic at the local tavern. The GM decides that the highest roller is closest to the target and will be declared the winner. Lyric has a Rogue attribute of 3 and possess the daggers skill; her base score is 5 + 1d6. Lyric’s player rolls a 6 for a potential score of 11, because her character has the appropriate skill, the die may explode. The player rolls again and gets a 4, she rolls again and gets another six, on the third roll she gets a 2 bringing her total score to 13. A tough throw to beat...

This might mean that I need to fiddle with armour values but I can live with that.

I might also reign in the attribute values as follows:

Characters are still built with 10 points but must spend 2 points for every level above 3. So a tough fighter can have a Warrior level of 5 but it will cost 9 points (1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2). Most characters will max out at a score of 4 in their favoured attribute which leaves them somewhere to go when they level up.

Warrior, Rogue & Mage

2010-07-30T00:24:00.000+08:00

Because I’ve been spending so much energy creating my own role-playing game, I’m always intrigued by free offerings from other writers. Thanks to RPG.net I’ve found a beauty.

Warrior, Rogue & Mage uses its title as the three statistics that define characters (warrior for strength, endurance and combat ability, rogue for speed, stealth, precision et cetera and mage for all things mental (and of course, casting spells). Of course the designer could have named his stats strength, dexterity and intelligence but by choosing the iconic classes of some other games (and TunnelQuest for that matter) as the key attribute names, the immediately takes on a rich atmosphere.

I have to applaud the designer for opting to go with a single six-sided die for resolving all matters random. I’m not so keen to see that rolling a ‘6’ allows you to roll again and add the new score. It’s a fairly tired trick that creates some scary number ranges and can deliver you a dead player-character in one blow.

Get the game here: http://www.stargazergames.eu/ or at rpgnow.com - it rocks and it’s free.

Magic in Tunnel Quest

2010-07-25T01:59:00.001+08:00

Paul’s game, Dragons, employed a friendly magic system that allowed players to create spells for their characters during play. The process was given shape by dividing types of magic in to colours; as a big fan of Terry Pratchett, I liked the idea of the colours of magic.

In theory magic worked well; the player described the required effect and the GM adjudicated the cost of the spell in magic points and of which colours. However, in practice, my player character wizards struggled to formulate their own spells and the game was prone to occasional stalling. The problem was system-related it was player-related; it seemed my players favoured the spell list approach.

After a few attempts to make the original system more accessible to my players I resorted to a list of spells organised by level and colour; along the way I created a new colour (prismatic or multicolour) and added a whole swag of rules to regulate the use of magic. Okay, by swag I mean a page or two.

Tunnel Quest

2010-07-25T01:36:00.001+08:00

About three years ago, whilst searching for a free face-to-face fantasy role-playing game online, I chanced upon Zenobia by Paul Elliott. Zenobia was (and still is) a stunning creation; beautifully written, epic in scope with mountains of accessible background information that just begged to be played. And play we did, the game system was unique, simple and blending seamlessly to the game world.

Paul has a bunch of other games on his website, all are excellent. At the time I found Zenobia I also spotted Dragons. For some reason Dragons isn’t on Paul’s site anymore - it was a game that he put together for his family that would be easy to run on ‘the fly’.

The core mechanics of Dragons were not too dissimilar from Tunnels & Trolls (although Paul had never played T&T); monsters, as in T&T were defined by a single number. However, the design coup was that the GM never needed to roll a single die, the fate of the characters was determined purely by the dice rolls of their players. Brilliant.

For the past three years I’ve been play-testing and developing Dragons (renaming it TunnelQuest) and I’m now up to version 3. I’ll explain more about the game and its setting as we go.