I played another long session of Solo D&D 5th edition using the Solo Adventurers’ Toolbox. I am getting the hang of it and it has been quite enjoyable. Solo rules have been the best part. The D&D 5th edition rules have been a little clunky at times. Combat can take a long time and can involve a lot of swings and misses. D&D 5th edition combat is also not well designed for a single character.
Not helping things in this session was my really terrible rolls. I kept rolling the No answer for questions and in combat, I could not hit anything. But I rolled really well for my opponents. It is not surprising how things ended up. I am not going to do a blow-for-blow accounting this time. I will just stick to the main plot notes.
Session Details
When last we left Valgrim things were looking up. He rescued Nisa the daughter of a way station keeper who helped him. Nisa and he had managed to make it to the town of Sandcrest.
I started the session rolling for a random quest since there were no obvious stories for Valgrim to pick up on.
Quest, commodity shortage, transport supplied. Received from a merchant.
The next morning, while Valgrim is enjoying breakfast and Nisa is out exploring the village, a merchant named Bertan Zerfal enters the Inn. He goes up to Savanna and has a quick conversation. Savanna looks over at Valgrim and then nods in his direction. Bertan comes over and asks to sit down. Valgrim nods but says nothing. Bertan introduces himself as a wine merchant. He needs to pick up a wagon of wine in the coastal town of Opotal and return it safely to Sandcrest. Unfortunately, he has not been able to hire anyone to guard the wagon. He heard from a fellow merchant that there was a mercenary looking for work staying at the Inn. Bertan offers 60 gold coins as payment.
Persuasion roll DC 15. Success!
Valgrim talks Bertan up to 90 gold. Bertan agrees without much argument. They shake hands and Bertan tells Valgrim to be at his warehouse in Opotal as soon as possible. He gives Valgrim a letter of authorization. Before leaving, Bertan says, “You will be careful?” Valgrim nods.
Is Bertan telling the entire story? Unlikely -2. Maybe.
I decide that Bertan has not told Valgrim that he suspects a rival merchant has persuaded local mercenaries not to protect his goods. But he does not expect any trouble with the shipment.
Valgrim tells Nisa about his job and advises her to wait in Sandcrest for his return.
Does Nisa want to go with Valgrim? Possible. No.
Nisa tells Valgrim that she is worried she will be in danger in Sandcrest if she does not have any gold. Valgrim reluctantly gives her 2 gold coins. Valgrim has Savanna pack him some lunches in a small pack. Valgrim sets out on foot toward Opotal. The “road” to Opotal is little more than a marked path. But it is reasonably well marked with blazons on stones and posts staked in the ground.
Valgrim walks at a good pace to Opotal. By noon he can smell the sea in the air and the desert turns to scrub and then grasses. Soon he can make out small farms, copses of trees, and the road becomes more defined. He reaches Opotal by late afternoon. Opotal is a full-fledged town. The town is on the sea with a large seaport. It is surrounded by a low stone wall. Three large gatehouses allow entrance. At the entrance to the town, he can see the town guards are charging hawking tax but they take one look at his lack of possessions and wave him into the town.
Is Valgrim able to find the Zerfal Warehouse? Likely +2. Yes.
Valgrim goes straight to the warehouse. Bertan had told him it was near the docks and Valgrim finds it without any difficulty. The building is well built and is protected by some workers armed with clubs. They eye Valgrim suspiciously.
Valgrim tells the leader of the men to relax and he shows him the letter from Bertan. The man, Tekin, is very happy to see him. The cart is all loaded and ready to go and Tekin will be joining him as the driver. Valgrim, looks about, looks at the darkening sky and back at Tekin. He tells them they will leave at first light. Tekin argues, but Valgrim shuts him up with a glare. Then he heads into the town looking for an Inn.
What kind of Inn does Valgrim find? Warm, welcoming, good quality, male halfling proprietor.
Valgrim stops and enters the Eye of the Wizard Inn. He is greeted by the halfling owner Eracle Townsend. He tells Valgrim that a room for the night will cost 8 silver coins. Valgrim hands over a gold coin and gets the change.
Is there a game of dice in the common room? Possible. Yes. Does Valgrim win at the dice game? Likely. 20! Rumour, person, human female, Merchant.
Valgrim joins a dice game for several hours and comes away from the table with a total of 3 gold and 42 silver coins. During the game, he inquires casually about the trouble that merchant house Zerfal is in. Eventually, one of the players tells him that a new wine merchant of house Zimri has been putting all of the other wine merchants out of business. House Zimri is led by a woman named Sala Zimri who is reputed to have killed her two brothers to get control of the business. Zimri traders are located in Opotal. Valgrim collects his winnings and goes to his room for a few hours of sleep.
In the morning, after breakfast, Valgrim heads to the warehouse and inspects the cart. It is a flatbed, two-wheeled cart loaded with 12 barrels of wine. Tekin will drive the cart. Tekin hands Valgrim a light crossbow from under the bench seat. The set out on the road for Sandcrest.
Do they have an encounter with bandits? Likely +2. Yes.
On the road to Sandcrest about three hands of the sun after dawn, they meet four bandits on the road. The bandits have piled rocks in the road blocking the way forward. At this point, the road has a gully on one side and a ditch on the other so they cannot go around. Valgrim has Tekin stop the cart 70 feet from the roadblock. As Tekin asks what they are to do, Valgrim calmly gets down from the cart, loads the crossbow and shoots (and misses). The bandits yell in alarm and dive for cover returning fire with arrows. The fight goes badly for Valgrim. One bandit is gravely injured but so is Valgrim. Tekin hides and does not put up a fight. When things look there worst, Valgrim expertly turns the cart around on the narrow path and beats a hasty retreat (I rolled a 20 on animal handling).
Since there is only one trail leading to Opotal they are forced to return to the town. Tekin does not argue. Once back at the warehouse, Tekin agrees to pay Valgrim 5 gold for trying to get the wine delivered. Valgrim tells Tekin to have the cart ready again tomorrow morning. Tekin asks why? Valgrim tells him that maybe something will turn in their favor this time.
Valgrim tries to find information on the Zimri traders. Does he discover the location of their warehouse? Likely +2. Yes.
Valgrim makes plans to sneak into the Zimri warehouse that evening. After a short rest at the Eye of the Wizard Inn, Valgrim sets out in the evening for the warehouse he scouted earlier.
Does the Zimri Warehouse have guards outside? Likely +2. No. Does Valgrim find a side door? Possible. Yes. Is the door locked? Likely +2. Yes.
Valgrim spies on the warehouse for an hour and does not see any watchmen or any activity. He sees two entrances. Checking the back door he finds it is barred from the inside. He decides to climb up to the roof. He tries but is unable to find a spot to attempt the climb up onto the roof. He moves back to the shadows to wait.
Does anyone enter the warehouse? Likely +2. No.
After waiting in the shadows until midnight. Valgrim still sees no activity. He decided to throw caution to the wind. He approaches the main door and sees it is barred from inside. He knocks loudly on it.
Is anyone in the warehouse? A certainty +6. Yes. There are six men in the warehouse. Does someone answer the door? Highly Likely +4. Yes.
After a moment, he hears someone call out something but it is muffled and he cannot discern it. He answers back with “Open, it’s Mmmph” hoping they open the door. The bar is pulled back and the door swings open. A man peers out at Valgrim who has a leveled crossbow pointed at the man. Valgrim successfully intimidates the man into fully opening the door. He tells the man to turn around, takes his dagger, and smacks him on the head with it knocking him unconscious.
The warehouse is a large interior space crowded with high stacks (like walls) of wooden crates. Flickering lamplight can be seen further into the warehouse but no one is immediately visible. There is a lit lantern lying on the floor beside the door probably belonging to the unconscious man. Valgrim closes the door and bars it. He drags the man by the feet into the shadows and blows out the light in the lantern.
 |
| Valgrim is outnumbered and in trouble |
He moves quietly further into the warehouse. Valgrim moves amongst the crates until he hears a yell of surprise from a corridor made by the crates to his left. Two men leap from the shadows and attack with daggers. Valgrim fights desperately but cannot manage to hit his quickly moving attackers. The fight is soon over and Valgrim drops unconscious to the floor.
One day later. Valgrim awakens in a dark stone cell. All he has left are his clothes, the tattered battle pennant he carries, his dice set, and his tinderbox.
I had some really terrible rolls in the final fight. Valgrim armed with a scimitar and wearing leather armor was easily beaten by two unarmored thugs using daggers. But after everything he has been through I decided that the bandits do not kill Valgrim. They stabilize him and put him in a cell so he can be questioned by "the boss". I also think Valgrim has done enough to move up to level 2.
Let’s see if he can find a way out of this prison cell next session.
 |
| Ignominious End? |
No comments:
Post a Comment