Hippogriffs and cheese

This week's Campaign update is about almost derailing the session with a random encounter involving a pair of Hippogriffs. I had a random encounter right at the start of the session while the players were moving overland with a number of horses and mules. The random encounter involved an attack by a pair of hippogriffs. The players use some good strategy to minimize the potential targets for the attackers and drove the flying horses off easily. Then they immediately started planning how they could capture some hippogriffs for flying mounts. Once they got back to town they set the plan in motion.

If they were going to go after hippogriffs I wanted to at least have a map and some obstacles to the quest prepared. So I steered the group back onto the current plot. My Swords & Wizardry campaign is certainly not a sandbox or open but I do let the players steer the narrative of the story where I can. The format of playing weekly short adventures just does not allow for open play. At least not for my style of play and my obsession with having VTT maps for everything.

Session 23: The Emerald Cheese Co.

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief), Domago (Human cleric NPC).

After an undisturbed night’s rest, the adventurers with their prisoner Bregor in tow set out for Edgerton. If they have no interruptions they should be able to make Edgerton late the next day. The first day traveling in the wilderness passes without incident. They do not see anything more dangerous than a few deer. They make camp for the night again and the night passes.

As they prepare the horses and mules for another day of travel Nash notices that the horses are agitated. He tells the adventurers that he suspects the horses have caught the scent of a predator. They set out and keep a careful eye on the forest.

A few hours into the day Carric spots a pair of large hunting birds in the sky headed in their direction. As the birds get closer they realize they are hippogriffs. Predators with the bodies of horses and the heads and wings of a bird of prey. The hippogriffs start to circle the group and the horses start to panic. Everyone takes cover under some trees and dismounts. Lakima tells Eathwund to give their prisoner Bregor a sword to defend himself. Nash gets the animals under control and keeps them under the trees.

One of the hippogriffs makes a swooping attack but misses everyone. Lakima casts Aztanzabar’s Acrid Finger striking the hippogriff. Eathwund and Carric fire arrows wildly into the sky. After a minute the hippogriffs break off the attack and fly away. Carric climbs a tree and notes that the hippogriffs are headed for the Northern Hills. Lakima and Carric get to discussing the possibility of capturing some hippogriffs either to sell or to use as mounts.

By midday, Carric guides the group to the road into Edgerton. As soon as they get onto the road they spot a cloud of dust headed their direction. Like a number of men on horseback. The heroes push their mounts into a gallop and quickly leave the dust cloud behind. As they enter the town they stop and tell the watch commander at the gate about the approaching men on horseback.

Back in Edgerton now, the group heads to their Chapter House and settle in with a good meal. The small amount of treasure they looted from the Valley is divided up and Lakima takes a necklace to give to his girl. The entire group then heads over to the Apothecary. On their way, they check in with the guards at the gate and learn that the cloud of dust was two men with some cattle headed to market. The guards make fun of the heroes. At the Apothecary, Humbert lets them in to speak with Malyn. The wizard listens to their story and seems unconcerned that his apprentice Cedric did not return. He tells Bregor he will be telling him everything. Bregor refuses, but Malyn notes he can use magic. Bregor tries to lunge at Malyn but the wizard uses Hold Person on him. Then he casts another spell to read the man’s thoughts. He tells the adventurers that the man knows little. Although as Bregor is a citizen of the Ghoul Lands they should take him to be incarcerated by the watch.

They leave the apothecary and Lakima tells them he is going to see Alayna. Carric decides to wander off to check on his underworld contacts. That leaves Eathwund and Domago to take Bregor Stanton to the watch. They drop off the man telling Sergeant Frans that the man is from the Ghoul Lands to the north. Over at the Alchemy shop, Lakima gives Alayna a necklace from his split of the loot and he tells Alayna about the hippogriffs that attacked them. She asks him if he got any feathers. Apparently, they can be used in potions of flying. Carric spots his snitch Ril in the market lifting a purse from a merchant and he follows the thief. He catches up with Ril in an alley and they have a brief talk. Ril has nothing interesting to report. Carric asks Ril to find him a corrupt member of the watch. Ril tells him that it is easy, he knows a man named Bron on the watch who can be paid to look the other way during heists. Carric also learns that Ril’s boss is a thief named Blod. He is a member of the Coin Street gang.

The next day Lakima casts Detect Magic and they discover that the Staff they took from the old female wizard was a Staff of Striking. The longsword that Carric found is also magical and has the properties of an Everwatchful sword. The adventurers talk about what they might want to get up to next. Lakima suggests a trip to the Northern Hills to hunt for hippogriffs. To do it he has an idea he wants to pursue. Lakima heads out on his errand.

Lakima goes to Issac the woodworker and talks to the craftsman about building him a wheeled cart to hold wild animals. Perhaps animals as big as a bear. The man quotes him a price and tells him he will need to enlist the services of a wheelwright and an ironworker. A deal is set and Lakima pays a down payment. Once Lakima mentions that it is for the Company of the Black Dragon, Isaac becomes excited to meet him. He was paying protection to the Veiled Society and now that they have been run out of town by the adventurers his profits are up. He does mention that the Rat King has started moving into this territory. Lakima notes that the Rat King is someone they need to exterminate.

Lakima returns to the Chapter House. Domago is out at church and Carric is off somewhere but he discusses his idea for the wagon with Eathwund. Meanwhile, Carric continues his quest to drink at every tavern and inn in town, keeping an ear open for information. He talks to some ne'er-do-wells in each tavern. He learns something about the chaotic nature of the gangs in Edgerton. At a tavern called The Frozen Crow, he spots a pot boy come in bruised and bleeding as if he has been in a one-sided fight. Edging closer to the bar Carric overhears that the tavern owner, Elas Kelrona, sent the boy over to the Emerald Moon Cheesemaker to complain about some bad cheese that made some guests sick. The boy says that he had to knock forever at the door to be let in. Then a big man told him to get lost and beat him up. The man told him not to come back if he knew what was good for him. Elas loudly says that if he was younger, or his hip was not acting up he would go over to the Emerald Moon and give them a thumping. While he says that he looks meaningfully at Carric and tosses the elf a silver coin. Carric, hands him back the coin and asks a few questions. He does not indicate any interest in the squabble so the tavern keeper offers 4 silver pieces. Carric tells him to keep his money but he will look into it.

Carric heads over to the Mirdton neighborhood where he knows the Emerald Moon Cheesemakers are located. It is right next to the Brass Lock tavern that he had earlier cased. The building the cheesemakers are located in looks like it is several buildings combined. All of the doors and windows are shuttered on the ground floor but he does see light streaming from an upstairs window. He makes note of it and heads back to the Chapter House. Once back he tells his companions what he overheard and saw. He is not suggesting they get involved right away. Hearing them talking about Emerald Moon, their manservant Huntley brings out a wheel of the distinctive green cheese that Emerald Moon produces. They look at the wax paper covering the cheese and see the brand is a cheese shaped like a moon being nibbled on by a pair of rats. Several of them at once surmise this could involve the Rat King. Lakima says that they should investigate but not tonight. They should go tomorrow night. It will give them a chance to pick up a few items.

The next day, Carric heads to the Low Market and locates some of the young thieves and beggars he met a few weeks ago. He tells them he will pay them 5 silver for two of the meanest alley cats they can find and return to him. A short while later the boys return with two mean-spirited cats. Carric puts on some gloves and gingerly carries them back to the Chapter House. While Carric is away, Lakima heads over to Alayna’s shop and asks her if she can make a Potion of Enlarge. She says she can, but it will cost him. Lakima pays her and she says he can pick up two potions tomorrow. Eathwund comes back to the chapter house with a pair of cages for the cats.

The next afternoon Lakima picks up the two potions. He also asks Alayna if she will still charge him for potions when they are married. She tells him “Of course, I want to run a successful business.” The adventurers prepare and decide to head over to the Emerald Moon cheesemakers around the early evening. Since the Brass Lock tavern is located right beside the cheesemakers they decide to check there first. While the others wait outside, Carric enters and makes his way to the bar to talk to Ol’ Pete the owner (and a well-known fence). He tries to get Pete to hook him up with the big boss. Pete does not seem to know what he is talking about. Carric suggests he needs to meet someone who can move a very valuable stolen item. Ol’ Pete nods and whispers that he should meet Devon. Carric asks how he gets to meet the man. Pete tells him he can arrange a meet in a few days. Carric tells him he needs to see him now but Pete is unswayed. Suggesting he find someone else then. Carric leaves the tavern and meets up with his friends telling them what happened.

The adventurers decide on the direct approach. They circle the Cheesemakers and find a large double door probably for deliveries. It is barred from the inside but Carric manages to lift the bar with a file. They enter the building and find they are in a brightly lit room filled with a mound of charcoal. Light is coming from a continual light globe mounted on the wall. A door leads to another chamber. Carric peers through the crack in the door and sees a large room with enormous brick vats. He also sees two men headed away from them. They wait until the men leave the room and then they enter what is clearly the main part of the factory. Four large vats hold milk that is dyed green and is being slowly turned into cheese. As they look about the room a nearby door opens and two more men enter. The men cry out in alarm and ready clubs and then run toward the heroes. Domago moves to intercept one of them. Lakima casts Charm Person on one man and that puts an end to the fight as the man tells his companion to wait. These are friends. As they approach, still unsure if these are wererats or just guards, Lakima notes that cats are hissing in their cages. He asks the charmed man if he can turn into a rat - and the man says, “Of course”, and then turns into a man-sized two-legged rat creature. The other guard yells out and attacks Domago. Lakima asks the charmed man where his boss is located and the man tells them to follow him up a stair to a second floor. Everyone except Domago, who is busy fighting head up the stairs. Just then, another door opens and the first two guards they spotted enter. The men yell an alarm and run toward Domago. Lakima yells for Eathwund to release the cats and feed them the Enlarge potions. Two enormous cats the size of panthers run toward the guards. One cat leaps on a guard from the staircase. The guards start screaming, “Giant cats!, Help us!” The charmed man runs to the end of the upstairs landing and begins pounding on the locked door at the end of it but whoever is inside does not let him in. Lakima casts Phantasmal Force and adds a 10-foot tall giant cat to the fight. Two of the guards put up a good fight while one runs off for help. One of the giant cats is struck repeatedly by a guards club but eventually, both guards are killed. The charmed guard flees. Domago prays and heals the injured giant cat.

Everyone heads up the stairs to investigate the door which they discover is locked. Carric moves over to examine the lock and hears a voice on the other side threatening him. He is unable to open it. Lakima casts Aztanzabar’s Acrid Finger and keeps up a steady stream of acid on the lock. He hears a scream of pain from the other side of the door as some acid streams through the keyhole. It takes a while but eventually the wood around the lock burns away and the lock falls on the floor. They kick in the door and enter a workshop. Strange, liquids, powders, and cheeses rest on workbenches. A slim man stands before a doorway at the far side of the room waving a long sword in their direction. Lakima tells the man he is outnumbered and should surrender. The giant cats hiss at the man. The man screams and runs into the other room and leaps out a second-floor window to the street below. Eathwund fires a few arrows at him but misses and the man gets away.

The adventurers note another door to the room. This one is unlocked and Carric can hear what sounds like someone sleeping on the other side of the door. They enter and find a middle-aged man with white hair apparently asleep in his bed despite all of the noise they have been making. The man is shaken awake and tells them he is the owner, Grendel Orfman. He asks if they are here to rescue him. Grendel claims that he is the victim of a takeover by King Rat. He volunteers that King Rat is an enormous rat who resides in the sewers below the factory. If the adventurers would be willing to run the rats out of his factory he would be very grateful. Eathwund brings one of the giant cats into the room and it hisses at Grendel. They confront him and accuse him of being a wererat. He admits he has the disease but that it was not voluntary. The rats slowly infected people in the shop. King Rat wanted his shop because the cheese he is making helps King Rat grow in power. Grendel has been experimenting on one batch that only goes to King Rat now. Grendel now offers to buy his freedom. He goes into a secret room behind his closet and hands over 2,000 gold coins. Lakima accepts it on the group's behalf and tells Grendel he can go free if he heads over to the Church of St. Cuthbert for a cure. Grendel eagerly agrees. The other party members are skeptical that Grendel will follow through.

They all head down to the shop floor and they ask Grendel to tell them which vats have the Rat King’s cheese in them. He tells them it is just the one. Eathwund goes over and opens the sluice on the vat and the bubbling green cheese streams across the floor and down a drain. As they point Grendel out the door, the guard who got away returns with reinforcements. They look past the wererat and see a horde of angry ratlings approaching.

Heroic Maps Black Mountain Hideout

I needed a map for my online campaign for some caves under a hill on which a cenotaph stood. I did not have time to create one in Blender so I purchased one of the VTT maps put out by Heroic Maps. They are really good quality and they include a version designed for VTT play. I made a couple of really minor changes to the map to fit my needs but otherwise, I used it as is and quickly wrote an adventure around it.

I think I still prefer creating my own maps but when you are in a pinch for time this works. Also, they serve as good inspiration. They do not come with any notes - you just look at the map and decide what will fit it. I used it for Session 22 of my Swords & Wizardry online game using Roll20.

Session 22: The Necromancer

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Crispin (Human Magic-user NPC).

Last time the players journeyed to the standing stones known as the Nine Men, ostensibly to deliver the wizard Malyn and the Black Ring to a person claiming to be his former mentor and Necromancer Mourne. The players are taking part in a double-cross bringing an imposter and a fake ring.

The players leave their hireling Nash with the horses and mules and descend down large stone steps in a tunnel under the hill on which the Nine Men stand. It actually appears to be more than five adventurers, the wizard Lakima has four Mirror images with him. At the bottom of the steps is a wooden double door that is barred on the opposite side. Carric uses a metal file from his thieves’ tools to push the bar up and out of the way. It clatters to the ground. The doors creak open revealing a charnel pit. Human and humanoid bones litter the stone floor of a cave. The walls are dark grey and covered in soot. A bubbling tar pit in one corner of the cave. Lakima tells young Cedric to use the Mirror Image Scroll he gave him. Cedric uses the Scroll and two more images of Cedric appear. He also asks Cedric how the black ring works. Cedric tells him he can animate the dead.

Moving past the bones they come to another wooden door. This one is a single door and it is held closed by a simple latch. Carric listens at the door and hears tar bubbling on the other side. Opening the door they see a long tunnel leading to another door at the edge of their sight. Two tar pits bubble in the chamber. As they watch a bubble in one pit burst and sprays hot tar over a 15-foot area. The group confers and Lakima and Carric agree they will wait for a tar burst and then run past the pits. The plan works and they get past the bubbling tar that seems to burst at regular intervals of time.

At the next door, Carric listens and hears the guttural language of ogres. He warns everyone and steps back. Eathwund and Domago move to the front and shove the door open. They see a large cave. A group of three ogres is seated around a rough plank table eating what looks like a large turkey. A stack of barrels is located behind them. Carric quickly sneaks into the chamber and hides in the shadows. The ogres take no notice of the heroes, the noise of the door opening being masked by the bubbling tar pits.  Growing impatient, Lakima shouts at the ogres from the doorway. One turns to look and spots them. It shrugs and goes back to its food seemingly unconcerned with their presence (the ogres are used to the men working for the Necromancer coming and going and they cannot tell them apart).

Lakima shouts some more asking questions about the man they are chasing and about the necromancer. The ogre responds in simple common that it does not care and does not know of any necromancer. Carric steps out of the shadows and into the line of sight of the ogres. The ogres see the elf and  immediately jump to their feet, “Elves, you not friends, you food!”

The three ogres move to attack but there is only enough room for two of them to get at the heroes. Eathwund and Damago move forward to block the ogres. There is a flurry of blows and both Eathwund and Damago are hit by clubs wielded by the ogres. Eathwund staggers to one knee badly injured but he manages to stand and stay in the fight. Domago casts Bless and Lakima casts Strength on Eathwund. Still, the fight continues to go badly. Eathwund and Domago are hitting the ogres but the ogres are not weakening. Meanwhile, both of the heroes are getting pummeled. Lakima casts Lightning Bolt and both Ogres in the fight are burned and fall dead. The third ogre is badly burned and turns to run shouting at the top of its lungs as it approaches a door leaving the cave. At this moment Carric leaps out from the shadows and stabs the ogre from behind killing it. The ogre's lifeless body topples to the floor in front of the door. Eathwund moves up to the door.

Carric listens at the door. He hears heavy footprints approaching. He reports this and the door is yanked open. A pair of surprised ogres are standing on the other side of the door. One of the ogres says something and then glances down at the dead ogre at Eathwund’s feet and the bloody sword in his hands. The ogre roars and ducks beneath the door lintel attacking Eathwund.

Eathwund manages to hold the single ogre in the doorway. The second ogre is unable to attack. But only Eathwund has room to get in the fight and it starts to go badly for Eathwund. Eventually, Eathwund manages to press the fight to the ogre and it retreats into the next cave. The second ogre can now get into the fight and it moves up. Both Eathwund and Domago are able to get onto the attack. Carric dashes up and spears the ogre while Lakima throws darts. Both ogres fall dead. By now the heroes are all badly injured and Eathwund has to consume a pair of Healing potions.

The group splits up and searches the chamber but they find only stolen human supplies. Nothing of real value. They head north into another chamber with bubbling tar pits. The incessant smoke starts to get to their eyes making vision difficult. Carric opens another door and sees another cave with a bubbling pool of tar in the center. They decide to turn and go another way. Carric leads the way down the tunnel and steps on a tarp covering a pit trap. As the tarp tears and drops him into the pit, he manages to grab the edge and pull himself up. Carric climbs out of the pit and makes his way to another door. Listening at the door he hears movements and the rattling of chains. The rest of the heroes skirt around the pit in the floor and stand by this door. Carric opens the door and they see a small cave. In the cave are seven animated skeletons. Some of the skeletons are manacled to the wall with chains. Domago tries to turn undead and a few of them run from his sight. Others attack but Eathwund makes short work of them. All of the skeletons are destroyed by Eathwund with some help from Domago. Lakima and Carric have a discussion and convince themselves there must be a secret door in the chamber but they are not able to find any sign of one.

Since this appears to be a dead-end, the group heads back to the door leading to the chamber that was filled with thick smoke from a tar pit. Two more exits leave this chamber. Carric spots something shiny on the other side of the tar pit and goes to investigate. He finds an unsheathed longsword that is strangely clean with no sign of rust. The hilt of the sword has been shaped with the form of an unlidded eye on both sides. Cedric offers to cast Detect Magic and does so. He detects that the sword is magical, both improving the welder's skill and some sort of hidden watchfulness.

They head to the right and open a wooden door into a small cave that is clear of smoke and refreshingly cool. Eathwund checks the floor and finds some tracks made by a man who was running. They take the time to rest in this chamber and those whose eyes were red and sore manage to recover. Once the rest is over, they head north through another door. They enter another cave with a bubbling tar pit. The wall to their far-right is bricked up with stone blocks. Carric is immediately suspicious and locates a secret door but he cannot figure out how to open it. Everyone searches for a trigger with Lakima finding a floor stone that can be depressed. The stone wall slides open to one side.

Carric motions for everyone to wait and then silently, and carefully moves into a hallway beyond. The passage is man-made with stone block walls and floor. On the floor, he spots metal chaos symbols that he is immediately suspicious of and warns the others. Then he sees a tripwire crossing between two stone skulls on either wall about one foot above the floor. Carric points it out to the other adventurers still waiting at the secret door. He continues down the hallway and spots another tripwire. Just then two men emerge from around a bend in the hallway and fire arrows at Carric, missing.

Eathwund charges down the hallway to Carric’s defense and Carric retreats toward the secret door. Unfortunately, Eathwund’s sword sheath snaps one of the tripwires, and a gout of flame blasts both he and Carric. Still, a burned Eathwund manages to reach the two men and attack. One of the men appears to be a tall warrior and the other looks like the man they chased from the stone circle on the hill above. The warrior moves forward and strikes Eathwund with his sword. Eathwund groans and falls to the floor unconscious. Domago and Carric race forward to defend their fallen companion followed closely by Lakima. While Carric keeps the warrior at bay, Domago pours his last potion of healing down Eathwund’s throat reviving the fighter. Carric stabs the other man and that man turns and runs away. The warrior yells, “Kert, get back here!”

Eathwund and Domago move in on the man but he backs away. As they follow around the turn in the hallway they see the smaller man has returned and is helping the injured man. Domago and Eathwund advance on them. Seeing that he cannot get away, the injured warrior pushes the man he called Kert away and tells him to flee, “I will hold them, get help!”

Kert vanishes down a side passage and a door can be heard opening. Domago and Carric try to get around the wounded warrior but he blocks them. So with Eathwund they all attack the man and kill him. After the fight, Lakima tells Cedric to use the Black Ring on the man. Domago bristles with anger, “Blasphemy!” Cedric uses the ring anyway and animates the corpse of the warrior into a zombie. They send the zombie through the door that the man Kert had passed through. They do not find Kert in the room beyond but they do see five bedrolls, several crates of supplies, and a large traveling trunk. In the trunk, they find a lot of clothes and some basic weapons.

Carric moves to a door to the south and listens but hears nothing. He opens the door and they let the zombie pass through. Immediately, the zombie is blasted by a magic missile and collapses in a heap. Carric and Eathwund rush into the next room and come right on top of an older man wearing chainmail, holding a sword and a shield. Just behind the man is an old robed woman holding a staff. Nearby, they see a pair of wooden double doors and the man Kert before them. Before they can attack, the woman chants words of magic, and a sticky, almost impassable web fills the room trapping Eathwund and Carric. Domago tries to help and also gets trapped in the sticky strands. Standing in the doorway, Lakima casts Charm Person on Kert and convinces him to attack the old woman. The older man tries to stop Kert but the sneak thief gets past him and stabs the woman. Lakima also casts magic missiles at the woman from his wand. The old warrior attacks Eathwund who is caught up in the webs. Kert stabs and kills the woman and Lakima yells at him to attack the warrior. Kert turns and shouts, “Sure, I was just working for these guys” Lakima also goes around to the back of the webs and casts Aztazibar’s Acrid Finger. The stream of acid burns through the webs and strikes the old warrior. The warrior moves over to the double doors and pounds on them, “Talmea! Let me in. We are under attack out here!” But the doors remain closed.

Realizing the situation is hopeless, the old warrior drops his sword and surrenders. He volunteers little information about himself or who is beyond the doors. But Kert tells them it is the necromancer Talmea Pak on the other side of the doors. He also tells them that the older man is Bragor Stannon, the leader of a group of Adventurers from Makaar Mor. Searching the man they find some loot and a Writ of Adventuring issued by a Baron Raalston of Makaar Mor. The warrior they killed earlier, the old woman, and the old man also all have a strange black mark on the inside of their right wrists. Lakima asks Kert about it and the cheerful thief proudly shows them his unmarked wrist. Lakima asks Cedric to animate the dead body of the old woman. Domago looks shocked. But Cedric tells him he does not want to use up the Ring's charges on an old hag. Bragor looks at Cedric in surprise. “That is not the Black Ring! And you are not Malyn!” He yells it out through the door, “Talmea, they are imposters!” They decide to tie up Bragor and open the doors. Carric finds the doors are latched from the other side but he manages to jiggle the latch loose and open the doors.

The double doors open into a large chamber, a 20-foot square metal chaos symbol lies flat on the stone tiles in the center of the floor. Stone skulls decorate the walls. Several dark alcoves lead off from the chamber. On the other side of the chamber, they see a throne decorated with human skulls. The young woman they met at the standing stones sits on the throne smiling at them. The woman waves them into the room. “Welcome, I am Talmea Pak, and you are imposters!” Cedric winces on hearing that. “You are not Malyn!” She points an accusing finger at Cedric. Cedric sort of half-waves and steps behind Domago.

Lakima steps into the center of the room and then accuses Talmea in turn. “You are not the Necromancer from the letter! So if we are all here on false pretenses we might as well go our own ways.”  Talmea considers this and smiles, “You may go. Leave immediately and unhand Kert and Bragor.”  Lakima tells Talmea that they could kill her. She laughs at his bravado and motions to his right, and an enormous black bear steps menacingly out of a darkened alcove and paces towards them. “Easy Chambra,” she says, “Now you see who is in danger here.”

Lakima agrees to withdraw, and they start to back out of the room taking Bragor with them. Kert races from the room and down the hallway. Then, Talmea casts a spell and the room is dropped into darkness. Only Eathwund is outside of the darkened area leading Bragor the prisoner. They hear the bear pacing through the darkness and a roar followed by a yell of pain from Domago. Lakima and Carric stumble out of the darkness into the hall. They see Eathwund and Bragor but Kert has vanished. Cedric and Domago do not appear at first. Then Domago stumbles from the darkness bleeding from a fresh claw wound to the shoulder. The heroes back away from the darkness, they can hear the bear thudding about in the dark. Lakima asks for a torch and Eathwund pulls one from his pack. Lakima lights the torch and waves both the torch and the Continual Light Staff into the darkness but both cannot penetrate the magical darkness. Just then the bear lunges out of the darkness. Eathwund races to block it from killing Lakima. Lakima drinks a potion of animal control and settles the bear. Lakima spends some time trying to give directions to the bear. He sends it back into the darkness to kill Talmea but nothing happens and it does not return.

Lakima shouts Cedric’s name a few more times and then gives up. The adventurers confer and decide to leave the dungeon. They head back to the secret door and find it closed but opening it from the inside proves fairly easy. They then make their way back through the caves and out into the sunlight. Even with the valley covered in smog, it is much brighter and clearer outside than in the caves. A short distance away, Nash is waiting with their animals, unharmed. He sees how battered and bleeding they are and nervously asks after Cedric. Lakima tells him Cedric was eaten by a bear. They put Bragor on a horse, still tied up, and then head out of the valley. On the way they see skeletons moving about aimlessly, no longer under control apparently. Lakima asks Bragor if the old woman controlled the skeletons but he shakes his head and says, “Talmea”.

On the ride out of the valley to a campsite, Carric talks with Bragor for a while. The man is now a little more forthcoming. He tells Carric he is part of an adventuring company from the Kingdom of Makaar Mor to the north. Carric learns that he is from the area beyond the Valen Peaks that is thought to be a wasteland full of undead. It is known as the Kingdom of the Ghouls to people on this side of the peaks. Lakima asks about the name and Bragor calmly talks about the rebirth as undead that comes to all people in Makaar Mor. The undead creatures live among them. All beholden to the King Lorrgan Makaar. Once they are out of the Valley they make camp. The sun is still well up in the sky but everyone agrees that a rest is needed.

The Dark Ring

This week in our Swords & Wizardry campaign we are actually playing an adventure that I wrought. But I did use a map from Heroic maps. So far it has gone okay. I had a couple of encounters set up for their journey to the main adventure site. I did think the first encounter at the main site was a little clumsy. I should have thought through more carefully what the players might do.

Session 21: Valley of the Nine Men

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Crispin (Human Magic-user NPC).

The four adventurers leave the last hideout of the Veiled Society and head through the forest to the Rangers Steading. They are greeted Theric the leader of the Rangers and discover he has been cured of Lycanthropy by Cara Morrient. He gladly accepts their donations of supplies and takes the keys to the Elven Stronghold to safe keep.

The continue on to the hamlet of Cowfold with the cart they borrowed and three prisoners tied up in the back. In Cowfold they again take rooms at McGillman’s Inn. The three prisoners are tied up to a table in the main tavern and the heroes take turns watching them during the night. The next morning they set out on horseback toward Edgerton. At midday, they come across a body lying at the side of the road. While everyone waits, Carric scouts ahead to the body. He does not see anything suspicious so he waves everyone forward. Domago examines the body and finds the man is alive. He wakes the man up with a splash of water. The man tells them he was waylaid by a pair of bandits. They demanded his possessions and he tried to defend himself but was knocked out. He tells them that the bandits took all of his possessions. Lakima offers to take the man to Edgerton. The man introduces himself as Philbus and he gladly accepts Lakima’s offer. He asks them if they are bounty hunters and seems satisfied with the answer.

Late that evening the group reaches Edgerton. The Town guards at South Gate direct them to the Guard Station. Philbus thanks them and asks if they could spare him some gold? Eathwund gives Philbus 10 gold coins. Phibus waves goodbye and runs off. Carric silently drops off his horse and follows Philbus. Lakima and Eathwund continue on to the guard station. Domago heads over to the Church of St. Aleena. Lakima and Eathwund talk with the Guard sergeant on duty and hand over the three Veiled Society prisoners.

Meanwhile, Philbus, with Carric trailing him, heads to a rougher neighborhood and enters a building that appears to be a busy tavern. There is no sign outside the building but there are lights in the windows and a lot of noise. Carric carefully enters and finds the building houses a crowded tavern. He spots Philbus speaking to the barkeep. The barkeep nods to Philbus and hands him a key. Philbus goes behind the bar and through a curtained entrance. Carric notes this and leaves. That evening at the Black Company Shop, Carric lets Eathwund and Lakima know what he observed.

The next day, Lakima and Eathwund head to the Watch station, Carric heads off to gather information. Lakima and Eathwund meet with Sergeant Frans and collect the 1,200 gold bounty on Emil Radu and the other two men. They tell Frans about their encounter with Philbus. Frans tells them that it sounds like they encountered the thief Philbus the Fox. Carric scouts around the Market square looking for any of his contacts but does not find them. He heads over to the Low Market and observes a group of urchins working through the crowd, begging and thieving. He talks to the urchins and pays them some silver coins for information. He learns that the tavern he entered is called the Brass Key and is run by a man called “Old Pete” by the kids. They tell him that Pete is a fence.

Carric heads back to the shop and speaks with Eathwund about what he has learned. Eathwund tells Carric about Philbus the Fox. Lakima heads over to Fairfax gems and purchases an expensive bracelet for his fiance Alayna. He drops by Alayna’s shop and surprises her with the bracelet, which she seems delighted to receive.

While Lakima is out, there is a knock at the door and Carric finds a young man waiting at the door. The man seems surprised to meet Carric and asks to come in and talk to Lakima, Eathwund, or Daen. Carric lets the man in and Eathwund at first believes the man is Malyn the wizard but again with the appearance of a young man. But after speaking to the man who claims to be Malyn, Eathwund begins to become suspicious. When Lakima finally arrives, he quickly deduces the man is not Malyn. The man admits this and tells them his name is Crispin. He has been hired by Malyn to impersonate him. He asks them to accompany him to the Apothecary shop. They are still a little suspicious and refuse. The man leaves.

Later in the day, a fairly terse letter arrives from Malyn asking them to come by the shop. They do head over to the shop with Domago (who returned) and find the shop is still closed. They knock and a tall, armored man lets them into the shop. In the shop Malyn (still looking around 40 years old) and Crispin greet them. Malyn tells them that it is time to investigate the note he received. He wants them to accompany Crispin to the Standing Stones. Crispin will be impersonating him. He does hand a Black Ring of his hand to Crispin and asks them to carefully protect it. It would be best if it does not fall into the wrong hands. They agree to take on the task as a favor in return for a favor. Malyn agrees. They decide to set out immediately. They arrange for their ostler Nash to meet them and they stop by the Church of St. Cuthbert to meet Marta. Marta gives them 5 vials of Holy Water.

They set out from Edgerton out the north gate and follow the road along the Valen river for a few hours. Then Carric leads them off the trail in a northerly direction. They head across increasingly rough and deserted terrain to the north. This continues for hours until Carric pauses. Ahead, he spots a clearing, a mound of fresh-turned earth, and a dead horse lying on the ground near the mound. The heroes are immediately on guard. Carric circles the mound and approaches the horse. He spots a leg sticking out from under the horse, but when he gets closer he realizes it is a severed human leg without a body. Under the horse, he extricates a saddlebag. In the bag he finds a scroll tube with a note:

“Draxus has left Edgerton with protection. He has hired a group of adventurers called The Company of the Black Dragon. We have encountered this group before and they are dangerous.

King Rat”

While the group discusses the note they here rumbling beneath their feet and an enormous insect bursts from the ground nearby. The insect immediately attacks Eathwund and misses. Eathwund, Domago, and Carric all miss the nine-foot-tall insect. Lakima casts Aztazibar’s Acrid Finger and a stream of green acid shoots from his finger striking the insect, burning into its carapace. Domago hits the insect with his mace but it bounces off the hard carapace. The insect attacks Domago but misses. All of this time Lakima keeps his stream of acid on the insect continually burning it. Eathwund and Domago also strike the creature with Domago crushing its head with his strike. The creature twitches and collapses. Carric checks out the hole it emerged from but it does not look safe so he does not enter. They do take the time to chop away a large piece of the insect’s carapace. Then they rejoin Nash, Crispin, and the horses and continue on their way. They make camp in the field just before sundown.

The night is uneventful. They post watches but nothing disturbs them. The set out the next morning for the valley. On their right, the Northern Hills are visible and they spot the Valen Peaks ahead. Carric tells them that soon they should spot the smoke coming from the Valley of the Nine Men. Shortly after he says that they do see smoke, but it is too the north of them not in the direction of the valley they seek. Carric says that it looks like a large campfire. The discuss it and then decide to investigate. They want to be sure no one is following them. They find the source of the fire a short distance away. A small log cabin is on fire and the fire is slowly going out. Around the cabin, they see three dead goblins and a dead human. Carric spots a mule with heavy packs on its back in a nearby clearing eating grass. Nash is sent over to catch it. Domago checks that the human is dead. The man is badly, burned, and long since dead. He clutches a burnt crossbow. The goblins are each pierced by an iron crossbow bolt. As they stand about discussing the scene a volley of arrows flies from the trees aimed at all of them. One bounces off Eathwund’s shield. Another strikes Nash, and the ostler falls to the ground. Lakima yells at Domago to check on Nash. Carric finds cover in the burnt-out cabin. Lakima casts Shield on himself. Eathwund charges into the trees looking for the attackers. He immediately finds himself surrounded by a dozen goblins - many armed with short bows.  The goblins attack him from all sides with spears and swords but Eathwund easily parries their attacks. Lakima casts Lightning bolt and immolates five of the goblins instantly. Eathwund, meanwhile, slashes at the goblins and kills three quickly. The remaining goblins run away. Eathwund decides not to pursue.

Domago and Nash lead the mule over to the cabin. They find some bear pelts and other miscellaneous goods strapped onto the mule. They take the mule in tow and continue to the east. Just as the smell of the tar pits of the valley begins to be noticeable the sun starts to set and they make camp.

That night they are disturbed several times by large bats flying by but seemingly kept away by their fire and torches. They manage to make it through the night. The next day they enter the Valley of the Nine Men. A thick cloud of smog rolls over them. The cloud smells bitter and it makes breathing difficult. A few of the heroes strap clothes wetted with water over their mouths. The visibility begins to drop as they walk further through the smog. The sun becomes a dim orange globe in the sky above. As they move cautiously through the valley they see the occasional bubbling tar pit. Carric spots a troop of six skeletons walking in a formation. They avoid them and then another group of eight skeletons moving in two columns. Crispin nervously notes that the skeletons were likely animated by a necromancer.

The Nine Men finally come into a view. Nine, black stone rocks each 14 feet tall. The stones are in a rough stone circle atop a flattened hill. In the center are a patch of rock and a crude stone altar. The Nine rocks do not look like the same stone as the local rock. They climb the hill and approach the circle. Crispin and Lakima approach the simple altar. They hear shrill laughter echoing about the circle. Then a woman appears out of nowhere not 10 feet away from Crispin. She surveys the group and then demands Crispin (who she calls Malyn) hand over the black ring. Crispin nervously fingers the ring on his hand. Lakima confronts the woman and demands to see her master. She refuses and threatens them. When she is unable to convince them to part with the ring she casts a spell and flies thirty feet straight up into the air. Eathwund spots a man jump down from the top of one of the stones and run off toward a nearby tunnel mouth in the side of the hill. He intercepts and swings his sword and the man, but the man ducks under the swing and gets away. The woman yells threats at them and then vanishes.

The Circle of the Nine Men

Eathwund, Domago, Carric, and Lakima with a reluctant Crispin in tow head over to the tunnel mouth. They tell Nash to wait outside with the horses. The tunnel is 15 feet across and 12 feet high. Steps lead down to a double door made of oak. The steps are 4 feet wide and 2 feet tall. Eathwund notes that the entrance looks to be designed for some really large creature.

Programmed Solo Adventures

 I bought a few solo system adventures from Pacesetter Games & Simulations. I have a long history with this style of solo play. The first one I purchased and played was M1: Blizzard Pass in 1983. I recalled enjoying actually getting a chance to play. I was our game group DM and I never got a chance to be a player. It was not the same of course. The most disappointing thing was that when my hero was killed entering with a new hero was not really the same. I also quickly used up the invisible ink revealing pen and never got to see everything in the adventure. When I purchased M2: Maze of the Riddling Minotaur later that same year I carefully managed the ink of the pen and completed the adventure. I recall that the Riddling Minotaur module had an amazing maze map spread over two pages.

Later I would buy MV1: Midnight on Dagger Alley (1984) that had a magic viewer. Basically, the text to be revealed could only be seen by looking through a red-tinted viewer. I still have that viewer. I do not remember much about this adventure. The ones that followed, BS1: Ghost of Lion's Castle and XS1: Lathan's Gold (both 1984) changed the format away from the hidden text. They became programmed text like pick-your-path adventure gamebooks. The last one I played was XS2: Thunderdelve Mountain (1985). I recall I could never get through Thunderdelve alive despite multiple attempts.

I have a few of the Tunnels & Trolls solo adventures and a few from some other companies and systems but none stand out.

So the other day I tried my hand at Pacesetter Games & Simulations, I1: Grave of the Green Flame. I have the fourth printing from March 2020. According to the text it was originally published in 2011. The solo system included uses the OSRIC rules.

You can roll up any AD&D 1st edition character to start. No matter who you roll up and equip, you will start naked by the side of the road ambushed by brigands. A worker for an Innkeeper finds you and brings you to the Inn. The innkeeper agrees to equip you if you will find and kill the brigands who are bad for business.

The system uses lettered and numbered encounters to move the story along. You also get snippets of the overland map in each lettered area that allows you to slowly build a map of the area. You move along a trail from area to area. The trails cross one another so there are a lot of directions you can go.

I rolled up a 1st level Half-elven fighter I named Raelin Windstriker. Raelin did okay on his first day in the woods. He found an altar in the woods that enchanted his sword, he found a potion of healing (that was key), a few fights, and he tracked down the three brigands who waylaid him in the introductory text. Raelin was blocked several times from heading south by a wall of poisonous green mist. I never figured out how to pass it until after play when I read through the entire module.

On the second day, things took a turn for the worse. Raelin returned to the Inn the night before and recovered a hit point but he was still down to half. Then he had a disastrous encounter with three lowly centipedes. After that encounter ended Raelin was down to 4 hp and actively avoiding combat. He entered a barrow despite some misgivings and found a lot of treasure and no guards. But when he left he encountered a Shadow (3+3 HD). The text suggested fight or return the treasure. Raelin was not about to return the hard-earned treasure so he fought, and quickly lost and died.

Raelin decides to fight to keep the loot

Was the adventure fun? A little.

I find that after playing a solo game using an oracle and being my own gamemaster that I have come to expect a lot more freedom. Playing programmed adventures limits your choices. Often you only have two choices and to keep it interesting the right choice sometimes does not make a lot of sense. I was repeatedly punished for being cautious. I scouted a cabin in the woods and stepped on a stick alerting the bandits inside. I checked a stream carefully before crossing twice, and both times I got hit with a Wandering monster roll. There is also, really no real ability to reuse a programmed adventure. You are going to remember the right choices to make.

It is not very expensive on DrivThru RPG so I think it is still worth the single evenings distraction of playing.

When the Players turn Left

On Sunday's Swords & Wizardry session (#20) I had the time-honored tradition of the players surprising the GM. When you are playing an online game with a lot of dungeon crawling this can be a real problem. I managed to ad-lib through it.

After last week, when the players learned of the location of the hideout of the Veiled Society, I expected they would head straight for the hideout. It was a short dungeon adventure so the day before play I added a little to it and I made sure the next adventure was ready. The party lost the NPC Dwarf Fighter they had for melee punch in the previous week so I had some NPCs added to the next adventure.

Instead, the players voted to return to Edgerton to recover from their injuries and recruit some hirelings. They figured that the Veiled Society was in hiding and would not be going anywhere. They paid town-criers and bulletin boards to advertise for a "group chaplain". If I had a little more time I might have had them get an imposter or something. But I just made up a human cleric off the top of my head with the first name I spotted online, Domago. Then they hired the local ostler's stable boy to be a horse handler for them. After several days in Edgerton, fully recovered, they returned to the King's Wood to deal with the Veiled Society. On the plus side, I am all ready for next week.

Session 20: The Veiled Society Hideout

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elf Thief), Damago (Human Cleric of St. Aleena).

Finally, after a few days in Edgerton the Company of the Black Dragon sets out south for Cowfold. They make it to Cowfold as evening approaches without incident. The innkeeper mentions that one of the Rangers of Arkwood did come to the hamlet and pick up supplies. 

The next day the four adventurers and their hireling set out with Carric leading the way. Carric tells them that he remembers the path to the former Elven watch post that they have discovered the Veiled Society is using as a hideout.  They arrive at the site just before the sun goes down and make a cold camp a short distance away. From the outside, the outpost looks deserted. There is a single entranceway into the cliff face. They decide to approach it the next morning when the sun is up.

Domago and Lakima take the first watch. Domago sets out to hide just outside the campsite. Carric keeps a suspicious eye on the newcomer. Shortly after the sun goes down and the forest goes dark they spot a flickering light in the direction of the cliff outpost. Then everyone who is awake hears a pair of voices in the forest nearby. Domago goes to investigate and Carric secretly and silently follows him. They spot a pair of men dressed as mercenaries openly talking, apparently not concerned that they could be spotted. The men are walking back toward the watch post carrying a dead rabbit. Domago goes back to report what he saw with Carric shadowing him. Carric suggests that he sneak up on the men to see where they go.

Carric heads for the flickering light and comes upon a campfire near the base of a rock face a short distance from the outpost entrance. Four men are tending the fire and preparing the rabbit to cook it. The men discuss their unhappiness with their leadership and the names Emil and Antonito Radu are mentioned. He heads back to the camp and reports his findings. The adventurers decide to sleep on it and investigate the next day.

In the daylight, they investigate the rockface near the entrance to the watch post looking for another way in. Eventually, they do find the outline of a secret door near the cold firepit but they are unable to open it. The group discusses whether to wait and see if they can ambush some of the men when they exit the secret door or just go in the obvious entrance right now. They decide to wait.

As evening comes they wait in the forest near where they spotted the secret door. After sunset, the door opens and a man emerges. He starts to get a fire going in the firepit. Another man emerges and joins him. Then a third emerges and heads out into the woods. The heroes spit-up. Carric and Domago follow the man into the woods and Eathwund and Lakima move closer to the fire. After observing it for a few minutes, Lakima casts sleep, and one of the men tending the fire slumps over asleep. His companion notices and walks over to shake him awake. Lakima emerges from the shadows and casts Charm Person on him. The man falls under the thrall of the charm spell. Meanwhile, in the woods, Carric and Domago ambush the remaining man. They kill him after a brief struggle in which Carric is badly injured. Domago casts Cure Light Wounds on Carric to restore him to health. Back at the campsite Lakima’s newly charmed friend questions the shouting he can hear in the woods but Lakima assures him it is nothing.

Carric and Domago return to the fire. Lakima motions to Carric to slit the throat of the sleeping man by Domago puts a hand on Carric’s arm and shakes his head. They agree to tie up and gag the man instead. With the secret door still propped open Lakima bids the charmed man to lead them into the hideout. They come into a corridor and the man tells them to be quiet because the boss’s room is nearby. He leads them down the corridor to a guardroom to introduce them to his fellow guards. 

“Hey fellows, you won’t believe who I ran into. It is those guys who caused us all those problems in Edgerton. But once you get to know them you realize they are great guys!”

There are three guards in the room, two at a table and a third in a bed. All of them are completely surprised. Domago and Eathwund rush in to attack and Carric dispatches the sleeping man. The man who was charmed becomes alarmed and attacks Carric. A bloody battle ensues and the two remaining men are killed. Knowing that the leader’s room is nearby the adventurers decide to head over to his chambers first. But before they can find the room they hear a door close a short distance away. Soon a guard comes down the corridor toward them. They set up an ambush and chase the man into the guardroom. Once he sees all of the dead bodies waiting there he agrees to surrender. He is bound and gagged and left in the chamber.

Carric checks a door in the hallway and hears nothing so he opens the door. As the door opens he sees the wire trigger for a trap he just triggered. A barrage of arrows fires out of the wall and he is struck several times and badly wounded. Domago gives him two potions of healing to recover. Chagrined, Carric carefully checks the next door. It does not appear to be trapped. Opening the door they find a storeroom piled high with crates and barrels. They check the other door in this area and find it is locked. Carric tries but he is unable to open the lock. Eathwund tries forcing the door but it is solid. Lakima suggests they try bluff the door open. Eathwund yells for Antonito (whom they surmise is behind the door) telling him they are under attack. They hear a flurry of activity through the door and then the sound of a distant door shutting.

Just then they hear more voices and footfalls coming from the direction of the guardroom. Heading back that way they see three men walking toward them. They immediately launch an attack on the men. The man at the back of the group turns and runs off into the darkness, the closest man advances with his sword ready. There is an exchange of sword thrusts. Then a fourth man emerges from an open door in the wall and casts a magic spell. The third man in the hallway chants a prayer. Once the prayer is complete Eathwund finds he is paralyzed and cannot move while Lakima fights it off. Lakima then casts Lightning bolt which bounces down the corridor hitting all three of his opponents. The cleric is killed instantly by the blast of lightning. The mage and the fighter survive but are badly burned. Eathwund then kills the fighter and advances menacingly on the mage who immediately surrenders. He tells them he is Emil Radu, one of the leaders of the Veiled Society. Emil tries to bargain for his release with the promise of passing over his stash of gold. He also gives them a key to Antonito’s chamber. Meanwhile, Carric and Eathwund run into darkness after the man who ran away. They find him in a stable trying to saddle a horse. They tell him to surrender but he attacks desperately and they end up killing him.

Taking stock of the situation the adventurers figure there must be a back entrance into Antonito’s chamber. The question Emil and he agrees but tells them he does not know where it would be located. They search and find a secret passage headed in the right direction. Carric and Lakima enter the secret passage while Domago and Eathwund head for the locked door. The key works on the door and they enter a large circular chamber with a raised platform. Eathwund climbs up to the platform just as Lakima and Carric enter through a secret door at the back of the platform. The chamber is well decorated but shows signs of being recently ransacked. There is no sign of Antonito. The adventurers realize that the head of the Veiled Society has gotten away.

Emil continues to try and bargain for his release but he loses his bargaining power when the heroes search his quarters and find the gold stash. They pack up all of the gold they find and also pack up a lot of the supplies onto a cart. They decide that they should drop by the Rangers Steading and give the supplies to the Rangers.

With the cart loaded with supplies and three prisoners, they head back to their camp.

One Page Solo Engine

Another round of playing using the Glaive RPG rules that I got from backing a kickstarter. The last time I used the rules to play solo and my character was killed in his first encounter. This time things went about as smoothly as you could possibly hope.

I used the same setting of Frostmarch. In fact, this is a continuation of the events in Brem Lonetree's story. This time I used the One Page Solo Engine written by Karl Hendriks that I found online somewhere. These rules are exactly what you would expect from the title. A single landscape page pdf that encompasses all you need to play solo. Those familiar with other oracles will find it is very similar. The big plus of these rules as they have everything you need on one page. Scene setting, yes/no oracle, Complex questions using a regular deck of cards, NPC reactions, and finally a simple dungeon crawler.  I tried out as much of the tools as I could jam into one session.

It worked well. I really like these rules. Especially how compact they are.

Arven Reed’s Story

It was another freezing cold day. Reed chopped wood just outside the tower. The wood chopping had the benefit of keeping him active and warm, and if he chopped enough, he could keep the tower warm the entire night. He dropped the ax on another log splitting it in half. Reaching down to pick up the wood he thought he could hear something. He paused. The wind was not very brisk today, but it was cold.

“Reed!”

Reed definitely herd his master Zoquill this time. He picked up the ax and jogged quickly into the tower. Zoquill’s tower was very tall with a room for Reed at the base and a long stair up the inside of the tower to the three floors of rooms near the top where his master lived.

“Reed get up here!”

Reed was out of breath when he finally made it up the forty feet of steps to the lowest level. There was no sign of Zoquill in his bed-chamber so he continued up the stairs to the workroom and on up to the study just under the roof of the tower. Zoquill was here looking out a window with his telescope.

“Stupid Messenger is in trouble,” Zoquill said and gestured for Reed to look. Reed carefully looked through the telescope making sure not to bump it. Through the blurry glass, he could make out a dark spot on the snow in a clearing. “I don’t see anything master?”

“Humph, be that as it may. The messenger from Greenvale with our supplies and more importantly my books was waylaid by goblins. You need to go retrieve the supplies.”

Reed glanced at the sun through one of the windows. It was a few hours from setting. “I will set out first thing at dawn,” he said cautiously.

“You will go now and come back with my books or do not come back at all.”

Reed's heart sank. He had heard that note of finality before. There was no use arguing. He went back down to his quarters and grabbed the heavy blanket he used when out in the cold. Drawing it over his head. He also belted on the old sword he had owned for years. Finally, he carefully buckled his three spellbooks to his belt. The last thing he grabbed was a covered lamp. It was going to get dark soon.

Reed sets out into the Thin Thorns Forest

Scene 1 Travel: Find the Messenger

Is Reed able to find the messenger (unlikely)? Yes.

Are there any supplies remaining at the scene (unlikely)? No.

Are there tracks he can follow (likely)? Yes.

Arven Reed manages to find the spot in the snow in an open clearing where the messenger from Greenvale lay dead in the snow. The man is already starting to freeze. There was a look of surprise frozen on his face. Looking about Reed sees that all of the supplies have been taken. The sled appears to be intact. Tracks lead off into the trees of at least two goblins. Reed briefly looks at the dead man wondering who he is and what he wanted out of life. This is no time or place to bury the body so he salutes the body mutters an apology and follows the tracks left by the goblins.

Reed follows the tracks left by the Goblins. It grows dark and cold. Ahead he sees a cave.

Have the goblins left a guard (likely)? Yes. 

Two goblins guard the cave entrance. Reed opens a spellbook and casts Sleep on the two guards. They both fall into slumber (they failed their saving throw and will sleep for 1 turn). He is unable to retain the use of the spell (Reed has the talent Manifold Cerebrum which gives him a chance to retain a spell after casting it).

Scene 2 Dungeon Crawler: The Goblin Caves

Reed sneaks up and enters the cave. There are two tunnels heading in opposite directions. 

Can Reed see any recent tracks (likely)? Yes. 

He heads down the right tunnel which appears to have seen more traffic. The tunnel enters a cave that looks like a living area. There are two exits including the one he entered. A human dressed in leather armor is seated on a stool at a simple table. The man spots Reed and jumps to his feet. “Who are you?” Thinking quickly, Reed says, "Relax, I am here for the same reason you are." (I rolled a 5 on the encounter which is neutral or friendly NPC).

Open-ended question - (Creating, Social). 

"What? I thought I was the only envoy that was sent?" Reed answers that he is here to pick up something. The man seems suspicious but Reed is able to move past him and down the new tunnel. The man moves to follow but then thinks better of it and sits back down.

Reed walks down the tunnel and comes to an intersection. One passage heads back toward what he suspects is the other tunnel coming from the entrance. There is also a goblin here sitting on a stool. But the goblin is dosing (again I rolled a neutral encounter). Reed sneaks by him.

Reed quietly enters a larger cave. There are several wooden crates stacked against the wall and one is the crate from Greenvale that he is trying to find (I rolled a location for a specialized purpose). The light from his lamp startles a goblin rummaging through an open crate. The goblin puts his hands up to show that he has no weapons (amazingly I rolled a third neutral encounter). Reed takes out his spellbook and casts Charm. The goblin fails a saving throw and  Reed retains charm in his memory.

Reed tries speaking to the goblin but the creature does not understand him. He checks in the crate and sees that most of the food is gone but the books, magic components, and writing implements remain. He checks through the other crates and sees blankets, clothing, and other winter gear. Taking two blankets he wraps up everything in two bundles. He also grabs a small pouch he spots that has four gems in it. Reed hands the two bundles to his new goblin friend and waves at the goblin to follow.

He heads out what he is certain is the more direct route to the exit of the cave (the dungeon crawler indicated one exit leads to an area already mapped). His goblin friend follows carrying the two bundles of gear.

Are the goblins at the cave exit awake now (normal)? No.

Thankfully the goblins at the cave are still asleep. Reed calmly walks past them and heads out into the night with his goblin friend. After 10 minutes he casts Charm again to keep his goblin friend under control, (success) and makes it all of the way to the abandoned sled. Realizing the goblin is going to snap out of the charm soon. Reed points the goblin back towards its home and waves goodbye. Reed sets out pulling the sled. The goblin happily waves until disappearing from Reed's sight.

Does he make it to the tower without further trouble (likely)? Yes. 

Reed makes it back to the tower before the sun rises. Zoquill is asleep so he unpacks the supplies in the blankets and heads to his own bed to sleep.

Reed and a friend leave the Goblin caves

A Wizard's Fate

Another session in the mash-up adventure I wrote that takes place in a large forest. After the last adventure two of the party members were infected with Lycanthropy. Since they were both demi-humans this was a potential death sentence. For this reason, the players wanted to get back to town as quickly as possible and get a cure. This means they set aside the original reason they came to the forest - tracking down the remaining members of the Veiled Society. I had anticipated this possibility. I could have had them go back to Town and try to get the Church to cure their two companions. But at the last minute (the day before the game) I decided to plug in an adventure.

I was a subscriber to Dungeon magazine from the start and one of the adventures that I remembered was "A Wizard's Fate" from issue 37 from 1992. Written by Christopher Perkins well before he had joined Wizards I assume.

The adventure is a short dungeon crawl through a dungeon beneath a wizard's tower that recently exploded. The formerly evil wizard had fallen in love with a local woman and his demonic familiar sabotaged a perfume he was making for her destroying the wizard and the tower. The woman comes to look for the wizard and the imp captures her. A few rooms with tricks and traps and an evil imp working things in the background.

I switched the location from a remote tower to the mayor's home in the hamlet of Cowfold. In the description of Cowfold the mayor is noted as a mage hiding from his past. So it all fit. It went quite well and everyone had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the favorite NPC Daen Shieldbreaker the dwarven fighter was bitten by a spider and failed his save and died. That was upsetting to the party. I did not make too many changes to the adventure as originally written. I made some of the monsters tougher given that the heroes were 4-5 level and I ad-libbed some changes to match the mood. Below is a Session report of how it went.

Daen is poisoned by a Giant spider

Session 19: Trouble in Cowfold

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elf Thief), Daen (Dwarf Fighter NPC).

The players have spent the night at the Rangers Steading in the forest. Another ranger stricken with lycanthropy returns to the compound that morning. The adventurers decide to put off going to the suspected stronghold of the Veiled Society and head back to Cowfold. Upon entering Cowfold they immediately notice that the Mayor’s house, the only stone building in the hamlet, has been completely destroyed. A thin shell of stone remains. Bits of wood debris is scattered all over the hamlet. They see a small crowd of locals is outside the ruin and a pair of men can be seen in the ruin apparently searching for survivors.

The Ruins of the Mayor's Home

The Innkeeper's wife Karina tells them that the people of the hamlet were awakened by a tremendous boom in the middle of the night. Then flaming debris pelted the houses in the village. They first put out the fires and then her husband and the blacksmith checked out the mayor’s house. They did not find any survivors but they did find a circular stair going down. They returned to their homes for the rest of the night. In the morning Karina discovered that her daughter Tamra was missing. Karina became certain that Tamra went down the stairs in the ruin so she told her husband. The Innkeeper Ethan and Nell the blacksmith went to the ruin to check.

As they stand and watch with the villagers there is a cry of pain from one of the men. Soon after they can see Nell struggling to drag an unconscious Ethan from the ruin. They see that Ethan is unconscious and has a large swollen mark on the back of his neck from a sting. Karina sends one of the villagers to get the local healer Cedric Morrient. Cedric and his wife Cara return and examine Ethan. Cedric tells them that Ethan is still alive but just barely. He smooths a poultice on Ethan’s neck while Cara holds his hand and chants a prayer at a whisper. Immediately they see the swelling go down and Ethan starts to breathe normally, although he does not regain consciousness.

The Blacksmith tells them that Ethan was standing beside him and called out and then fell. He did not see anything. Watching the Morrient's work on Ethan Lakima asks Cedric if he is a healer. Cedric says he knows a few old recipes that sometimes work. The adventurers tell Cedric about the lycanthropy curse that has befallen the Rangers. He is shocked, but recovers and tells them he will put together some supplies and head to the Rangers to help them as soon as they find Tamra. Lakima asks if Cedric can cure lycanthropy and he claims that he can. Then the adventurers tell Cedric that Daen and Carric both have lycanthropy but have not turned yet.

Cedric says that the ingredients for the potion are hard to come by. He can cure one of them today and the other tomorrow. If they agree to descend the stairs and look for Tamra. They agree. Cedric gives Carric a potion to drink that tastes like slightly sweet water. He checks his throat with his hand and Cara says a quiet prayer. Then he proclaims Carric healed and Carric does feel much better. Lakima watches closely and comes to the conclusion that the healing is actually being done by Cara's praying but he does not say anything.

Then the adventurers ready their gear and descend down the circular staircase. Daen estimates that the stair descends thirty feet below the village. The stonework is not dwarven or human. It almost appears that it was created with magic. Carric takes the lead but steps on a floor plate trigger in the first corridor they enter. The walls here are painted with mosaics of runes that disguise a stone block in the wall that slowly starts closing. Carric asks if they are in or out and they all decide to duck past the stone further into the dungeon. The dungeon is dark, except for the light cast by Lakima’s Continual Flame Staff. The corridor enters a room with a statue of a demon at the far end. Four doors enter the room, two of which are open. As they stand in the chamber they hear loud, demonic, laughter. A moment later a huge demon appears in a burst of flame. Lakima casts Mirror Image, Daen and Eathwund attack and miss. Carric makes his way to one of the doors. The demon moves to attack Lakima and misses one of the projected images. Then Eathwund slashes the demon with his sword and it vanishes. Lakima is not certain but he suggests it might have been a phantasmal force. Carric looks into the two rooms with open doors and sees a pile of rubble. Then he opens and swings wide the door to another chamber. A net above the door releases a number of cast iron pots and pans that bang to the floor harmlessly. This is another room full of rubble and he sees some partially eaten rats and a live rat that ducks into a hole. Carric checks out the demon statue but does not find anything of interest.

They decide to open the last door and they find another corridor and several doors. They turn back and go south and find a strange stone door with a large keyhole in the mouth of a gargoyle head. Carric tries to unlock it but cannot. Eathwund, who is at the back of the group, hears a tapping noise from the direction they checked earlier. They head over to investigate and discover the tapping is coming from behind one of the doors. But the door is locked and Carric is unable to open it. Daen chops at one of the doors twice with his ax but the door is ironbound and solid. They decide to head back to the room with the demon statue to check for a key. Lakima checks the statue and spots that the head can be rotated and removed. In the neck of the statue, he finds a pair of spell scrolls and a large iron key. They also check the rubble in the three rooms that adjoin the statue chamber and find a key ring with two keys, an unbroken jar containing rose petals, and a carefully hidden sack full of coins, other items, and a pair of keys that seem to fit on the key ring. They return to the stone door and Carric places the iron key in the lock and turns it. The door and the key vanish as if they were an illusion. But a short distance in front of them is another stone door. This one is round, there is a single keyhole in the center of the door.

They return to the locked door to the room the tapping noise was coming from. Eathwund takes the keyring and on the second try finds a key that works. He opens the door and they see the missing girl Tamra sitting motionless at a writing desk guarded by two enormous, humanoid skeletons armed with battleaxes. As soon as they step into the chamber the skeletons attack. Daen is struck once but they manage to destroy both skeletons, Eathwund with his mace, Daen using his war hammer, and Carric using a sling they just found. When the last skeleton falls they find a large, wooden key in its chest.

The key is cut in the same pattern as the large, iron key. Lakima looks at Tamra closely and sees that she is breathing but her eyes are not moving or blinking. On the table in front of her is a family journal. Lakima tells Eathwund that he needs to kiss Tamra to awaken her. Eathwund is uncertain and instead first picks up Tamra’s hand. The young woman immediately snaps out of her trance and asks, “Where am I”? They explain to Tamra where she is, and she tells them that she went to investigate the ruin early in the morning before her parents were awake because she was worried about her “friend” Roland Sammus the mayor. The journal is that of Roland and his ancestors. In the journal, they find a loose parchment with the word “kizzimic” written on it. Tamra reads a few passages and learns that Roland was in love with her and wanted to marry her and take her away somewhere. But first, he needed to banish his demonic familiar. She also finds earlier passages written by Roland’s father, Elzid. The passages suggest his father was completely evil. Roland also seems to have done some questionable things. Tamra tells them that she had no idea Roland was a magic-user. She does know he knew a few things about alchemy and he promised to make her an enchanting perfume. She gives the journal to Eathwund who puts it in Daen’s pack.

Tamra asks Eathwund to lead her out of the dungeon. She is concerned her parents will be looking for her. Eathwund tells her they are trapped in the dungeon behind a stone barrier. They will just have to find a way out. Carric uses the keys and unlocks another door. The chamber they enter has a summoning circle and a lectern facing it. A piece of parchment on the lectern appears to be an incantation for returning summoned creatures to their home plane.

Carric takes the wooden key and tries it on the round, stone door. The door and the key vanish just like on the previous door. But they see the passage is blocked by a third, diamond-shaped door with a keyhole in the center. There is also an inscription that reads, “Let he who would enter speak his name.” They head down the corridor to another wood door. It is locked and Carric is unable to open it. Daen strikes it with his ax and a cloud of soot bursts from behind the door. After a few more strikes he breaks open the door. The chamber beyond is a library destroyed by fire. Charred books and shelves are all that remain. But while searching the chamber, Carric discovers a secret door. They open the door and see a corridor leading to a chamber covered in spider webs. Daen lights a torch and throws it into the webs. The webs slowly start burning and they hear the sound of glass breaking. A few moments later, four spiders covered in burns drop to the floor and charge toward them. Daen bravely tries to hold the doorway but he is bitten twice by the spiders and he collapses.

The other three adventurers and Tamra back away from the spiders. Eathwund attacks and kills three of the spiders. Carric gets the other one. They check on Daen, but the dwarf is breathing his last breaths. He dies a few moments later. They pull Daen aside against the wall and remove some items from his pack. Eathwund makes a promise to Daen that he will return and carry him out of the dungeon as soon as they find the way out.

Lakima waves at Carric to follow him and the two do a careful search of the room full of webs. Carric finds a secret door but it is blocked from opening by rubble. Eathwund comes over and moves the rubble aside. The door opens enough to give Carric access. Beyond the door a chest sites in a small chamber. Carric picks the lock and yells out, “success” as the lock opens. Unfortunately, that cry of success is followed by a cry of pain as a burst of flame pours over the elven thief. He brushes himself off and opens the chest. Inside they find some treasure, including a wand and more spell scrolls and they find a large brass key in a familiar pattern. Lakima hands Carric a potion of healing which the elf drinks immediately.

When they return and try the brass key on the stone door it does turn but nothing happens. Lakima calls out “kizzimic” but nothing happens. Then Lakima asks Tamra for the name of the other wizard in the journal. She says, “You mean Elzid?” As she speaks that name the door and the key vanish. Beyond is a circular chamber. They are through the doors at last.

The three remaining heroes advance to the edge of the chamber and peer in while they motion Tamra back around a corner in the corridor. In the chamber they see five metal spheres floating four feet off the floor. On the wall are paintings of three fighters, a human, a dwarf, and an elf. They slowly enter the room and look around. As Lakima approaches one of the metal spheres he notes that they all have a seam about their middle. He reaches out and touches the metal sphere and the three paintings vanish. Three figures that look like the paintings appear before them and attack.

The elven warrior attacks Eathwund, the dwarf warrior attacks Lakima, and the human warrior attacks Carric. Eathwund is the first to hit one of the guardians. Dust pours from the wounds rather than blood. Carric manages to strike the human once, but then an imp appears in flying in the air behind him. Lakima turns and casts a lightning bolt bouncing down the corridor striking the unlucky imp. The imp is badly injured and flies into the chamber to attack Lakima and try to sting him. It succeeds in striking one of the mirror images.

After several rounds of combat Eathwund destroys the elf which collapses in a cloud of dust. The human fighter attacks Carric and hits him twice. Things look desperate for Carric but Eathwund arrives and helps dispatch the human. The dwarf attacks Lakima and his four remaining projections. The dwarf manages to dispel two of the projections and hit Lakima once before Carric and Eathwund help destroy the last guardian. Lakima hits the imp with his dagger and kills it.

Lakima opens one of the metal spheres and finds it is hollow. Inside is a parchment with the nonsense words “thossum” and “thissus” written on it. There is also a small pouch full of rubies. He speaks the words and the stone doors appear and then disappear again. The second sphere is opened and is found to hold several spell scrolls. The third sphere appears to hold only worthless copper coins. The fourth sphere holds four labeled potions. They open the final sphere and find an iron cobra lying inside. It attacks and bites Lakima. It makes a second attack and dispels his last mirror image. Lakima tells everyone to run and they quickly leave, closing the stone doors behind them.

Eathwund goes and picks up Daen’s body and they find Tamra and head to the exit. The stone is still blocking the exit but when Lakima shouts “thossum” the block begins to slowly move back open. They hurry past and up the staircase into the sunlight. Tamra races to her mother and the two embrace. Ethan has also recovered enough, that he is conscious and standing. Cedric and Carra come over and check on Daen. Cedric shakes his head and tells them it is too late for their dwarven friend. The heroes go to the Inn to settle in for the rest of the day. The villagers ask if they can help them dig a grave for Daen in the cemetery and ask what they want on the tombstone. Lakima also asks them to fill-in the spiral staircase into the ruin with rubble so no one else risks entering.

Fight in the Treasure Vault