Gaming With The Boys

The summer campaign picked up again this past Saturday.  The boys found themselves working for an eccentric wizard, rather a "spellweaver," who hides in plain sight as a homeless bum in The City.

He requested that they recover an ancient tapestry from the depths of the Egg of Evad.  He explained that he is prevented from recovering it (as a spellweaver) but that they could find and retrieve it for him.

In exchange, he would grant them each a boon.

As part of the roleplaying, I had the boys request a boon from him.  Here's what they came up with (not a bad list; quite reasonable)

• Boss, hobbit fighter, wants a magical bow
• Deogol, human cleric, wants a powerful cleric scroll
• Yoson, elf wizard, wants a powerful wizard scroll
• Lokir, elf archer, wants elven mail

The spellweaver agreed and they were on their way.  He fed them a magical meal so they wouldn't need food or drink for seven days.  A magical apple provided the same to their mounts.  He also gave each character a healing potion (1d8+1)

Here are some pictures from Saturday's adventure.  I used my Dwarven Forge Game Tiles for the first time.  They were a big hit.  It is amazing how claustrophobic rooms are when the thickness of walls is considered.  :)

The adventurers headed down, down, down using the elevator room and were presented with a locked secret door.  (I provided a math puzzle, which my grandson solved almost instantly...)  :)

 The wizard and the cleric are dithering on the elevator side of the secret door while the rest of the party are surprised by a ghoul!

 This dungeon presents many choices.  They heard the ghoul on the other side of the door and the hireling opened it so the elf could shoot it from a distance.  Success!

The adventurers used the door as a pinch point to control the flow of zombies into the room.

The elf and henchman discover that there are more zombies behind the door.  They are in a lower area and beyond, so they quickly back up and lock the door.  

At one critical moment, the elf managed to roll the d20 through the door to get this 19!  Well done!

The characters encounter a mated pair of blink dogs.  They try to coax them out, but the elf is unsuccessful and they blink away.

They discover that the blink dog room connects to the back side of the huge zombie chamber.

I told the players that they had no way of knowing what the zombies were doing in the big room.  I left them out there in their static positions as a way of reminding them that they are there.  As it turns out, seven zombies pushed their way around one side and five came the other way.  The adventurers are caught in the middle!

They are caught in the hallway!  The cleric tried to turn the first group of zombies, but was unsuccessful.  The two men-at-arms are trying to keep the zombies away from the wizard.  The elf archer and hobbit are taking pot shots at the zombies too...

The zombies get by the fighters (by reducing them to negative HPs!) and they are eyeing the soft and chewy wizard and torchbearer.

The elf and hobbit drop their bows and switch to melee!  They hold the zombies back and kill one.

The wizard, against the advice of the party, decides to throw darts at the last remaining zombie.  

He gets to throw three darts --

He rolls 16, 17 and 18 for his "to hit" rolls!  All hits!  The zombie goes down with darts IN ITS FACE!!  :)

A good time was had by all!

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 12]

So Boss, the halfling fighter, escaped the medusa and made it back to The City.  He needed to find a few more party members, so he looked up his buddies Maul of the Frigid Wastes and Deogol, a fighter and a cleric respectively.

These three formed a plan to go to the ruins, but first they needed to find some hirelings.  Reinforcements for the exploration!

They paid a crier 5gp to put up some signs and drum up some interest.  The interviews were to take place in two days at the Silver Eel Tavern.

The adventurers got five applicants (Thanks Meatshields!) and they hired four.  Three men-at-arms and one torchbearer.

Here's a technique that I really like.  Rather than use the HPs on the Meatshields page, I let the players roll up HPs for their men-at-arms.  I told them to roll 2d6 and keep the best one.  One hireling was strong from his labor as a farmer.  I let them roll 3d6 and keep the best for him.  The torchbearer rolled 1d6 -- and got a 1! 

 I told the players that they needed to buy their men-at-arms AT LEAST leather armor and some kind of weapon.  These were theirs to keep.  They had to pay their wages up front as well.  They needed to buy them food for a week and they might want to buy them something to ride.  They didn't have to give that to the hireling, but they'd certainly be impressed.

The group bought a bunch of gear -- torches, rations, mounts, etc. and they headed out.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The journey to the ruin was uneventful.  They saw no one on the road.  The weather was good and they arrived at the ruin by mid afternoon.

The torchbearer, Morig exclaimed, "You didn't say you'd be exploring the Egg of Evad!"

The adventurers tied their mounts to the tree near the ruin and climbed the left stair (careful to avoid the trap.)  They had a small fire, ate their rations and hunkered down for the night.  The group assigned each of the men-at-arms a guard duty shift.

I randomly rolled to see if the guard fell asleep AND if there was an encounter.  Neither thing happened.

When the adventurers were ready in the morning, I asked the players what they intended to do.

These are new players, so, I didn't coach them on *what* to do so much as guide them into thinking about their options.  Sure, they could go down the elevator room, but what about the other two doors into the Egg.  Do you want to explore them?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The party settled on exploring the door at ground level (the middle door.)

A listen at the door revealed some dripping water.  The door itself was made of stout wood with rusty iron bands.  It took several tries to force the door open.

Daylight revealed a narrow, damp staircase down.  The stones were a bit slippery from the dripping damp.

Boss the hobbit took a torch, and moved carefully down the stairs to the point where the sunlight stopped.  He could see another 30' into the darkness and the stairs kept going down.

He called for the rest of the party.  They moved carefully toward the bottom of the stairs and then on down the corridor.  They stopped when they saw another door some 30' distant on their right.

Cautiously, they approached.  The door was stuck and it took Maul four tries to force it open.  Each failed attempt generated a random encounter roll, but nothing appeared.  Whatever is inside, if anything, is certainly aware of the party!

Beyond the door was a small 10x10' room.  Two manacles were attached to the wall inside the chamber.  Another door could be seen on the opposite side.

Maul was more successful with this attempt and the door opened right away.  A gaunt, skeletal wolf with strips of rotting flesh covering its face and back, leapt to the attack.  Maul and Boss blocked the door and fought with the beast eventually defeating it.

The death of the undead wolf

When the  battle was over, the party looked around the room.  They saw a purple blanket in one corner.  Deogol investigated it, poking with a spear.  Purple spores erupted in his face.  He made his saving throw and stepped back from the purple mold, sputtering and coughing.  The room now smelled faintly of rose petals.

(More to come!)

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 11]

The adventurers figured out that there are two entrances to the "medusa" chamber.  How big it is, who knows, but if one person went in one way, they could cause a distraction.

The others could gang up and attack the monster without fear of being turned to stone!

Tom, the cleric, volunteered to cause the distraction.  He would be blindfolded and carry a torch.  He would make a ruckus and get the monster to come toward him.  The rest of the party would attack with surprise and try to defeat the monster.

They couldn't shout at Tom to let him know when they were in position, they would send a goblin back.  They'd attack when they heard him shouting and they saw a light enter the chamber...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The party got into position.  Tom at the east end and the others at the north end --

Once the attackers were ready, they sent the goblin back and waited for the noise.  Tom didn't disappoint...

He started hollering and waving the torch around.  The attackers, Halfdan (with an oil flask), Boss the hobbit fighter and Gork the goblin, prepared to assault.

As the slithering snake lady got closer to Tom, they let fly!

3 of 4 arrows hit and so did the oil flask.  I told them all to roll their damage at once.  They did an impressive amount of damage, but the snake lady didn't die.  She attacked Tom.

A HIT!  Save versus poison!  FAIL!  Tom died screaming in horrific pain!

The attackers slammed their eyes SHUT!

They all started flailing about wildly with their weapons, hoping to keep the snake lady at bay.  Afraid to open their eyes lest they be turned to stone.  The characters shouted at one another to make sure that they kept away from each other's weapons.

The snake lady slithered toward someone...

Here's where I had a flash of inspiration.  I looked into the cupboards at the house and I found a small box of gumballs.  It was like a cardboard milk carton with gumballs in it.  I told the boys to close their eyes...

I rolled a d6 to secretly determine who she attacked.  Boss!  I rattled the carton near his ear!  THEY ALL JUMPED!!

Once the rattle happened (it's her tail!) then they could open their eyes to watch the dice roll.  She had a big bonus to hit (they have their eyes closed!) and they had a penalty for the same reason.

I continually asked them after each round if they wanted to try and flee, with or without their eyes open.  They always said no.

She missed!  They all got a chance to attack.  Misses!

Rattle, rattle!  HALFDAN!  She hit!  SAVE!  Fail!  Halfdan dies horribly!

There was a little moment of silence.  The boys had already had the loss of Phantom (he died under the tree) but I don't think they thought I'd kill Halfdan!  Yep.  Dead as a doornail.

Gork and Boss attack, one actually hit for a little damage.  She's still fighting!

Rattle, rattle!  GORK!  She hit!  SAVE!  Fail!  Down goes Gork!

At this point, Boss is all alone.  I took a minute to talk to his player.  I told him to think about his position.  Do you run? Do you fight?  Do you open your eyes?  Where do you suppose she is looking right now?  At you?  At Gork?

He said he'd open his eyes and he'd take two arrow shots at the snake lady.  Hopefully she'd be looking at Gork.

I told him that she wasn't looking at him, yet, and yes, I let him take two shots...

He connected with one.  She had 4 HPs left....

...he rolled a 5!  Down she goes!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Epilog

They buried Tom, Gork, Phantom and Halfdan in the chasm.  Made a little shrine with candles and carved their names on the wall next to Krag's name.

Boss took a bag of silver ore (1500 sp), Halfdan's boomstick and a potion that he found in the hobgoblin leader's room.

He left everything else, the mine and all, to the goblins.  They needed a home.  He was always welcome back as a "goblin friend."

He took both ponies and rode back (cautiously) to The City.  (I rolled for random encounters on the road and there were none.)

Being the only survivor of the Expedition to the Mine of Kaladon, he received all the experience.  Boss is now a Level 2 fighter.

The other two boys rolled up new characters.

We play again today!

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 10]

So when we last saw our intrepid adventurers, they had just been warned about some great danger by the goblin leader, they had rescued 5 goblin slaves, and they were heading down the "switchback" into unknown territory.

Once they arrived at 8, Halfdan explained that the crude stairway leaving the area was new.  The hobgoblins or their goblin slaves must have dug it out.

The group continued along to 10, moving cautiously in the flickering torchlight to arrive at "the chasm."

"'Ere's where I buried me brother, Krag," he choked.  "His body is below so his spirit wud always be near me."

The group approached the chasm.  It seemed bottomless.

"I dropped a torch once.  It went down and down..." Halfdan said.  The party could see the old passageway on the other side of the chasm, but they could also see another way.  If only they could get across...

They backed up to 5 and headed south.

Within a few paces, they found a passage that rounded back upon itself.  In the corner, by 16, they found three broken statues of goblins, each in a position of horror and surprise.

"Medusa!" the party exclaimed.  I explained that they don't know what a medusa is, being young, inexperienced adventurers, but it does appear that something turned these poor goblins to stone.  You may have heard rumors of beasts that turn people to stone with a gaze, but you've also heard of those that petrify by touch.

The goblin leader wept a little as he approached one of the statues and placed his hand upon its shoulder.

He talked with the slaves a bit and whispered, almost desperately, "No go!"  He pointed toward 17.  He made gestures towards his eyes.  Maybe it IS a medusa...

The party began to form a plan...

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 9]

Just as the adventurers and their goblin allies were preparing to dispatch the sleeping wolves and hobgoblins, 3 more hobgoblins emerge from the mine.

These three look really dangerous!

Two have swords and look battle hardened and one looks like the leader!

My memory of the blow by blow action here is really fuzzy, so I will summarize --

• The goblin wolves both died at the hands of the hobgoblins
• The goblin wizard was killed by the hobgoblins
• Gork avenged his wolves by killing one of the hobgoblins! (the wolves had gotten a few bites in to soften him up before they died)
• The cleric and Halfdan kill the two sleeping wolves before they wake up
• The fighter dies of his arrow wounds.  Phantom Darkblade will fight no more.
• Halfdan deals the final blow to the hobgoblin leader screaming about avenging his brother

The party bandages their wounds and regroups.  Their numbers are now much smaller.

• Goblin leader
• Gork - the goblin wolf-handler
• Lump - the goblin archer
• Cleric, known as Tom
• Hobbit fighter, known as Boss
• Halfdan the Axe, dwarf NPC

With the defeat of the hobgoblin leader, the group decides to enter the mine.  They feel that they might have cleared it out and that the dangers within may be minimal.

They set a marching order and head into the mine. 

They quickly determine that the wolf den near the entrance is empty.  The fire is still going in the main room and the ogre's body is laying on his bed, covered in rags and furs.

Halfdan explains that of the three exits from this chamber, he only knows of two.  The hobgoblins must have excavated one on their own.  

The adventurers decide to head that way to explore --

So they headed toward 13, up some crude stone stairs.

Once there, they searched the area and listened.  They thought that they heard a tapping noise coming from the area of 12.  Cautiously, they moved forward.

In 12, in the dark, they found an emaciated goblin, clad only in tattered rags, tapping away with a small pick at a silver vein.  He was placing the tiny nuggets he dug out of the wall into a wooden bucket.

He turned at the sight of torchlight from behind him and there was a moment of stunned silence between the adventurers and the goblin slave.  Then the goblin leader burst forward and embraced the newfound goblin.

He had once been a member of their tribe but was captured many months ago and pressed into servitude.

They spoke for awhile and it was determined that there were 4 more goblins to be found nearby.  He knew the way.

The group pressed on to 11.  Once there, they found two more goblins and there was another happy reunion.  Some further discussion amongst the goblins led to a warning from the goblin leader.

He crossed his arms in an X in front of his body and motioned toward the tunnel to 17.  "No go!" he exclaimed.  He was animated and emphatic.  The goblins looked seriously scared.  

The party decided to head down the tunnel to 7.  Upon arriving there, they climbed up through a hole in the floor and found the remaining two goblin slaves.  

Halfdan explained that he knew this area.  Go west toward the chasm, or east toward his old room.  There was also a "switchback" on the way but that wasn't fully developed when he and his brother were here.

The party headed east and then up the switchback into the unknown...

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 8]

The adventurers and their newfound goblin allies --

• 1 goblin leader
• 1 goblin archer - known as Lump
• 1 goblin wolf handler - known as Gork
• 1 goblin wizard (2nd level magic user)
• 2 goblin wolves (only 1+2 HD)

-- head toward Halfdan's hobgoblin occupied mine in hopes of taking it back.

The adventurers come upon a plan wherein they will lure the hobgoblins outside to fight.  The goblins will climb up on the hillside above the mine and the adventurers will climb up into the trees just outside the mine entrance.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The group takes up positions and they decide to "knock on the door," using arrows and crossbow bolts.

The first shot is an arrow into the wood of the door -- THUNK!  The arrow sticks in the door.  The adventurers wait for someone to answer their "knock" but no on does.

The second shot is a crossbow bolt, aimed at the reinforced metal bands on the door -- CLANNNG!  The adventurers wait awhile and see the door open just a crack.  A hobgoblin arm reaches out and snaps their arrow off, then the door slams.

The hobgoblins certainly know they are back...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The adventurers decide that an oil flask on the door might draw them out.  The cleric climbs down out of the tree and hurls an oil flask at the door.  FWOOOSH!  The door is engulfed in flames!  The cleric quickly climbs back up into the tree.

Within about one minute, the door is thrown open and 4 large wolves are released into the area!  They surge out of the doorway sniffing at the air and they quickly detect the scent of the 4 adventurers.  They close in and surround the tree, barking and yipping!

The goblins on the hill are still undetected (it is believed) so they bide their time.

The characters rain missiles down on the wolves, killing one, just as three hobgoblin archers erupt from the doorway!

[Initiative is rolled, the characters win]

They shoot at the hobgoblin archers and all miss.  The goblins continue to wait.  

The hobgoblins divide up their attacks and shoot into the tree.  2 shots are fired at the human fighter -- he is hit for 6 points (he only has 4) he falls from the tree.  I ask him to roll a save (17!) so he falls and doesn't break his neck.  

His body is lying among three hungry wolves!

The goblins now shoot 2 arrows, throw a spear and use a magic missile in the hopes of killing off wolves.  They succeed in injuring one badly.

The two other hobgoblins combine for 4 points on the cleric and 1 point on Halfdan.

[Initiative is rolled, the characters win]

Halfdan jumps out of the tree and attacks one of the wolves, hoping to draw it away from the fallen fighter.  The hobbit concentrates missile fire on another wolf and kills it.

The goblin magic user casts sleep and rolls an 11!!  Both remaining wolves and the 3 hobgoblin archers are slept.  

The party breathes a sigh of relief, but their relief is only temporary!

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 7]

We re-started the game yesterday, right where we left off.

The adventurers had just killed the ogre in the hobgoblin kitchen and the hobgoblins were likely aware of the adventurers due to the use of Halfdan's "boomstick."

Dwarven Boomstick: Damage 1d8+4; Roll to hit AC 10 (plus any magical protections) regardless of actual armor.

The adventurers decided to flee!  Quickly but not recklessly.

I rolled some dice to see what the disposition of the hobgoblins was (aware, curious, but unsure of the threat) and I asked the players what they wanted to do.

They decided to flee into the woods, collect their mules, ponies and armor, then head back on the trail.

At dusk, they discussed leaving the trail to avoid the hobgoblins.  They couldn't make it back to the ruin in the dark.  The party looked around for signs of the hobgoblins and they determined that they had 3 of 4 nearby hexes to flee into -- the hobgoblins didn't seem to frequent these areas.

They settled upon a wooded hex and carefully made their way in.  They found a secure spot under a rocky outcrop and worked to disguise their hiding place (poorly) should the hobgoblins come by.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They divided the night up into three watches and they were mostly uneventful.  Halfdan reported that during his watch, he heard a hobgoblin patrol move by.  At least 6 hobgoblins and 4 wolves.

The party had a small breakfast of rations and dwarven coffee over a tiny fire.  They warmed up and headed for town, hoping to hire some men-at-arms and torch bearers for the final assault on the mine.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They got about 10 miles down the trail when something interesting happened...

They stumbled into a group of 4 goblins with two smaller wolves.  Both groups surprised and startled each other and they stood for awhile in the middle of the trail looking at one another.

The players decided to talk with the goblins.  They didn't know goblin, but the goblin leader knew a little common.

They approached the goblins with their weapons put away.  I rolled a reaction roll -- neutral.  The goblins waited.

The adventurers began to parley.  The goblin leader decided that they would like to just "move along" so he says, in broken common, "No Hurt" and he motions to the archer to his right and the wolf handler to his left.  The wolf handler pulls the wolves off the trail.  A small, cloaked goblin in the back of the party, maybe a goblin wizard, watches the whole scene with caution.

The party makes a big point of putting all their weapons away.  The fighter approaches alone and speaks directly to the goblin leader, "Would you like to help us fight some hobgoblins?"

The goblin leader doesn't know all the words, but he gets the drift.  I roll another reaction roll.  12!  The goblin leader holds his hand up in a "stop" motion and approaches the cloaked goblin.  They confer.

After a few minutes, the goblin leader says enthusiastically, "Yes!"

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 6]

After an uneventful night and healing most of their hit points through rest, the adventurers head out in the morning toward the mine.

The heroes followed the known path, but they were going slowly, looking out for hobgoblin patrols.

At one point, about 10 miles away from the mine, they encounter one, heading back toward the mine.  It is composed of 4 hobgoblins and one ogre.  At one point the hobgoblins shout some commands at the ogre and he obeys.  (one player notices this)

The party shadows the hobgoblins back to the mine.

The hobgoblins whistle, as they approach the trees just outside the mine, then they go inside.

Before they decide to attack, Halfdan scribbles out the lay of the land (he and his brother dug the mine.)

"I dunno if the hobbos have done any more digging, but this is wha' I know..."

"Who knows wha' they are doin', but I bet they're still cookin' in the firepit."

The party does some thinking and asks about how the hobgoblins look.  Can we disguise ourselves as hobgoblins?  Maybe wear their armor?  Will that work?

I tell them that I can't judge hypotheticals, just actions.  If they'd like to try that, they should try that.  Hobgoblins are around human sized, not dwarf or hobbit sized though.

What about their faces?  Do they look like us?

No.  They are kind of orangey and they have pig noses.

They decide to pull a Hannibal Lecter and cut off their faces to use as masks!  Ugh.  Gotta admire their creativity though...

One player says, "What about the commands they shout at the wolves and at the ogre?  Do we know those words?"  I say, no.  You don't know hobgoblin (presumably).  You can try and see if you remember what they said.

I do a quick assessment of the various INTs in the party.  I tell them that only the cleric is smart enough to try and remember.  Roll d20.  He rolls a 5, which is significantly below his INT.  I tell him he thinks he remembers the sounds of the grunts he heard for the ogre and the wolves.

"Can I teach them?"  "Sure."

-=-=-=-=-=-

The party readies itself and heads toward the trees.  They forget to whistle...

...and the hobgoblin archers in the trees start shooting!

The party shoots back, eventually wins, but the fighter is at -1 HP.  He is dying...

I allow PCs to bandage their wounds one time after each battle.  1d4.  For the dying or unconscious, they need someone to do it for them.  IF they get back to positive HPs, they get to soldier on.  If they don't.  They are dying.  Healing magic is all that can help now...

So, the party has its two "disguises" and the two humans don the hobgoblin armor and "faces."

The halfling and Halfdan the dwarf, wait outside...  The cleric takes a signal whistle from the hobbit -- just in case -- and they head into the mine.

As they approach the room that Halfdan said was used to stable the ponies, the adventurers find a wolf chained to a wall.  It starts to sniff the air...

...the cleric shouts the "wolf words" and the wolf backs down.  It still keeps sniffing...  the adventurers hurry past.

They smell the aroma of cooking turkey...  the mine halls are lit with a few torches...

They approach the large room and they see a hobgoblin cook, with his back to them, stirring a large pot.  Turkey stew is the guess.

They shoot and kill him.  He slumps into the pot, bending over at the waist.

They hustle across the room and move the body toward the pile of skins and straw that is the ogre's bed.  They start hiding it under the bed when the ogre returns!

Battle ensues.  The ogre deals a punishing blow to the fighter and down he goes.  The cleric starts whistling!!

The footrace is on, will the dwarf and halfling manage to aid the cleric before the ogre kills him?  Will the hobgoblins manage to reinforce the ogre?

-=-=-=-=-=-

As it turns out, the cleric manages (luckily) to stay unkilled (the ogre kept missing) until the dwarf and hobbit arrive.  

The hobgoblins were deeper in the mine and were unable to hear the whistle, so no reinforcements were coming.

The dwarf finished the ogre (in desperation) with his boomstick.  

The hobgoblins DID hear that.

The adventurers grab the fallen fighter and rush out of the mine.  They assume that the hobgoblins are on their tail and they move as fast as they can back toward the ruin and away from the mine!

• What will the hobgoblins do now that their ogre is dead?

• Will the adventurers return to the mine or explore the ruin?

• Will they go and get some hirelings to help?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This concludes the first session.  We play again tomorrow morning 6/14/13.  

More updates to follow.

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 5]

With the depths of the ruin plunged into darkness, and groaning coming from an unknown entity below, the adventurers began to discuss how to raise the platform.

Eventually they settled upon shooting the buttons again.

It took a few tries, but the halfling shot the middle button and the room rose up, grinding and clicking, back to the 50' down position.  The adventurers dropped a torch to verify.

On the platform, for a brief moment, the adventurers could see an undead monster --

...then it quickly snuffed out the torch!

They could hear it grunting and groaning below their feet.  The group got a little panicky...

Since these are new players, I put on my "helpful DM hat" and told them to calm down.  They were in control of the situation -- at least for now.  The monster was 50' down in a pit with no apparent exits.  What did they want to do?

PS: I got the order of the floors WRONG in my description yesterday.  This map accurately describes the known layout under the ruin!

They decided they would try to raise it up to the 25' mark.  Then the cleric would try and turn it!

Some more shooting took place and the leftmost button was hit.  The floor moved up...

The cleric stepped to the edge of the doorway and forcefully presented his holy symbol.  He rolled a d20 and got a 17!  Success!  The undead monster was driven back through the archway...

The hobbit and the cleric lit up torches and dropped ropes down to the sunken floor.  The cleric went first so he could hold the undead at bay.  The hobbit followed.  He spent some time picking up their "misses" (arrows and bolts) from the floor of the room.

"How do we raise the floor all the way up?"

The adventurers explored a bit more and discovered another "control panel" just inside the archway.  It was close enough that the characters could stand in the room and push the buttons on the wall.  The floor doesn't "shoot up" so there's enough time to pull your arm back before the floor moves.

This time, the first set of runes were different --

They decided to push the "new" leftmost button.  

With a grind, the floor moved upward to its starting level at the top of the stairs.

The adventurers settled into the room for the night, spiking the door behind them.  They even brought the mules and pony in so that they'd be safe too.  They hobbled them on one side of the room.

They set up watches and got some needed rest.  Off to the mine in the morning!

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 4]

The adventurers fell back through the forest along the known path.  They moved quickly and they seemed to evade any hobgoblins who may have been in the area.

They retreated toward the ruin at C, when they again encountered a hobgoblin patrol.

This time, the hobgoblins seemed to be looking for something or someone else.  There were four of them, with spears searching through the undergrowth.

The party (wisely) waited and watched from a distance.

The hobgoblins eventually routed their quarry from the underbrush -- A TURKEY!  They began to chase the bird in a direction AWAY from the ruin.

What luck!  (I rolled randomly a couple of times to determine the disposition of the encounter)

Once the hobgoblins were sufficiently far away, the party cautiously approached the ruin.

I described it as a stone structure with three entrances, each sealed with a stout wooden door.  One entrance is at ground level (as seen above) and there is one additional entrance at the top of each stone stair.  I scribbled a map and I showed all the players the picture --

Of course, I used a battlemat -- this is a quick replica

Now, I placed the ruin on the map, but I really didn't foresee the adventurers getting here so soon.  (I told the players to discuss their options and I excused myself to the restroom for a quick think!)

• In the restroom, I determined that the stairs were both trapped.  The traps would activate successfully (dart traps) on a 1-2 on a d6.  On a 3-4 the trap would be revealed, but it wouldn't function.  
• I decided that the center door would lead to a dark, narrow stair that descended down... 3 levels... undead
• I decided that the right door would open into a room with three statues... cryptic... a dog headed man, a bird headed woman and a dragon... figure that out later.
• I decided the left door would lead to an elevator room... crack in floor... simple controls... buttons with unreadable runes on far wall.  Down 1, 2 and 3 levels...

Initially the party was content to hide behind the left stair, somewhat in the shade of the ruin and out of sight of the hobgoblins.  

Curiosity got the better of them and the cleric decided to explore -- despite the fact that he was injured.  :)

"I climb the left stair and go to the door," he said.  "Make a saving throw," I said and rolled a d6.  A 3.

He failed the save (not that it mattered).  I described how he stepped on a stone stair and it clicked down.  There was a puff of air and a popping noise, but nothing happened.

"Whew," he said.  

At the top of the stair, he took time to look over the door for anything unusual   Nothing.  He decided to open it.  He had to force it with strength.  It took two tries.  He opened the door a little...

I described the room as oval shaped with a faded mural painted on the wall.  On the far side of the room is a plaque or sign.  Too hard to read in the dim light from the partly opened door.

At this point he remembered that the fighter has a 10' pole.  He lit a torch.  He cautiously used the pole to pick his way across the room.  He discovered a crack in the floor just inside the doorway and that the crack extended all the way around the room.  The players were pretty much in agreement that the floor would move -- but how?

The examined the plaque on the far wall.  Discovered the strange (unreadable) runes and the three buttons.  

Not wanting to push the buttons while in the room, the cleric exited the room and took aim at the leftmost button with his crossbow.  He took his time and aimed... and missed.  He tried the next buttton.  Miss.  Next.  Miss.  Back to first.  HIT!  The button stayed "clicked in."

With a grind and a poof of dust from the crack around the room, the floor descended into the darkness...

The cleric tossed his torch in the center of the room.  

The floor had descended 25'.  The murals had extended downward and were much brighter than in the top room. (No one asked for details... which is fine...)  There was no apparent exit from the room at 25'.  

The cleric shot again.  And again.  And again.  And eventually he hit the middle button.  The floor descended another 25'.  50' total now.  The first button popped out and the middle one clicked in.

The murals continued downward.  On the far side of the room, where the controls were at the top, stood an open archway.

The cleric, deciding he could use some help, asked the halfling to join him at the top of the stair.  He asked if the halfling would try and shoot the third button.

"Sure!" he said as he took aim.  Twang!  HIT!  CLICK!  The middle button popped out and the rightmost one clicked in.

With a grind, the floor descended 50' feet.  100' total now.  The murals continued.

There was the echoing sound of moaning from the bottom and the torch, which had been laying in the center of the descending floor, was snuffed out by a dark, hunchbacked shape...

The groans continued from the darkness below...

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 3]

In the morning, Halfdan met the adventurers and provided each of them with a mule to ride.  They headed North, out of the city.

I rolled for a random encounter in each hex they crossed.  Less dangerous encounters near the city, more dangerous in the wilds.  They didn't have any chance of getting lost because Halfdan knows the way.

Here's the map that was created --

As they moved north, I rolled for an encounter then I drew the terrain symbol and described the lay of the land.  The travel was uneventful until they entered Hex A.  

At this point, they encountered a hobgoblin patrol of one wolf-handler and two wolves.  The wolves snarled and leapt to the attack at the sight of the dwarf, so the battle was on!

The fighter and the hobbit made good use of their bows to fell one wolf and the hobgoblin handler.  The other wolf fell to blows from Halfdan and the cleric.

Halfdan warned the group about an evil ruin to the West.  He said they should avoid it if they could.  He told the hobbit to climb a tree and take a look.  I showed the hobbit player this picture --

This ruin is located at C on the map above.

Halfdan urged the adventurers to continue on.  They would need to travel the rest of the day to get close to the mine.  They would camp overnight and head to the mine in the morning.

Travel proceeded quickly until they got closer to the mine.  At hex B, they encountered another hobgoblin patrol.  This one had three hobgoblins (one an archer) and two wolves.

The battle went quickly, but the cleric was badly wounded.  Halfdan too was badly injured and he was forced to use his "boomstick" to kill one wolf.  The other wolf ran away into the woods.

Fearing that other hobgoblins were nearby and would be attracted by the sound of the "boomstick," the party agreed to fall back.... to the ruin.

"Dem Hobbo's won't want to get too close to dat place," Halfdan said.  "We might be safer there..."

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 2]

Once the characters were rolled up, I started by describing The City.  I explained that it has a name, but no one seems to agree on what it is.  Most people just call it "The City."

It's big.  It has a seaport and a river runs into the bay.  There are six major sections - the port, the merchant area, the residential area, temple area, military area, and the main castle.

I showed a few pictures to the players so they could get a feel for what it looks like --

I told them that there are main streets, but that all the buildings generally bunch together and are often accessible only by alleyways.

They are staying at an inn called "The Silver Eel."  It's a nice enough place with good food for the money and clean rooms.  Its run by a barrel-chested innkeeper  his nervous, frail wife and their young daughter Maybie.

They've been in town for a couple of days and have learned a bit about the town.  They also know that the tavern is frequented mostly by tradesman at the end of the day, but a couple of "different" individuals have been known to come in --

This guy seems the rough and ready type.  Able to take care of himself.  He's a dwarf.  In this picture he's riding a pony.

This other guy comes in every night.  Maybie is nice to him.  Gives him soup and some bread.  He smells funny and the other patrons avoid him.  Sometimes the bags he carries seem to move on their own.

The adventurers opted to approach the dwarf, introducing themselves and buying him a drink.  He said his name was Halfdan the Axe.  The adventurers asked him about rumors and stories.  Halfdan told them of his lost silver mine north of the city.  He explained how he and his brother had come to the City for supplies and when they returned, a tribe of hobgoblins had taken up residence in their mine.  He and his brother, Krag, had tried to retake the claim, but only he got out alive.  It's been nearly a year since he lost his claim...

At this point the adventurers volunteered to help him re-take his claim, if they could get an even share of any wealth taken from the hobgoblins.

Halfdan enthusiastically agreed and they decided to set out in the morning.

Summer Campaign 2013 [Part 1]

My grandson Matt turned 12 in March and he asked me to run an adventure at his birthday party.  I posted about it here.

Well, summer arrived and he asked if I might run some games for him and his friends while they are out of school.

Of course, I said YES.  :)

I wanted to run a sandbox game for the boys, much different than the pre-prepared one-shot I ran for Matt's birthday, so I prepared a bit.

The first idea I had was to gather images of the people, places and things the adventurers might encounter.  I blogged about that here.

Then I headed over to Wizardawn to create some adventures.  TIP: the site works great in Firefox and Safari.  Chrome won't allow the printing of background images (an acknowledged flaw) so the maps don't print.

I'm a big improviser.  I enjoy the uncertainty of what will happen next.  I don't like pre-planning too much; I enjoy being surprised too.

I started with a campaign area map.  I used the World Map tool.  I put ocean on the East and mountains on the West.  I tinkered with the size (30x40 I think) until it fit well on one sheet of paper.  Here's the result.

At the arrow lies "The City" a sprawling metropolis/seaport that is the campaign's base of operations.

I then went through and highlighted ruins, caves, mines and other symbols that are going to be adventure sites.  I used the Ultimate Locale Creator for Swords and Wizardry to stat these up.  I set different challenge levels for each one and I noted those on another map with the name of the adventure.  Here's that map:

So, I have a few adventures ready and I thought up a few plot hooks to go with them.  I'm not opposed to railroading the players at the start -- they are newbies -- but I do want to be prepared if they go off in an unplanned direction (they did!!) so it's good to have some stuff in the old ringbinder...

I also printed up a copy of Dyson's Delve and I have Barrowmaze I ready too...

---

So, we began by rolling up their characters.  I printed out character sheets on green paper -- because that's the color my first character was rolled up on -- and I gave one to each player.  I spent a little time touring the character sheet so they knew what was what.

I explained that this game was going to be a bit different than the game at the birthday party.

• They'd get to make up their own characters
• They'd probably start out less powerful than before, but they could grow in experience
• There wouldn't be a set goal;  It wouldn't just be one adventure
• It would be an "open world" that they could explore and make choices in
• Not everything should be killed; they'd need to talk.  Treat civilization like you do in real life or the authorities will take you out
• The world is dangerous; their character might die.  If so, they'd need to make up another and soldier on
• To find adventure they would need to interact with the game world

I told them all to grab 3d6 and start rolling up their attributes.  They didn't really have any concept of what a "good" attribute was, so I told them anything in the "teens" was good, but that even bad attributes didn't really matter all that much.  

"Who knows if this character will even survive?" I said.

One player wanted to be a human fighter, another a human cleric and a third a hobbit fighter.  I told them they could roll until they got "a good number" and then they could put that where they wanted.  I recommended STR or DEX for the fighters, CON and WIS for the cleric.  Then they would start at the top and roll 3d6 in order, down the page.

They started rolling once they got 13's and one 14.  :)

One character has 3 7's for attributes!  Still totally playable in Swords and Wizardry.

I'm proud of the boys because they didn't complain about having penalties in their attributes.  SOAPBOX:  Some of my fellow players in a 2nd Ed game were bitching if they didn't have multiple 18's.  Ugh.  (my character in that game doesn't have a single 18.)

Once the characters were rolled up, I distributed some starting equipment and some starting gold and we were off!