Shadowdark: Bloggah's Blog Part 4, Poking the Bear

Saw some movement from my office. "Hello? Oh, it's you..."

A goblin wearing what looked like a tattered bathrobe stomped in. "Here's you magic tablet thing. Fukking Columbo..." He tossed it on the couch and stomped out. 

"Yo, what's up?"

"Read about it..." he grumbled over his shoulder, slammed the door, and disappeared into the night. Ok then. Let's see what we've got here.  

***

Hi. Been a week. We been hanging around Hound's Head, getting resupplied and rested. I got my fancy silver dagger, plus found that I could read that scroll Rig-Rot found out by his magic tree. Lets me see magic stuff. Could be handy.

Elinar kept trying to talk to the voices in her head, but they don't really seem to be answering. 

Columbo got his fancy ring from some dwarf god, but wants to get rid of it. I don't get that. Never satisfied, that guy. 

Jer-Jom and Elinar's orphans are itching to get out, and we got a map to a Northman barrow. Sounds good. Talked to Blake. He likes curiosities. Turns out the map is a copy of one of his. He points out a couple of landmarks, might save us some trouble. Or not. But Blake's eager to learn what we learn, so gives us a couple of healing potions. After all if we don't get back, he don't learn nothing.

Time to head out. We got a good wagon road to follow, so easy walking, and no killer deer, as far as we see. But someone had some bad luck in front of us. Find a couple of stinky bodies. Human and halfling. Looks like something killed them and rifled their pockets. I poke at them with my pole. Some flies rise up, but at least the dead don't. 

Dremond decides to poke at them more directly. My granduncle Moldgut always said to watch to things that eat dead things. Dremond didn't have an uncle, I guess, as he screamed like a little girl when a rot grub latched onto him. Roll eyes. Burn it off (and him too a little, oops). I take my pole to remove a necklace from one of the bodies. See? No rot grubs. It looks liks a holy symbol to Delaquain. Didn't help them.

artist's rendition

Saint Sephaton's Wine Garden (a quick-and-dirty encounter)

As I mentioned in the prior entry, Slick and Orzu took care of a little bit of necromantic housekeeping on behalf of the local temple. but not until after enjoying a bit of wine and cheese. 

The encounter was built on the fly, using a spare map in hand, as well as a necromancer's spell list and a few lightly modified undead. It's pretty bone-simple, but perhaps a useful side hook for a few adventurers trolling about in a city. So I'm sharing a lightly edited encounter for anyone's table. Enjoy.

source

Download Saint Sephaton's Wine Garden

(Edit: added sewer access option for PCs who don't mind getting their feet dirty)

Campaign Journal: Odd Jobs

Well, it looks like everyone got into a bad batch of hydra meat. It's getting a bit ripe. Well, except for:

• Slick: thief
• Orzu: gnome

With their comrades laid low or otherwise indisposed, the two PCs were left twiddling their thumbs. Casting about town, there was news of an attack on a patrol by Opharel forces. Concerning, as the two duchies had been in detente for some time. 

The two decided to visit the Temple of Garond, as the party had a writ of support from Proctor Armin, thanking them for their support of the temple in Neuforde. Prior Jaume Magrans was happy to chat with them and offer the temple's support while they were in town. That said, he did have a task of a sensitive nature that a pair of idle adventurers might be interested in. Although the problem of the Chaos mutants was one many leaders' minds, other nefarious things were afoot. Namely, necromancy. One of the local merchants, wine-seller Zadok Meir, may have a side gig going...  Sounds good. We like to keep the dead dead. 

But first, they needed some muscle. Orzu has Torvald to absorb some damage, but Slick's hench Flick is back at Cobalt Lake, helping the naga Queen Adra's crew.

Let's talk to Akreos. He has spare bodies. Particularly, Dukan Dildran, a flamboyant warrior from the northern tundra. A business call to Akreos. What would it take to free him? We could use his skills. Akreos is a businessman, willing to entertain an offer. Or more importantly, entertain his audience. And, in contrast to some of the criminals that end up in the arena, Dildran is a free man captured by the duchy's patrols. Ok, we can fake his death, I'll make some anonymous side bets to offset the loss. But you need to get his agreement. He's a proud one. Down to the gladiator pits, and cells of incarcerated combatants. Some negotiation and gaining of trust, and the northern nomad agreed to freedom in exchange for some help putting down the dead.

For game purposes, "NPC Jax" agreed to fake a few blows with the flat of her blade at the appropriate time, while Orzu cast an illusion of a convincing mortal wound. Slick and Torvard would wait in the wings as stretcher bearers to whisk the "dead" combatant away. All set.

But first, the wine-seller for a bit of recon. And snacks. Slick and Orzu ordered a couple of glasses and a charcuterie board. After a bit, Slick excused himself to hit the head. A quick twist of his ring, and invisible Slick checked out the back areas of the establishment. Kitchen, check. Servers, check. Stairs down, check. Slick slid down the steps to confirm a wine cellar. But there was a subtle undercurrent of decay. Not the most attractive bouquet. Hmm... Recon done, he slipped back upstairs and visibility to exit the place.

Source

Dragonflight 2024, Part the Third: OSE and Wrestling with Kabrel's Tower

 Sunday morning found me at the head of the table once again. Let's get the roll call:

• Travis: Cedric - cleric, mohawk (Travis is a member of a group of us who play periodically at Around the Table Games)
• Ben: Gobble deGook - halfling, wide-brimmed hat (returning after yesterday's game)
• Daniel: Garvin LeBoul - fighter, helm, human image faceplate
• Pete: Fenzig - elf, short hood
• Van: Boffin - dwarf, bald, with topknot
• Zegan: Grim Greycastle - fighter, pointed helm

I remembered to write down the headgear today. 

Full table. My habit is to have five slots for game seats, but I always have a mental 'extra' seat available for waiting list folks, etc. Today, I had a no-show (last day of a 3-day con, fatigue happens), and Van and his son Zegan stopped by to see if I could spare a seat. Certainly.

Today, we're revisiting Kabrel's Tower, the objective of a pair of excursions early in the campaign. I had written up a synthesis of the two prior adventures for the purposes of the convention or other one-shots.

Of course the party is starting at Neuforde, with conversations with various NPCs in town - the mayor, , the priest, the halflings, and the elves. The group also got to see the snake map, as well as the spiel about Chaos mutants raiding the area. Off to find the nearest Node on the map...

Sometime into their journey, the party was set upon by a Chaos mutant raiding party - about six mooks and a leader on horseback. 

Here horsie...

Dragonflight 2024, Part the Second: OSE and Return to Ha’Tak Temple

Saturday afternoon, I hosted the first of two B/X-OSE games. 

First of all, I gotta figure what to run. My usual M.O. is to have a selection of adventures, and depending on the number and vibe of the group, I'll pick something. One thing I had this year that I didn't have prior years is a set of pre-run abandoned fortifications and other structures for the party to clear - the "Nodes" of my campaign. So a few of those maps ended up in my bag, as well.

Who showed up?

• John: "Ahairak" - dwarf (John is a repeat offender)
• Mike: "Ward" - Magic user 
• Wayne: "Lefty" - thief
• Sean: "Elbolas" - elf (Sean has also played in a con came with me before)
• Ben: "Brother Bartholomew" - cleric

We got everyone equipped from the "Random Headgear" table and set off. I forgot to write down the headgear, but I know that the mage ended up with an open-faced samurai helm. 

It just so happened that I had a copy of the campaign's "Snake Map" tucked into one of my rulebooks. Well, that's a sign.

We're going to clear a Node. And, yes, it's going to be the Ha'Tak Temple. Because I want to mess with a party using Cormac MacGiobhan!, bomb-throwing hermit.

Brief scenario intro - the map is provided as a rubbing taken from a standing stone, and the party being recruited by the local temple to investigate the suspected location near the "tail" as a location within a string of fortifications or watches. Oh, and twisted things have been raiding in the wilderness.

Off they go.

Twisted thing. Of course it's a Tumorous Spider. 

A crippled, lurching spider should be easy prey for a crack adventuring party, right? Not based on the number of whiffs that occurred. Thankfully, the spider sucked just as bad.

Dragonflight 2024, Part the First: Deathbringer Among the Barrows

Yes, I'm backed up on play reports. 

Ran three games this year at Dragonflight, held in Bellevue, Washington. The total attendance this year over three days was 1050 souls, a few of whom sat at my table.

The first of the three games was Professor DM's "Deathbringer," which I've run as a one-shot a few times. Who showed up?

• Mystic: "Morgue" - scoundrel
• Nick: "Grunk" - deathbringer
• Eric: "Larry" - plague doctor
• Christian: "K" - grimscribe
• Don: "Jerry" - plague doctor

As before, I ran Tim Shorts' "Requiem for Atticus Stumps" mini-adventure. I had booked a two-hour slot for this session, so used the scenario for its flexibility. I warmed up the players for play with a few questions (Who in the party owes you money, how did you get in trouble in the last town, why are you far from home, etc.).

The party, desperate from whatever "miseries" they had rolled up in chargen, took the bait.

Travel and negotiation with Harlow went smoothly, and the halfling took up spear and lantern to lead them to the selected barrows. The grimscribe cast dancing lights to provide some illumination in the forest and keep people from tripping over tree roots. Harlow avoided any encounters.

Barrow #1: The flowers surrounding the barrow remained unidentified (although Jerry did place several in his mask). Removing stones went without a mishap, someone noticing about halfway through the process the warning runes carved into them....

Harlow, as usual, lit the lantern with a flinch, refusing to explain or yield it to the party. He illuminated the barrow from the entrance. 

Morgue was suspicious of the metallic urn but urged Grunk to break it open anyhow (scoundrels...). So Grunk took the brunt of the gas trap. Morgue thanked him and recovered a silver dagger and some coin.  

Grunk and Jerry easily tossed the stone slab. Larry poked at the coffin, causing the spectre to rise. The fight was on. Morgue failed to get a good sneak attack in, but other characters made the best of it. The spectre was able to drain some strength from Morgue. K attempted to magic missile the thing, but rolled a crit failure. Doh! Thankfully the outcome dice were merciful, and the spell merely fizzled away.

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Finally, Larry bombed the thing with a potion, and it faded to darkness. A scroll and some jewelry were recovered, but no death coins. The PCs dusted themselves off and asked Harlow about other options.

Shadowdark: Bloggah's Blog Parts 2&3: Bugbears and Beat Downs

My tablet disappeared overnight. I thought I'd left it at the brewery, but found it under the couch. Funny. I don't remember writing this document. Hmm...

...

Taptaptap. Is this thing on?

Sorry, been out doing stuff. The dwarves I met earlier wanted to get an old mine cleared out so they could use it. Called it the Stone Toad Mine. Promised to pay us some coin, so they could call it Happy Fun Dungeon for all I cared. After all, the goblin camp needs some winter supplies.

So I met up with a few other layabouts in Hounds Head (Elinar, Dermont, and Columbo) to go out and do the deed. We'd gone and checked it out, but some sketchy stuff was going on. Columbo said he could lead us back to town, but kept getting us lost. I don't know about that guy.

Anyway, we eventually got back to Hounds Head and gathered some supplies. Columbo stepped into the woods to take a leak (that guy does it a lot. I think he should talk to a witch-doctor about that) and disappeared. Probably got lost again.

Left the three of us and a few mooks to check out this mine. Cass-Crow agreed to come along. She's a good shot and has my back. Elinar, a witch, has a couple of orphaned boys she found in the woods. I hear witches do that a lot. The boys tend to get a bit stabby. Can be helpful in certain situations...

Got back to the mine good. Found the trail this time. It was pretty obvious.

Damn. Bugbear guarding the mine. Must be why the dwarves were sketchy about it. Maybe we can get him out of the way. Elinar has one of her boys be bait, I mean, distraction, to get the bugbear close to us. It sorta works. We end up attacking him. My finger dart thing fizzles. Bugbear runs back to the mine, so we gotta chase.

Well, that's when things go bad. More bugbears. Of course. They got some goblin kin mining for them. The kin look pretty rough. I imagine the funny shapes that make someone your friend, but it doesn't work on bugbears. Things get bad. The boys are really bad with spears. They need practice. One gets knocked down, but his brother saves him. Dremont can't hit anything with his bow. Even Cass-Crow is missing. Not like her. My fire-hands trick smolders away too. Even I'm going to have to start stabbing! 

We're getting our butts kicked! 

Campaign Journal: Ocean's Five

I've got about six play reports to fire off. I've been negligent, on top of extra sessions. More incoming.

First, more Shenanigans in Chirath:

Jax - Barbarian
Fulvus - Halfling
Rondel - Elf
Frederick - Thief
Orzu - Gnome

(Slick was absent due to spoiled hydra)

First of all, the party was approached by members of the City Guard, in a friendly fashion, at least. They were invited to speak with Legate Mildiani, the city's military commander, as well as Velthur Lecne, a sage researching the Chaos mutations. The party (e.g. Jax and Fulvus/Wene) had drawn attention for their defeats of the Chaos creatures in the arena, as well as other rumors of the party's exploits in the wilderness.

The two officials questioned the party as to their explorations and findings with respect to the Chaos forces. The party recounted general information, and discussed their experiences in Acroria. Mildiani was aware of Acroria's position, partially from the city's intelligence personnel in the town. He was curious if their may be other internal contacts, and the party suggested that the two remaining expedition survivors may be amenable to contact.

The party further shared some information on the presence of the fortifications, although they withheld some information on the Barrier, and mentioned a few allies, such as the druids and community at Cobalt Lake. The Keepers of the Light were also discussed in their past role guarding the frontier.

Lecne was quite interested in the creation of the Chaos mutations, and his research and autopsies indicated that the beings had been changed by some combination of alchemical means and a form of magic he wasn't familiar with. Perhaps this knowledge could be used to create soldiers of their own (members of party shudder).

Satisfied, the two officials bid them adieu, and the party departed. 

D66 Intelligent Swords

Been a bit since my last post, plus it's time for another D66 list...

If magical swords are the bread and butter of enchanted items, then Intelligent ones are definitely the German chocolate cake. Or some bad metaphor like that.

Joethelawyer recently described giving one of his players an irascible intelligent magic sword, and of course, our own campaign has Jax being occasionally goaded by Faith Perpetual. 

Which reminded me it was time to make another list. So here's a list of swords, with names and personalities. They are, after all, NPCs in their own rights. Have fun with Troll-bane, a +3 broadsword that detects alignment and crusades against the undead....

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D66 Intelligent Swords:

D66 Name
11 Scorn
12 Althazar the Sharp
13 Fellblade
14 Agananthus
15 Circe
16 Hellbion
21 Mr. Pokey
22 Giant-Killer
23 Excelsior
24 Viriaicus
25 Killmonkey
26 Aethelred's Thegn
31 Troll-bane
32 Big Prick
33 Skolmander
34 Jesry's Grip
35 Skewer
36 Dúngail
41 Fell Mangler
42 Battlemouse
43 Steelheart
44 Ironblood
45 Call-Me-An-Angel
46 King Ulaf's Knight
51 Malice and Venom
52 Ranger's Leaf
53 Hattusamuwa
54 Faith Perpetual
55 Odo's Hand
56 le Griffon Isolé
61 Hofnarggaganufus
62 Xelendria's Shield
63 Frank
64 Glamandoridian
65 Excitable Boy
66 The Artist's Edge

New Monster: Xegamian Servant-Manikin

Well, last session the PCs found that the Stonewills' household "help" was of the creepy doll variety. Particularly Frederick, who got gang-tackled by several of the automaton servants twice, taking significant bite and scratch damage each time. Not to mention everyone feeling a bit wigged out by the whole thing.

Source

Xegamian Servant-Manikin:
Crafted in the alchemical research-crèches tucked away in the outskirts of the city-state of Xegam, servant-manikins are desired by customers who prefer their help to be silent and unlikely to pick up rumors or pilfer the silverware. Not to mention requiring no wages and limited upkeep.

Although they were developed primarily for domestic duties, for a bit more coin, the manikins can be imbued with attributes to guard the master's household while they are away or asleep.

Although the exact components and mechanisms for crafting such automatons is a closely-held secret, disassembly of the manikins has revealed them to be composed of a variety of articulated wooden and metal limbs joined to a ceramic torso and topped with a crafted doll head. Many owners with particular tastes and a bit extra coin order custom-crafted heads that are whimsical or artistic. 

Breaching the torso releases a number of preserved organs and nervous system elements in a galvanic fluid. Rumors and espionage into the creation of the manikins indicates that the organs are mostly harvested from accident victims or the condemned, and preserved in such a way to "program" the doll for its future duties. While not admitted by there creators, there is a limited (5%) chance that the harvested organs may cause an individual doll to retain some memories or personality of its prior life.

Each manikin is "taught" its normal tasks by inscribing a "code-leaf," a strip of thick parchment, with a combination of sigils and punched holes, which are then inserted into a slot in the back of the head. Most owners keep a small library of code-leaves available to cover miscellaneous tasks or particular recipes for their servants to prepare.

Basic stats:

1HD, AC 6/13, Atk: 1d2, able to perform normal housekeeping or domestic tacks, understands verbal commands. Automaton/artificial being, immune to sleep and mind control spells.  

Modified servant-mankins come in four flavors:

1. Stabby: 2HD, Atk: 1d4x2, a stouter servant-manikin equipped with a pair of extendable dagger blades in its forearms for home defence.

2. Sleepy: 2HD, Atk: 1d4+poison (save or slowed, 1d4 turns), each manikin is equipped with a hollow blade containing four doses of poison.

3. Screamy: 1HD, Atk: nil, alarm call to alert household. Summons 1d4+1 random manikins in 1d3 rounds (up to household maximum). 

4. Swarmy: 1HD, Atk: 1d6+2 manikins will appear and drag down an opponent, causing 1d2 points per round per manikin. Escape via penalized contested STR roll (d20+bonuses-1 per manikin) 

Source

Edit:

Recent "inquiries" in the city-state of Xegam have indicated that the manikin fabricators have attempted to create stronger servant manikins, hoping to solve the material cost barrier of golem creation. However, such attempts have so far failed, with the mental/command instability of higher hit die manikins increasing markedly with each hit die greater than two. (Chance of past memories/general homicidal tendencies increases to 15% per hit die greater than 2).