- Seana: Tarl, human Fighter
- Chris: Roult, human Basilisk Warrior
- Callista: Erol, elf Priest
- Dan: Budris, human Bard
- Wayne: Pharan, human Sea Wolf
- Roger: Drom, dwarf Desert Rider
So the band decided which way to go - west into the hinerlands, or east across the water to hock the magic orb. Barrows are always a fun attraction. And our high-rolling priest is back. Necromancer Solace knew of a clump of them about a day away, and provided a map. Budris sought out some lore, finding that some barrows were known to contain "interesting" fungus.
Drom got his camel out of the stable, and led the rest of the boot leather band westward. Eward, mute stablehand, was excited to have been able to care for, and pet, a camel.
Humping across the grasslands, a herd of loose horses were spotted. Some scouting, and it was found that they were domestic, likely escaped. Some herding and horse-handling attempts later, and everyone had a ride, although Budris and Roult needed quite a bit of help, as their horsemanship was pitiful.
Onward, and camping. The party awoke to find themselves among several burrows (not barrows, nor burros). Chris (as player) recalled another unfortunate camping experience... Several giant soldier ants emerged, but chose to simply block the burrow entrances as the party immediately decamped.
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| Good morning! |
Ok. Barrows.
I have a handful of barrow maps, with associated random tables. But I also had "The Crypt of King Solimas" burning a hole in my adventures folder. So be it.
The party found a barrow with a bronze-coated slab, rather than the boring old stone. Must be important...
After prying open the slab, Drom entered to investigate the "guardian statues." Sure enough, they were trapped to strike at interlopers. Dodging Statue #1's blade, the party figured out how to trigger/disarm the remaining statues. They were relieved of their swords, making their chops much less effective.
Another door, and Roult crept through. His torch was dowsed by a large gray drip... Doh!
Light regained, and the drip coalesced on the floor as an ooze. Roult stabbed it with his obsidian spear. Good idea. Erol considered kicking it, and the table explained the difference between intelligence and wisdom to Erol's player. Ooze went unkicked. After a couple of dissolved weapons, the ooze succumbed to damage, leaking protoplasm all over the floor. A couple of bronze swords were recovered from the trap statues to replace lost weapons. Everyone tiptoed past.
Another chamber, and Drom was able to decipher old runes identifying the complex as that of King Solimas, and that a similar statue would have a hidden compartment with treasure. Pharan swiped the statue's shield (bronze, unwieldy).
Finding an underground river, everyone carefully crossed, finding the twin statue. The compartment was found, revealing a healing potion and some minor coin. Fungus was found, and Budris collected some samples. But was not up for taste-testing. Coward.
Muddy tracks in another room adjoining the river hinted at a large arthropod. Another room revealed a pair of shields with the king's heraldry. Pharan traded out the awkward shield for this one.
The tomb of an advisor was found, with a bit of shiny. The river was crossed, but not without mishap, as Roult took a header into the water and lost one of his daggers.
Exploring the crypts beyond, the party was set upon by guard-skeletons. The priest's magical rolls of the prior session didn't hold true, and the bony ones were able to resist her turning. Much hacking and stabbing commenced. Amplified by the arrival of skeletal reinforcements. Drom focused on knocking off legs. Erol needed to heal herself after some pointed attacks. Swords, chainmail, and a couple of amulets were recovered.
Into the main crypt, where a pair of skeletal guards watched the king's sarcophagus. These skeletons were repelled by Erol. However, the king arose, striding towards Erol and defusing her turnings.
More desperate fighting, aided by Budris' fascinate ability. (My gut said that it shouldn't work on undead, but the brief description wasn't specific, so for the sake of everyone having a part, it worked). Skeletons finally put down. Loot looted.
A disturbance heard from the river revealed a giant crab and octopus locked in mortal combat. The party backed away, not wanting to disturb...
The party retreated, stopping to check a room bypassed during the exploration. Urns. Erol chose wisdom and opined not to disturb them. Budris "accidentally" knocked one over, finding only ashes.
Back across the river. Again, Roult fell into the water. Approaching splashing was heard, and the party narrowly escaped as the victorious, but badly wounded, octopus lashed out from the darkness.
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| Yaar! |
Back into the light, and the party rode back to town...
Solace got the breakdown from the party, and bought a ring from them, paying more than "market" value. Probably nothing important...
DM Notes:
Was feeling a bit under the weather, so probably wasn't as sharp as I could have been. Hence missing a couple of small details/threats in the adventure that could have been significant.
But in spite of my perceived shortcomings, everyone in the session was a Repeat Offender. And Callista, as a newbie, is intrigued enough to plan to continue to hang with Grandpa Chris for our sessions. Especially now that she has a better understanding on how Erol (INT7 vs WIS14) may interact with things.
Also, I think this is the first of Jean-Claude ''Raznag'' Tremblay's adventures that I have run. He has a good selection of one-pagers, with many intended for Shadowdark. I have a few of these adventures in my quiver, and had been holding onto this crypt as an option.
For this one-shot (and similar events), it runs well. I had read it previously, but not recently with respect to the session. That said, it's straightforward and easy to use on a minimum-prep approach. All of the monsters are from the standard SD rules (with a couple of noted tweaks), so it was easy to pull up stats at the table. A few descriptions are a bit sparse, as necessary for the format. But they don't detract from ready play.
Raznag's maps are clear and readable, with good detailing. This one had the potential for multiple routes across the river, but the party kept to a straightforward exploration.
With several of these one-pagers available for PWYW or low cost, I'd recommend collecting them for one-shots or just-in-case scenarios. Also, with the user-friendly maps and adventures, adjusting on the fly or with minor prep to fit into one's campaign would not be a heavy lift.
...
Continuing play through the Crumbling Keep of Khashmur on Monday evening. My PC Bendek Barthovann (aka "Speedo Dwarf") has possibly come down with something...
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