Dwimmermount with Middle Schoolers -- XVII

A blizzard and a smaller snowstorm closed schools and disrupted the group's weekly crawl through Dwimmermount, but with warmer weather arriving we started making up for lost time this week.

Our cast for this session:

Ivor the Opener of Doors (level 3 fighter)

Y'draneal the Dungeon Queen (floral-scented, level 3 elven thief)

Yang the Fighting Man (level 2 fighter)

Hurtis the Mook (level 2 NPC fighter)

Vale's player couldn't stay after school, leaving the party in somewhat tricky spot ...

Last time she had successfully negotiated with "Thaddeus IV," leader of a band of a half-dozen, heavily armed, upraised goblin shock troops, avoiding a nasty fight that the adventurers might not have been able to win.  Thaddeus IV revealed that his squad had been charged with helping scout and secure this level of the dungeon, bringing back to their centurion anything of interest.  The goblins agreed to accompany the explorers for the time being, but continued cooperation depended largely on Vale's ability to communicate with the goblins (nobody else could speak their ancient, low Thulian argot), her player's quick thinking, and Vale's Charisma score of 17.  

With Vale out of the mix (we decided that she had returned to the surface with NPC party, The Seekers), things quickly grew tense between the two groups.  As a few rooms were searched, it became clear that these big, red-skinned goblins were contemptuous of the treasure hunters, not particularly inclined to share any treasure that was discovered, but willing to let them take the risks of opening doors, checking for traps, and leading the marching order.

Things came to a head when Y'draneal opened a long-disused door and triggered an attack by a group of eldritch bones, the glossy, black, azoth-infused, skeletal guardians of the mountain.  He was just barely able to slip past the goblins before they closed ranks and locked shields, blocking the corridor and trapping Yang and Hurtis at the front, face-to-face with the fearless enemy!

The fighters eventually prevailed, learning that Yang's morning star was far more effective at shattering the bones than Hurtis's spear-thrusts, but both men were battered and spent by the end of the fight (each had to use Second Wind and their Action Surge to stay on their feet).

As the over-sized goblins shouldered past the victors and set about searching for spoils the players realized that this relationship just wasn't going to work!

In the next room, the chambers of some long-dead Termaxian wizard, Yang discovered two chests and even though he had been quite cautious and disciplined about checking for traps up to that point, he forgot himself in his eagerness and fell victim to a poisoned needle on the latch of the first chest.

When the goblins saw that Yang wasn't going to die immediately (though his limbs became stiff and his breathing shallow as he clung to consciousness), they insisted that he open the second chest as well ... reasoning that he was probably a dead man anyway.  A fair sized trove of silver was discovered and Thaddeus IV soon set about consolidating it and assigning two of his goblins to carry off the chest.

Ivor: "So, I just want to see how much there is ... are they ... going to share?"

Meanwhile a secret door was discovered, along with a stash of food and drink in strange containers which seemed to defy the passing of years, and the withered corpse of the Termaxian mage who had made this corner of the dungeon his final hideout.

Y'draneal: [labeling his map] "We can call it Secret Base Gamma!"

Keeping this new discovery from the goblins just wasn't going to work however, and Thaddeus IV became even more excited over the cache of food than the silver.

As the goblins systematically opened and checked each container, a thought struck Y'draneal: he's extremely stealthy, reasonably strong and only two goblins were lingering behind as rear guard ... what if he grabbed the chest of silver and made a dash for it?  His thief skills would let him disengage from combat as a bonus action and his elven speed would give him an edge over any pursuit ... all he would need is a distraction ...

Ivor: "I'll point at Yang [currently writhing on the floor] and laugh."

DM: "The two goblins are watching him with interest and seem to be making a wager as to how quickly he dies."

Ivor: "I poke him with my spear a bit."

Y'draneal: [rolling a stealth check] "I'm going for it."

Y'draneal's roll came to a modified 20, enough to let him slip from the room without tipping the chest and making the coins shift.  Using his elven eyes to guide him through the dark, he was off like a flash, legging it back to the steps that led up to the dungeon's first level.

DM: [making a wandering monster check] "Are you waiting at the stairs for the others to catch up?"

Y'draneal: "No, I'm just going."

Yang: "Can you carve in the wall in thieves' cant, 'Here lies Yang?' "

Y'draneal: "No. I don't think there's a word for that."

In the end, after exchanging coins in Muntburg, the haul ended up coming out to about 100 gp each ... 

"Ivor: "100 gold and we lost Yang, made the goblins mad, and made The Seekers mad too." [Yang was technically one of their henchmen]

Y'draneal: [shrugging] "That sounds like a Vale problem."

----------------------------

Classic Moment: After looting a room, the large passageway that the group is following turns southeast rather than continuing in a cardinal direction ...

Y'draneal: [group's expert (only) mapper] "What!?  My world is crushed.  I don't want to go that way; then I have to draw a diagonal ... "

Rogue Trader comes to Lego City

My daughter asked to play Rogue Trader again, but this time she had something specific in mind for a battlefield ... and so Craftworld Leh'Goh was born!

Leaving the crimson grasslands behind, a squad of intrepid Imperial Guardsmen
moved into the margins of a strange, ruined city (and yes, that's a tardis on the left).

    

Unbeknownst to the guardsmen,
a gang of space orks from
Toe Cheeze clan deserted
their band to scour the
ruins for loot.

The guardsmen spied a six-level
structure rising beyond an overgrown
plaza -- the roof would be the
perfect place to set up their
team's relay beacon.

First contact!  As the other five orks took up positions in the tower,
ork boss "Ax-L" led the other half of his boys along the west side
of the plaza, making toward an old dais (and the loot).  He was
spotted by the humans, however, and lasgun fire cracked across the
 oddly studded streets.

But wait, what's this!?  Having blundered into holy precincts,
the space orks unwittingly awoke a squad of ancient, alien
guardians.  [We set a countdown and diced to determine
which side the eldar would pursue first.]

Acting on an earlier split-order, five guardsmen made a dash
for the tower with plans to ascend to the top and place their beacon.
Meanwhile, the rest of the squad, under the direction of Lt. Terrell,
established a line in the rubble on the east side of the plaza and provided
covering fire.  By then, however, Ax-L had scrambled to the top of
the dais and, recovering the loot and crouching before the statue of an ancient
psycher (Gandalf), he picked Terrell off from afar!  The rest of Terrell's
group turned and fled!

Shaking off the effects of their long sleep, the eldar guardians began to stalk the unwitting orks through the ruins.

The merciless eldar sprang upon on
the orks, cutting them down.  Ax-L
showed his mettle in the end, however,
hewing down attackers with his mighty
axe ... the eldar broke and fled back
toward their stasis chamber. 

Meanwhile, the remaining five guardsmen began working their way up the tower,
floor-by-floor.  Most of the orks had already been cleared out by fire from across the
plaza, but one fierce brute held the top floor and kept them at bay for several rounds,
trading shots around corners, until a volley of lasgun fire finally brought him down. 

At long last, the guardsmen gained the
top of the tower and placed their beacon
alongside the husk of a giant spider
(Shelob of course) ...

... but it was too late!  Loaded down with loot, Ax-L had
already made his get-away -- victory went to the space orks!

Campaign Concept: Elves and Goblins

What if ... elves, halflings, and goblins are actually the same critters?

Before ...

After but a few generations in the Fields Men Know, the offspring of elves are born smaller, short-lived, and eventually twisted.

... and after.

 
Elves don't choose to linger in mortal lands by preference of course, but those few who do appear in the mundane world are exiles -- driven from the undying kingdom after a failed coup -- or on quests for their ageless lords.


Some elves attempt to stave off the decline of their bloodlines by switching their infants for those of mortals -- and thus a "half-elf" or "halfling" child might be raised among humans.



This idea doesn't fit in any of my three current campaigns ... but I bet I'll get some mileage out of it at some point.

Dwimmermount with Middle Schoolers -- XVI

We opened our latest session with Vale the Gray, Ivor the Doorman, and fighting men Yang and Hurtis gathered at Muntburg's Green Dragon Inn (where else?).

Vale expressed outrage that, in her absence, her companions had found a sold a collection of ancient books and scrolls without holding any back for her to peruse (the words "simpering fools" may have been used), and she lamented the fact that she is still showing lingering signs of brain fever.  Out of desperation Vale approached rival exploring group The Five Delvers and learned that they had indeed located and recovered the portable, ivory altar of Saint Tyche which Vale and company had lost when fleeing the dungeon in an earlier episode.


A vigorous round of haggling followed, and in the end Vale struck a bargain, receiving the altar (a key to her cure) in exchange for a few hundred gold, a partial map of The Reliquary level, and some "lore" regarding the oracular, metal face found on The Paths of Saint Mavors (which she made up on the spot) ...

"...The face is actually called the Head of Kallawagin and every seven days it comes to life and roams the dungeon, consuming all the dead bodies that it finds.  That's why you don't find more corpses.  Oh, and it has a body hidden behind the wall behind the face.  So if you find yourself in Dwimmermount on the seventh day, I'd loot any bodies you can and get the heck out of there before Kallawagin can catch you." 

A pretty clever little web of nonsense ... corpses do disappear from the dungeon if left unguarded for even a short time and notice how it discourages The Five Delvers from lingering in the megadungeon (where they might find the choice loot before Vale and her companions).

Once more in possession of the altar, the group used Y'draneal's map to make their way swiftly toward the steps to level 2.  Along the way, however, they encountered not one but two separate packs of pig-faced beastmen.  Fortunately, use of a Light spell, Comprehend Languages, Vale's high Charisma (17), and the shattered skull that top's her staff were enough to convince the beastmen that the adventurers were aligned with "The Maker" ... if not a reincarnation of Turms Termax the Thrice-Great ... and were best avoided.


Again I got that swell of DM-pride to see how Ivor and Vale's players have matured and, rather than simply trying to stick a sword in everything, they were able to bypass two potentially taxing combat encounters (both with wandering monsters that wouldn't have offered any gain) using negotiation and trickery!

(c) 2011 Mark Allen

Down on level two, the explorers soon encountered The Seekers, a higher level party who was busy trying to puzzle out the riddle of the marked columns in the Hall of Truth.  The Seekers had recovered some Thulian war-masks and, along with a Charm spell or two, were successful in recruiting their own pack of beastmen to act as guides and bodyguards while in Dwimmermount.

Vale, Ivor, and Yang persuaded Ysabellon, leader of The Seekers, to open magically sealed door for them and were soon on their way.  However, the very next room they explored was haunted by living shadows (1 Strength point perma-drain when they hit)!

Noticing how the shadows kept to ... well .. the shadows, more torches were quickly kindled to supplement Vale's Light spell.  Still, the group had to watch their step because any shadows they cast instantly became an avenue that the creatures could flow along.  Vale called a retreat and the party picked its way back to The Seekers who, already alerted by henchman Hurtis's panicked flight, made short work of the shadows.

Noticing how quickly the adventurers were apt to become dependent on these more experienced NPCs, I wasn't especially surprised when, upon finding a sealed orichalcum box, they again backtracked to ask The Seekers for help.  This time, however, Ysabellon was firm: "Thank you, but no.  We are presently engaged."

Still, Jeffroy, one of The Seekers was willing to come along with a pair of beastmen and have a look.  A bit of an expert in locks and things, Jeffroy reported that the box was sealed, probably trapped, and best left alone.  To my surprise, Vale, Yang, and Ivor agreed and headed off to explore elsewhere.

Our final encounter of the afternoon was a fateful one: beyond a southern door the group came face to face with a half dozen goblins ... but what manner of goblins were these?  Rather than the shifty, little swamp-dwellers, these brutes stood as tall as a man and were decked out in antique armor and carried long, curved blades!

Vale, however, was in rare form.  With the help of another Comprehend Languages spell (and her 17 Charisma), she was able to pick out much of their Thulian barracks argot and she made it very clear that the adventurers were not looking for a fight.

Offering some food and even doing a bit of bartering, they talked to these upraised goblin folk, learning that they were tasked with securing this level by their "centurion" on the next level down.  Vale pointed out, reasonably enough, that the groups could work together, sharing any treasure they might happen across.  The big goblinfolk were agreeable and so the party set out again, their strength considerably bolstered.

The question remains, however, will this alliance last, and if there is treachery, will the explorers (now outnumbered) have the strength to survive it?
-------------------------------

I'm really, really pleased at how this batch of players has become adept at negotiating and using their wits to avoid potentially lethal combats where they stand little to gain.  Dwimmermount, as a product, does a great job of encouraging this approach to play ... better than, say Keep on the Borderlands does.  In addition, I've been delighted to see how the spells cast really reflect this approach ... Comprehend Languages and Light are the go-to spells rather than Sleep and Magic Missile.

Who Killed Grandmaster Thoe?

While I mostly write about my B/X Homeguard campaign or my 5^th edition Dwimmermount game, the truth is that the campaign that I put the most time and energy into is actually “Olde School Wizardry,” my homebrew, heartbreaker, all-wizard RPG.  Playing twice a month for about five years now, some amazing, dedicated players have helped develop a rich, imaginary world with dozens of plots, memorable settings, and over a hundred NPCs.

Last Friday night was no exception.  Here's a snapshot of the kind of nonsense we get into ...

Grandmaster Thoe of the Revered and Ancient Order of Smithies and Artificers was blown to bits in broad daylight right on a busy Eas’side Avenue in the Walvian capital of Dundrin-on-Clye.  The assassins were believed to be agents of the dastardly Bhatvian Overmarshal. 

Thoe isn't actually a snake of course,
just our setting's highest ranking steam punk,
but this pic tells you everything
you really need to know about him.

Foremost among the Artificers, whose order rose to such prominence after the decisive role their steam-powered contraptions played in the Stork Islands War, Thoe was a dedicated critic of organized wizardry, and it was considered a great coup when the Archduke’s Duckpond Council saw fit to award him title to Whitegull Keep, the ancestral home of wizardry and the Collegium Mysterium.

More recently, when Grandmaster Thoe was appointed Provisional Governor of the client city-state of Parleth, a clandestine investigation by wizards Mikhail Put, Dwitegmore Vart, and Bron Yuuk (three PCs, recently returned from the distant past) revealed that he was secretly working with Bhatvia on a grand scheme (code named “Brand’s Hammer") to overthrow the Walvian Archduke.

Aboard the pleasure barge of reclusive Judex Mellard Bentbrock, a recently pardoned and reformed “cabalist” (a wizard who advocates the overthrow of mundane modes of governance and the institution of a universal magocracy), while running the gauntlet of Bentbrocks lackeys, flesh-shaped goblins, and gynunculi (lumbering, boneless, meat-women) wizards Put, Fwippit, and Vart were more than a little surprised to stumble across Thoe, who didn’t seem to recognize them despite their recent encounter with him.

No, Mellard Bentbrock isn't a giant, space-slug,
but again, the photo pretty much tells the whole story. 

Gaining audience with the hedonistic Bentbrock, ostensibly to secure his patronage for a newly produced line of bottled, magical, intoxication-inducing fogs, the Put and Vart actually intended to question him regarding the whereabouts of "Grom's Blasphemy," a hastily scrawled magical sigil that may constitute the only known sample of "Auld Science" (the arcane potential to manipulate the cruel, psychic, elfin overlord race of which only a single member is known to still exist).

In order to offer Bentbrock something in exchange for information they sought, the young wizards had planned to give Judex Bentbrock details on Grandmaster Thoe's duplicity, but they certainly hadn't expected to find the prestigious artificer and staunch critic of wizards everywhere enjoying Bentbrock's own hospitality!

When the investigators probed a bit, to the effect of ... "So you must already know about Thoe's secret dealings.  There are plenty of people who would be very unhappy if they found out what he was up to.  In fact, there are those in the Estates Arcanum who would be most pleased to see you take Thoe's seat on the Duckpond Council should Thoe lose his place," Bentbrock replied with a surprising non sequitur, intimating that, though apparently his guest, Thoe wasn’t “long for this world.”

Bentbrock agreed to give the young wizards details on where to seek Grom's Blasphemy (on the Bhatvian-held island of Medeherenz, one of Bentbrock's former secret lairs) in exchange for returning a few items that he had left behind when he fled the place: a magical cauldron, a favorite pair of studded pajamas, and the collar of Lord Puggles his original fleshy bear (meanwhile Lord Puggles #2 was  busy making amorous advances upon young Fwippit's leg).


The wizards hastily took their leave of the corpulent Judex, spotting Thoe on their way off of the barge.  This time Thoe immediately recognized them, and the senior artificer fled from the investigators in a panic.  For their part, the wizards made no effort to pursue, surmising that Thoe was under Bentbrock's protection.

After spending a week creating a new batch of intoxicating, bottled vapors ("Fwippit's Fabulous Fruity Fogs"), and an unpleasant encounter with Knuckles Nokk (one of Bentbrock's lackeys) and a pair of his enforcers who were none too happy about being cut out of a deal to sell these to the Judex, the Vart, Put and friends prepared to depart Dundrin-on-Clye for far northern Medeherenz.

Knuckles Nokk, Guttermage
and mid-level crime boss.

Before they could leave the city, however, urgent news arrived: Grandmaster Thoe had been killed right in the city while en route to a meeting of the Archduke's Duckpond Council.  If Bhatvia was behind the assassination, as most patriotic Walvians naturally assumed, this could mean that a declaration of war was imminent!

• So ... who killed Grandmaster Thoe, one of the most influential men in all Walvia?
• Was it the Bhatvians, turning on their ally before he could reveal their schemes?
• Judex Bentbrock, exacting revenge for Thoe's many slights against wizards?
• Someone else entirely?  
• And what was meant by Bentbrock's apparent slip?  Why would he risk speaking of Thoe's death if he wished to murder the man and already had him easily within his power?  Bentbrock assuredly has the power to simply make someone disappear, so why the delay of a week and why should the assassination be so public?

So that's a small glimpse into what our regular sessions of Olde School Wizardry look like! 

Dwimmermount with Middle Schoolers -- XV

(c) 2011 Mark Allen

Beginning the session in Muntburg, fighting men Ivor, Certeff, and Yang, joined by elven thief and cartographer Y'draneal, prepared to dive back into the legendary mega-dungeon.  They recruited a local spearman to join them, but with most potential hirelings having signed on with rival adventuring parties The Five Delvers or The Seekers availability was low and the going rates were soaring.



Vale's player wasn't present, so we decided that she was suffering through another bout of "brain fever," contracted in the stews of Adamas (the group has yet to place the portable shrine of Saint Tyche in the Reliquary to secure her long-term cure).  Instead, the explorers chose to approach The Five Delvers in The Green Dragon Inn and subcontracted with them to hire a magic-user from their ranks on a short term basis.



The group also purchased a copy of a complete map of the Paths of Saint Mavors, the first level of the dungeon.  Ironically, this map was first discovered by Ivor and company on the corpse of a dead dwimmerling (dwarf), but they failed to properly decode it, and instead they sold it to The Five Delvers for a song.  Now it cost Ivor a pretty penny to buy back a decoded copy.

Perceiving that the first level had been thoroughly looted, the explorers hurried back to the Reliquary to continue their search for riches.

Picking a new hallway, Certeff soon ran afoul of an animated gargoyle and even Ivor's mightiest strokes with his greatsword were powerless to harm the fiend.  Only Y'draneal's azoth-infused arrows seemed able to damage the fierce creature.  It responded in turn by pouncing on the elf and tearing at him, leaving him battered and unconscious.  Thinking quickly, the other adventurers snatched arrows from the recumbent elf's quiver and struck out clumsily at the gargoyle (I really enjoy 5th edition's "disadvantage" mechanic and think it fits the OSR vibe better than some of the oldest game mechanics).  Eventually the blows took their toll, and Yang was able to finish the monster off.


Securing themselves in an empty chamber, the group rested and recovered, but the halls of Dwimmermount were far from still and the reflective, translucent phantom first encountered on level one made its appearance, necessitating a retreat to a despoiled library.


Y'draneal's player has been so dependable about making careful maps that, with him out of the action, none of the other players were actually willing to pick up a pencil for more than a moment or two and, fearing to become lost due to lack of a map, the party declined to probe any further into the dungeon!  Amusingly, they decided that they would rather hunker down and endure multiple wandering monster checks until their mapper could take up his role again than press onward.

When Yang's player rolled a natural 20 while searching the library for traps, I ruled that he noticed a lever under one of the aged shelves.  A quick tug opened the door to a secret storeroom and the group suddenly found themselves in possession of crate after crate of ancient scrolls and books.  Master Marmaduke, a sage in Adamas, had already expressed keen interest in buying any written works recovered from Dwimmermount, so the party quickly recognized this windfall for what it was.

Once Y'draneal could stand on his own, they loaded themselves up with books and scrolls, unfortunately having to leave many behind, and slipped from the dungeon as quickly and quietly as possible.  I'm particularly ruthless in making wandering monster checks during the party's egresses, but by cutting through the grand, pillared Hall of Truth to avoid the luminous, stalking curtain they were able to escape without any losses.

The magic-user took his leave, no doubt returning to The Five Delvers to report the discovery, while Curteff, Ivor, Y'draneal and Yang made for Adamas.

Once there they showed remarkable focus in avoiding street encounters and entanglements as they made straight for Master Marmaduke.  The sale of the ancient documents earned them a whopping 5,000 gold ... their biggest haul yet, and Curteff was able to sell off the oricalcum plates (pried out of the floor from in front of some mysterious pedestals) that he had been carrying for some time now.

Most party members upgraded their armor, seeing our first fighter to don a full suit of plate.  Each party member also chose to indulge in some type of opulent living, making their carousing rolls with ease and in effect buying insurance against low hit dice rolls when leveling up.

We wrapped up what was a tightly managed session with the party preparing to depart Adamas.  Perhaps Master Marmaduke will be able to convince them of the virtues of some of his finer elixirs and antidotes ere their return to Muntburg.

--------------------------------------------------

I don't want to "jinx" things by speaking too soon, but for the most part this session saw players taking on the cool efficiency, rational decision making, and risk management that are the marks of experienced dungeon crawlers who've learned to adjust from the linear quests and reload immortality of Xbox gaming to old school D&D.  

Homeguard Campaign Map

Travis Henry was kind enough to express interest in our B/X Homeguard campaign map.
Here's a quick shot:

At first the map had only three or four locations, matching our very first adventures -- Quasqueton (from B1), Threshold, and Castellan's Keep and the Caves of Chaos (from Keep on the Borderlands).

As months rolled by, we soon added the Shrine of the Sacred Spring (from a homebrew adventure and the twin of the magic fountain in B5) and Kelvin Town.

Working our way toward the borders of The Realm, the Downs found its place.  Clearly the Druids lived deep in forests beyond ... else why should it take a quest to locate them in The Forest Oracle (N2)?  And even farther to the east travelers can sometimes pass out of the Fields Men Know and into Olvenhome (where Rahasia may be found).

From there Winterhaven and the Keep on the Shadowfell (H1) naturally had to be placed at the northern edge of civilized lands while Gideon's Fort (renamed from Guido's Fort in Horror on the Hill) became a frontier trading post.  About this time Mary the Halfling took ship over the southern horizon toward the Isle of Dread (X1) incorporating an adventure run by my oldest into our campaign world.

Orlane (Against the Cult of the Reptile God), Greenest (Hoard of the Dragon Queen), and the Rock of Tuma (Journey to the Rock and The Lost City) represented the next batch of adventurers.

Following The Curse of Xanathon, which placed the neighboring kingdom of Rhoona on the southeastern edge of our map (cut off in this pic), my oldest is now running Master of the Desert Nomads for us, necessitating the addition of Pramsford (replacing Pramayana) while The Great Waste became a cold steppe, nicely fitting into the same desert space required in Journey to the Rock.

Oh, you'll also spot the small Barony of Barovia along the storm-wracked southeastern coast, not far from the borders of Rhoona.

There is a theme to our geography: a small Realm of Men, ringed with castles and border forts, holding back the savage wilds.  In time this may allow characters the opportunity to take charge of these fortresses.

The main idea was to keep adventure locations densely packed and intimate so as to create relationships through synergy -- of course the evil clerics in The Caves of Chaos are followers of Orcus ... part of the same cult who trouble Winterhaven!  Likewise the orcs from the Caves of Chaos are related to the Bloody Hand tribe who lurk in The Great Wood and hinder the party's journey to find the ArchDruid.

Wherever possible, locations, villains, friendly NPCs, and factions are reused and this seems to add depth and connection for my players.