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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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Set-up
Overview
The following session was played using my own house system that remains a work in progress. It is based heavily on a B/X D&D core (well Labyrinth Lord anyway) but I've added in some mechanics and tables that add in an extra dose of unpredictability, drama, and flavour.
I should add that this campaign will be a sandbox play-style with a Sword and Sorcery-lite feel for the world. I have chosen to base the game in the Blackmoor/Judges Guild setting though I will really only be using the maps and select pieces of the lore. Only myself and one other player in the group have played D&D and both of us haven't played more than a handful of times in the last 15 years. The other players are almost brand new to RPG's, only playing the odd session in the last year or so. With my system finally playable, this game represents a new start for us. I thought it fitting we give a nod to D&D history by basing things in Blackmoor and then heading to the Keep on the Borderlands. Even better, none of us have played this module before.
PCs
Drak the Dwarf - level 1
Tasher the Rogue - level 1
Brom the Mystic (cleric of Helios) - level 1
Before we began I had the players roll for a special ability and a random starting item. Drak rolled horseman which gave him a bonus to attack and damage when mounted and perhaps the more important boon, a mount. We all suggested he take a pony, being a dwarf and all, but Drak wanted a riding horse so I decided it was a steppe horse and let it stand. For a starting item he was lucky and received a decorative abacus worth 120 gold pieces (which would prove important shortly).
Tasher was next and rolled knife fighter (which would also prove important in the session), a great ability considering he had already decided he wanted to be a rogue. For his random starting item he began with a piece of leather hide which he promptly sold. Brom the Mystic was last and rolled marksman, giving him a bonus to his range attacks. Having great strength as well, I suggested he become a follower of Helios the Sun God so that he could use javelins and take advantage of this ability. He agreed and then rolled a forgettable set of chisels as his starting item.
Note: most of the special abilities are not combat related and this was a bit of a fluke that all three had combat bonuses.
Arrival in Blackmoor
Drak the dwarf had arranged for the trio to meet in Blackmoor at the Comeback Inn. As luck would have it, this was also the day of the Great Parade, a forgettable event where the Lord of Blackmoor and his pudgy son ride around town waving to the crowd. Blackmoor has hit hard times and apparently this passes as entertainment here. When the sad display ends the townsfolk gather in the square and the PC's join them. The Lord of Blackmoor then orders kegs rolled out and free beer is poured. With the town "abuzz" the Lord of Blackmoor steps up on stage and makes his annual plea for heroes.
Apparently the Castle of Blackmoor, located inside the town walls, has been barricaded and sealed off by elves and the Lord can't go back inside. A demon has been loosed in the dungeons and the family castle has been lost for almost a hundred years. Despite the beer buzz and an offer of knighthood to any hero that dare mount a quest to reclaim it, the crowd remains silent and none step forward, including the PC's. Even when lands are offered upon completion of the quest, the PC's do not want to risk this clearly dangerous quest.
The truth is I expected this reaction but was hoping at least one of them would bite. In the end the elves would have refused to open the gates to a party so clearly doomed to fail, but it would have provided a nice future quest for them and a laughable knighthood for at least one of them. I want to encourage them to be less timid and calculating when they play and decide to inform them that had they accepted, I would have allowed their next character to roll 4d6, remove lowest die (instead of straight 3d6) for their ability scores and granted extra experience as a sort of heroism/karmic reward.
Travel to the Keep On The Borderlands
After the parade the group gathers in the basement of the Comeback Inn and form their adventuring party. Drak has heard rumours from a group of mercenaries that a keep to the north is paying for help clearing a goblin infestation in some nearby caves. The group decides to head north butbefore leaving Drak sells the abacus in town since they are all broke by this time.
On the way to Castellan keep the group encounters the same trio of mercenaries that had told Drak the rumour about the keep. Oddly they are returning to the town and the group hails them. The trio informs them that the rumours are in fact false, the keep is not paying to help clear the caves and has merely put out a call for heroes. The group briefly reconsiders turning back for some other adventure but decide that if there are goblins, there must also be treasure. With their sacks full of coins from the sale of the abacus the group asks the mercenaries what their rate is. The mercenaries state that they want 1 gold/day for each of them, 30 days pay upfront and in the case of their death, 100 gold must be paid to their families. The players snort and balk but I inform them that this is the going rate for mercenaries.
Note: In some prior test runs of my system I had charged far less than this so this was a shock to the players. The problem I had noticed was that the player's were treating the henchmen like they were meaningless pawns. This change made them far more protective of them and I think the game benefitted from it. The 100 gp payment on death was not something they wanted to risk.
After much discussion they agree to the fees and suddenly the party has doubled in size. Drak takes command of a tall northerner named Aedilfrid, Tasher takes command of Worgar the crossbowman (and also unknown to them, a craven at heart) and Brom takes command of Irgrid, the muscular spear maiden. All are 0 level mercenaries.
That night a small group of Hobgoblins finds the PCs camped out for the night but being outnumbered decide it is too risky to attack. They don't know it but already the investment in mercenaries has paid off.
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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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I forgot about the posting system here and that your submissions have to be approved before they show up. It's finally posted while I was at work today but this is actually a very lengthy session recap (amazing what you can do in one session when you play with old school rules) that I wanted to post in a series of replies. I will post the next part now and try to finish it off later today. This is mainly for our group's records (though I won't tell them about this thread until after the adventure is complete) and if anyone gets some entertainment/inspiration from it then all the better!
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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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Arrival at the Keep on the Borderlands
Note: Lots of spoilers within.
After gaining entry in to the keep the party made a quick tour of its major establishments. In the tavern they heard a few rumours but none of them proved valuable. Taking stock of the patrons they noticed two men in the bar who appeared to be travellers, one a tall lanky fellow and the other a pudgy boy who looked to be about 12 or 13. Asking the bartender if he know anything about these men he told them they were mercenaries whose party had been slaughtered by orcs in the caves, and they were the only survivors.
Orcs!? The caves were supposed to be filled with goblins... The players looked visibly concerned.
The group approached the pair and learned that the pudgy "boy" was actually a 16 year old magician and his partner claimed to be a sharp-shooting bowman. The players debated whether it was wise to make an offer to the mercenaries fearing they were cowards who fled in the face of danger. The pair explained that their group came ill-prepared with a small party and expected to find only goblins. Being in the rear of the party they managed to escape when their partners were crushed by orcs, who came at them from each side in T-junction of a tunnel. The party eventually decided it was worth the risk and wanted to make an offer for them to join, but not having enough gold left-over offered them a share of the treasure instead. With a large group this time the pair were willing to give the caves another shot and agreed. Thus Feggener the Quick and Trebellos the Boy Magician were added to the party.
Notes: I rolled there were two mercenaries in the bar (as per the module) and decided to randomly pick ones from the pre-generated level 1 characters from module B1 In Search of the Unknown. I made the decision that these characters would have a high chance at becoming retainers for the characters if treated well. When the players offered them a share of the treasure it fit perfectly with my plans (as retainers get a share)!
The characters then went out to see the visiting cleric in town, a fat jovial man with huge jowls named Nikodemos. Claiming to be a priest of Issek of the Jug (god of wine) he welcomed the characters and seemed quite pleased to hear they were going to fight the "evil in the caves". He gave a quick speech on the importance of remaining vigilant against chaos and fighting for good and humanity. The players used this as an opportunity to ask him to join their party and he jumped at the chance to join such a "strong, determined group".
With their group now swelling to nine members the players decide they were ready to tackle the caves. Retiring to the inn they went to sleep and headed out at first light.
Finding the Caves of Chaos
Feggener the Quick has little trouble remembering the way to the caves and the party arrives without incident. Realizing that they should leave someone to guard Drak's horse, and not wanting to risk having to pay 3 families 100 gp if things go bad for the mercenaries, the group decides to leave Worgar the crossbowman in the forest with the extra gear and horse. This proved to be a lucky decision for the first session as his craven status hasn't had a chance to play a factor yet.
Note 1: I was quite happy to skip the outdoor encounters as only the hermit seemed interesting. With the party hiring a pair of mercenaries that had been to the caves I had an easy out and jumped on it.
Note 2: I decided to erase the whole kobold section from the map and pretend it didn't exist. Let's face it, the caves are difficult to believe with so many types of humanoids together in one spot. With no inter-connecting tunnels or relationships with the other races I decided the kobolds wouldn't be missed and removing them might make the caves just a bit less silly. They also have more than their share of treasure so it was nice to reduce this as the module seems very generous in that regard.
Leaving Worgar behind the party enters the canyon and takes a quick scan of the cave mouths. The party isn't eager to tackle the orc cave that Feggener claims his party died in and opts to head south to the first cave.
The Goblin Caves
As I've stated this group can be a little timid. They at first propose a plan where they will draw the occupants out and "kite" them around the canyon. I remind them this isn't Everquest and they take the hint. They then decide to form up outside the cave mouth in ranks and throw a rock inside. Before they do that though Drak the dwarf edges up to the cavern and as luck would have it hears the wandering patrol that is coming down the tunnel. He quickly throws a rock in and runs to position beside the Priest of Issek and Aedilfrid to form the front line. The party waits and a goblin head pokes around the corner to look at them and then darts back before they can get a shot off. Multiple voices begin yelling "Bryy-Ark" and they hear the sound of many footsteps. The goblins aren't taking the bait though and remain just around the tunnel.
Here is where their timidness costs them. Instead of having to fight a group of 6 goblinoids they allow the goblins to mass up until there are over 15 waiting for them. The players all chose goblinoid as a language so they all understand when one of them yells "pay him off!", followed by yells of "here he comes!". At this point they know something big is around the corner (an ogre) but they don't know what.
And nothing happens. Neither side is making a move. I debate what the goblins might do in this situation. I consider having them tell the ogre to go back round through his cave and come in upon the rear of the party but I figure that might be too intelligent for them and the ogre is probably too eager for battle. I also know the party will get slaughtered if I do that so I consider a die roll to decide.
Ultimately the players make the decision easy as Drak and Tasher decide to head down the tunnel cautiously. This is enough for me to send the ogre charging round the corner with the goblins at his heels. Drak and Tasher make a hasty retreat and battle begins. The ogre moves up to the first rank and with his first blow kills Aedilfrid with his bare hands. Nikodemos, the cleric from the keep, has a -1 AC and both he and the dwarf are able to hold off the ogre as the second rank attacks him with spear and javelins. The ogre is dispatched much easier than I expected.
Now the one big error I make here is that I fail to notice that the goblins have plenty of spears available (over 60 in a barrel). I rule they have short swords and this probably changed the course of this battle. They leap over the ogre's body and slash and hack at the PC's but fall in quick order. Each round I roll for morale but my rolls are crazy and they won't break. They just continue to die and die until only a handful remained. Finally they break and the PCs chase after them, attacking at range. In the end 2 goblins head east, 2 west and the party decides to halt rather than split up.
At this point the PCs begin looting Aedilfrid's body. Irgrid, the spear maiden, becomes visibly upset when they take his sword and she informs them that in their culture the warrior must be buried with his weapons, as he will need them in the afterlife. Brom, the cleric of Helios, steps in on her behalf and agrees to a proper burial according to their custom. Irgrid had earlier rolled a near perfect loyalty roll towards him and with this action I ruled it gave her another +1, a perfect loyalty score. Since they were both of good alignment I ruled that he could accept her as a retainer if he wanted. He agreed and I told him she would remain a 0 level mercenary until she acquired 1000 xp, at which point she could choose a 1st level class freely. He then rolled up her stats and we all were left speechless. Using the straight 3d6 method he rolled str 14, dex 14, con 13, int 10, wis 14 and cha 17. That may not seem that great to modern RPG players but for a straight 3d6 roll that is pretty damn good.
And so, just like that, she became the "best" character in the party. We all ooh'd and ahh'd at her stats, debated what class she should take, and began referring to her as a Valkyrie. I have already informed my players that they can convert their retainers to PC's so she instantly became a bit of a "golden child" in the party. It was amazing to watch the players try to make sure she was never at too much risk, actually placing themselves in great danger to save her.
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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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Which way to go?
The group decides to follow the two goblins that ran down the eastern tunnel and they reach a set of stairs. As Drak looks for traps a spear comes flying down the stairwell and hits him in the shoulder (by this point I noticed the barrel of spears and ruled the goblins grabbed some as they ran by). As the party plans their attack they can hear one of the goblins pounding on a door up the stairs, followed by pleading to be let inside.
Note: I decided to have the goblins make a reaction roll with the hobgoblins to determine if they would be allowed in the door. The roll was bad and I rule that the hobgoblins think it's too dangerous to let them inside as clearly something has the goblins spooked. With women and children inside it's not worth risking their own safety for two measly goblins.
In short order the goblins are killed by the party and they try to pull a fast one on the hobgoblins behind the door. Of course they don't know these are hobgoblins yet, but they do guess rightly that based on the height of the peephole the creatures on the other side must be near human height. Assuming they are bandits or orcs, the party tells the hobgoblins that they have killed all the goblins and that it is safe for them to open the door. The hobgoblins of course see right through the lie and tell them to bugger off.
Pulling out his crowbar Drak rushes the door and makes short work of its lock. With the door opened the party rushes in.
The Hobgoblin Caves - Where things get really ugly, and quite entertaining!
Drak and the Priest of Issek are the first to enter and find 5 hobgoblins ready for them (the females having fled deeper in to the caves with their children). Drak foolishly charges in, leaving someone in the second rank exposed. One of the hobgoblin seizes the opportunity and throws his spear at this unfortunate fellow. I roll a 16 and ask which character the spear is hurtling towards. Everyone realizes the mistake at once as they inform me it's Trebellos, the Boy Magician. The roll is a certain hit and having only 4 hit points he has a good chance of dying. Sure enough I roll a 6 and Trebellos falls to the ground. I decide that even though Trebellos isn't a full retainer yet, that is the eventual plan for him and so I decide to give him a chance on the death/dying table. I don't feel like going in to details but essentially at 0 hit points a character is unconscious, -1 to -6 a random roll is made on a death/dying chart to determine if the character was killed by the blow or maimed (but able to be stabilized), and at -7 or higher the character is dead no matter what. Since Trebellos was now at -2 hit points there was a chance he could be stabilized and I rolled on the death/dying chart:
Eye torn out.
I inform the players that Trebellos falls to the ground with a spear jutting out of his eye socket. A pool of blood forms around his head but miraculously he may still be saveable if they can win this fight and apply a cure wounds spell on him before he bleeds to death (I don't worry about bleed rules, if they win the fight and act immediately after it to save him that is good enough for me).
Brom the cleric (PC) and Tasher the rogue (PC) leap over the body of the Boy Magician and begin a desperate battle with the hobgoblins. One of the hobgoblins is killed but multiple characters take wounds, and Brom falls to the ground.
This time two hobgoblins have slashed at Brom and he is knocked to -3 hit points. Another roll on the death/dying table and this time I burst out laughing:
Crotch destroyed.
I describe to the players how the hobgoblin ducks under Brom's swing and then stabs his sword in to Brom's genitals, twisting his blade and utterly destroying them. Everyone has a good laugh and I inform him that even if he's stabilized his crotch is useless to him now.
It is at this point I consider pulling out my ace card and having Nikodemos, the so-called priest of Issek, reveal his true identity as a cultist of Baal. I wonder how the hobgoblins would react though, would they join with him? Would they be confused and continue attacking him? Besides, Nikodemos can probably kill two or three party members alone and with 4 hobgoblins around and two characters out of commission this almost feels unfair now. Then again that's the breaks in old school D&D. I really didn't know how this should play out so I decided to wait another round and keep thinking about it.
The players are now openly discussing whether this is the end for them and they don't even know about Nikodemos. Yikes. Amazingly on the next round they rally.
Drak cuts one hobgoblin down and then, using cleave rules, steps over the body and slays the one that just blew apart Brom's genitals. Irgrid and Tasher both kill a hobgoblin each and just like that, all four hobgoblins are dead. No one notices that I hadn't acted with Nikodemos as I decided he was holding his action to possibly attack one of the PCs that round. With the hobgoblins all dead he decides not to risk it.
There was one thing Nikodemos (well myself) hadn't considered though:
With Brom bleeding out on the floor before them the party turns to Nikodemos and implores him to cast cure light wounds on both him and Trebellos. Suddenly it occurs to me that Nikodemos, as a cultist of Baal, can't cast cure light wounds and only has the reverse version of the spell, cause light wounds. Nikodemos looks nervously around and begins to stammer that he can't do it. I can see by the look on the player's eyes that the gig is up for him so he begins chanting a spell of darkness, hoping to cast a globe of darkness around himself and then charge down the stairs in the confusion. Tashers player (the experienced one of the bunch) realizes he is up to something and pulls out his knives. He openly states that they should have known better than to trust him so quickly, especially when he didn't ask for treasure and was so quick to join them. Nice! This is what I want to hear from the group.
I call for an initiative roll.
Tashers player wins initiative and attacks with his knives hoping to disrupt Nikodemos. Now remember that Nikodemos is in magical plate armour and has an AC of -1 so the chances of Tasher actually hitting him are slim. But remember also that Tasher rolled the special ability of knife fighter and that I said it would be important later in the session? Well that time is now...
Tashers player rolls to hit and the group cheers as the die comes up a 20! A critical hit.
Having the ability of knife fighter means that Tasher does 1d6 with knives, has a +2 to hit, and a +4 on the critical chart. A good portion of the results on the critical hit chart give no benefit and most add only a minor boost. Only the top result is particularly deadly.
I tell him to roll a d30 and it comes up a 26. Not bad I think until the players point out that it is a 30 with his +4 bonus! This is it, the most deadly result he could ask for and it requires a roll on another chart. I check the result of the second roll and explain how his knives find a chink in Nikodemos' armour and cut deep in to his leg. Nikodemos falls prone to the floor and will die from a mortal wound in 3 rounds!
Wow.
Tasher and the party have pulled off a miracle! I think we all cheered at this point.
They taunt Nikodemos as he curses them, daring the party to finish him off. Fearing that he may have a trick up his sleeve they slit his throat and turn to their dying friends. With no clerics to cast cure wounds on the victims the players assume they are goners but I inform them that they can attempt to stabilize them with bandages as long as they didn't go below -3 hit points. Since neither of them went that low, the party rushes to bandage Trebellos but pause at the body of Brom. Much discussion (and laughter) occurs as we debate whether it's right to revive a man in his particular, umm ... condition. Brom's player ponders how he will even urinate. Eventually they decide to save him and hopefully find a way to restore his genitals later. They then high-tail it to the horse and rush to take their unconscious friends back to the temple.
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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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Lol still more to come... Can't believe how much we did in one session considering we spent an hour making characters. Gotta love old school play...
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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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Back at the Keep
The party arrives back at the keep and the scribe records their names as they enter. He is quick to notice that Aedilfrid and Nikodemos are not with the group and they explain how Aedilfrid died and more importantly, how Nikodemos was actually a cultist of Baal who betrayed them. The Sergeant-at-arms demands they follow him to Nikodemos' chamber and they accuse his acolytes of being cultists as well. They have taken a vow of silence however and have nothing to offer against the claims, worse the PCs have no way of proving it. The sergeant decides to search their apartment but finds nothing out of the ordinary. Unsure how to proceed he informs everyone they will not be allowed to leave the keep until the matter is resolved.
The players are genuinely stumped at what to do and can't figure out how to prove their claims. Eventually they decide to get some rest in the inn and try to think of something the next day.
When the next day dawns Brom is healthy enough to rise but Trebellos remains useless in bed. The sergeant gathers the two groups together and the players decide that Brom should cast a command spell on the acolytes. I ask him what one word command he gives them and he says "speak". He then asks them if their master was a cultist of Baal and they deny it. The players look confused and I inform them that just because they speak, doesn't mean they have to tell the truth. I begin counting down from 10 seconds but they can't think of another way to word it and the spell fades.
Now they are stumped. They suggest to me they don't see a way to prove their claim so perhaps I should just jump ahead. I inform them I know of at least one way to clear their name, possibly more and they decide to keep thinking. Being fairly new to RPGs I offer some friendly advice and urge them to speak to the curate of the temple. I had pre-determined it was a temple to Helios so the curate willingly helps them, especially with Brom a member of the party (that and the curate has distrusted Nikodemos from the start). He tells them that while he doesn't have the right magic to force the acolytes to tell the truth, they may be able to find someone that can...
Note: I should add that at some point after returning to the keep the players discussed kicking Trebellos out of the party, suggesting he is useless. I inform them he is actually one of the most powerful members of the party if used correctly, but that up until now they have been over-looking his powers (he can cast charm person, faerie fire and light).
The players start trying to think of someone in the keep that could help and then it dawns on them, Trebellos! The sergeant is getting annoyed that this situation keeps dragging on and is considering locking everyone by this point. The players inform him of their plans to have Trebellos cast charm person on the acolytes, when he is strong enough again, and the sergeant looks pleased. Even he admits that he thinks they are telling the truth but he wants proof to present to the Castellan.
The next day Trebellos has snapped out of his funk and the players gather to await the sergeant. Suspiciously the acolytes do not show up and when the sergeant arrives they head to their apartment. Busting down the door they find the acolytes are gone. The players begin throwing out theories that they were demons, that a demon flew them over the walls, and so on (I can only chuckle to myself).
Looking around the apartment they notice a hidden compartment under a chair, missed when the sergeant first searched the place, that is open and emptied. They begin theorizing that they had invisibility or fly potions stored inside and start searching the keep for the acolytes. One of them borrows a dog from the jeweller, convinced they are still in the apartment invisible. Of course they turn up nothing and the truth is far less magical than they believe: hidden in the chair was a large sum of gems and coins that they used during the night to bribe their way out. Funny how they don't even consider this possibility and their minds instantly go to the diabolical and zanier ones.
Note: Realizing they were about to be revealed I assigned a die roll to a few potential responses by the acolytes. I rolled that they would try to bribe their way out and succeeded on their reaction rolls with the guards, allowing them to escape in the night.
Eventually they realize they aren't going to find the acolytes who are likely long gone by now. They wait one more night for Trebellos to fully recover and then head back to the caves.
Return to the Goblin Caves
Worgar is once again left to guard the horse and supplies and the players return to the goblin caves. I quickly have to consider what the goblins have done for the past few days and decide that despite losing half their number, they will barricade themselves in one of the rooms and try to make a stand. They still have almost a dozen males available and they will have spears readied this time (doh) so hopefully things will turn out better for them.
But they don't.
The players smartly realize that the wooden barricade (discarded furniture) is prone to fire and lob a vial of flaming oil at it that bounces off and sprays all over the wall. They only brought three vials of oil with them and they begin to get a bit nervous but the next toss is good and the barricade is lit in flames. The goblins begin to choke under the smoke and panic. The players start firing arrows at them and the goblins break, yelling "parley". The players consent and the goblins offer to throw down their weapons if the party allows them to leave with their women and children. The players debate with one another and finally agree.
As a sign of good faith the players roll out a barrel of water (from the previous room) and douse the flames. The goblins follow suit by dropping their spears. The goblin chief, realizing he is beat gives up as well and orders the remaining goblins out. They beg the PCs for a few spears to take with them and promise to settle in a new area and try to rebuild their tribe. The players are reluctant but the goblins continue to beg, fearing what will happen to their women and children if the orcs find them defenseless in the forest. The party relents (I am proud of them, usually they would be heartless) but demand the goblin chief stay to show them all his treasure, before they will release him. With no other choice he agrees and the party has Trebellos charm him to make sure he gives up everything he has. Under the effects of the spell the chief happily hands over his treasure, and then leads them to his stock room. Here the party begins to look through his supplies when a secret door pops open. A hobgoblin head sticks out and then the door slams shut when the hobgoblin spies the PCs.
The goblin chief suddenly realizes that the hobgoblins have been backstabbing him all this time and stealing his supplies. The party has Trebellos suggest to the chief that he should join them in battle against the hobgoblins and I rule that he is angry enough to take up arms against his old allies, without getting a save against the charm.
Note: I am happy to see they are starting to realize the power of the charm spell, and for that matter of a wizard.
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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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Return to The Hobgoblin Caves (another brutal fight)
Opening the secret door that they saw the hobgoblin pop his head out of the party makes it way down a tunnel and enters in to battle with five hobgoblins. Together with the goblin chief they quickly dispatch their foes but a crossbow bolt down a stairwell reveals they aren't done yet. A pair of hobgoblins fire away at them and call a warning to the rest of the clan. Feggener, the marksman, manages to kill the two hobgoblins after a few volleys back and forth and the stairs look clear. Drak and the goblin chief form a front rank and head up, with the rest of the party behind them.
Reaching the top of the stairs a pair of hobgoblins leap around the corner and multiple hobgoblins begin streaming out of two doors (half of them being huge females). Drak, once again acting a bit too hastily, decides to try a mighty deed of arms (a mechanic borrowed from the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG). He informs me he wants to charge at a pair of hobgoblins coming through one of the doors, attacking one and then pushing past the other to place himself behind them. I nod my head and the manoeuvre is a success. I describe how he slays one of the hobgoblins, bashes the other to the side with his shield and steps in to the room behind.
Only to find himself face to face with two more hobgoblins that were trailing behind. A big female steps in to replace the fallen hobgoblin and he's soon surrounded by four hobgoblins.
That's when things get worse.
As they hack away at Drak he hears a door open beside him. He turns to face the biggest, ugliest hobgoblin he's ever seen. He's now surrounded by FIVE hobgoblins, one of them the chief!
Feggener shoots one of the hobgoblins down and Irgrid dispatches another as the group tries to fight their way to Drak, but the hobgoblins keep pouring in the room and they get no closer. Two of the hobgoblins stab at the charmed goblin chief and he falls to the ground dead. Things are really looking bad now.
Drak manages to stave the hobgoblin attacks off for a round, killing one of his opponents, but the chief hits him the next round. Luckily he only rolls a 1 and he takes 3 damage. With his high armour class Drak is starting to feel better about his chances, that is until the next hobgoblin rolls a natural 20! Suddenly he has a very real shot at dying.
I roll the d30 for the critical and it comes up a 1. The group looks excited until I inform them the hobgoblin hits Drak with such force that his weapon shivers from the hobgoblins grasp, the hobgoblin is disarmed but Drak suffers +1d6 damage. That gives a total of 2d6 damage and he only has 7 hit points left. I roll and they total up to 7. Drak falls to the ground unconscious.
With the goblin chief dead and Drak down, the group has no real tanks left. Irgrid is the closest thing they have but she's 0 level and only has 5 hit points. Brom recognizes they need Drak if they are to have any chance. He casts cure light wounds and Drak is back in action.
A few more hobgoblins fall but Drak still has three of them pounding on him. He keeps hammering away at the chief but he's stronger than the other hobgoblins and won't fall. Another round passes and the chief hits Drak again, and once again he's knocked unconscious! Meanwhile Irgrid and Helios are down to 1 hit point and there are still 5 hobgoblins left, including the chief. They have surrounded the remaining characters, all of whom are hurt and most of whom are poorly armoured. Meanwhile Trebellos has fled to the bottom of the stairs and wonders what he can possibly do. The battle looks lost.
We roll for initiative and the players realize they HAVE to win it (I use group initiative after the first round of combat).
They sense it has all come down to this roll and they manage to win it. Initiative is theirs and a glimmer of hope remains after all.
Brom announces he will use his second, and last spell, to cast cure wounds once again. He debates casting it on himself, on Irgrid (to try and save her as a replacement character), but finally settles on Drak. Tasher (the PC) steps in front of Irgrid to try and save her (lol, I can't help but laugh at how they treated this NPC). Feggener fells one of the hobgoblins as does Irgrid.
Note: At this point everyone is literally cheering Irgrid on. Her rolls have just been amazing and she's living up to the mystique they've placed upon her.
Trebellos finds his courage and charges up the stairs. Throwing away his sling he pulls out his shortsword (yes he's a wizard but this is a homebrew) and runs straight at the nearest hobgoblin, somehow managing to skewer it on his blade(and again more cheering as the Boy Magician pulls through in the end!).
Drak is finally back in action at this point and he's pissed. He charges the chieftain and kills him, then just misses cleaving the final hobgoblin as well.
Realizing the battle has turned the hobgoblin runs for a secret door. Just as he pulls it open Drak hacks him down and the last of their foes are vanquished. The party makes note of the secret door on the map, quickly loot the bodies and flee the caves knowing they have pulled off another miraculous win and are lucky to escape alive!
Thus ends our first session. Probably the most fun, memorable time I've had in an RPG. Hopefully the next session proves just as good.
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Mitchell Frizzell
United States
Springfield
MO
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Hey, just wondering if you wouldn't mind providing your death/dying tables. They sound really interesting! I just finished reading the whole recap of the session: great job! I loved it.
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Brandon Holmes
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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For my house rules I created a base set that is playable but there is a LOT of work still to be down. Bit by bit I slowly add things as I find time. This is one of my rules that is playable (for me) but hasn't received any attention yet to make it properly presentable. I wish I could offer something better but I have other rules I am working on first and this is fairly low on my list. Here is what I use until I can make it my "own".
For PCs and Retainers only:
0 hit points = Unconcious
-1 to -3 hp = Roll on the Arduin Critical Hit table. If the result states the wound will result in death, the character has died from the blow. Only a resurrection or similar spell can bring them back. If the result is anything else, apply the listed effects but without the extra damage applied. The character can be stabilized by bandages or a cure light wounds or better spell.
-4 to -5 hp = As #2 but bandages are useless. Only magical healing can save the character.
-6 hp or lower = Character is dead.
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For those that haven't seen it, the Arduin Critical hit table is pretty brutal, with about a 35% chance of dieing or so (I added it up one time but I forget now). What this means is that if a player falls from -1 to -5 hp they have a very real chance of dieing. It's not 100% but it's scary and can result in some nasty permanent damage as well (ie. severed hands, arms torn off etc.).
At 6hp or lower the character is dead, no roll is needed. Since a normal human is d6 hit points in the positive, having 6 hit points in the negative = insta death just feels "right" to me. Mainly what I like is that it adds drama and creates situations where players are out of commision but not just outright killed.
I wish I could show the actual Arduin Critical Hit table as without it my house rule is pretty much useless if you don't have it. Eventually I will re-write the table to make it my own and when my rules are ready I will offer them to anyone that wants them. Right now that's impossible though as I have no right to present that table.
As an example though:
Die roll: 45-46 - Hit location: head - Stunned for d6 minutes, no fighting.
If this result was rolled the blow would be described as to the head and the character would fall to the ground, likely bleeding. As the DM I would know the character was unconcious but wouldn't reveal it until after the fight or if someone inspects the body. If the PCs lose the fight and have to retreat, the unconcious character will die of blood loss. The PCs must win this fight, or at least pull the body out with them as they retreat, in order to save this PC.
Example 2:
Die roll: 56-60 - Hit location: Neck - Throat cut, die in d3 melee turns.
If this result was rolled the "d3 melee turns" would be ignored. What's important is that it is a blow to the throat and it results in death. Remember this was a blow that brought the PC below 0 hp so no need to wait d3 rounds for them to fall over. Eventually I will create my tables so the results are more appropriate but for now it works and adds colour to the game.
Like I said, wish I could offer more.
Note: - I just noticed that the PC who took the blow to his crotch would be dead by these rules. I failed to notice the asterisks on the table and the accompanying notes that state "death in d4 rounds". Oh well, too late now.
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Mitchell Frizzell
United States
Springfield
MO
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Thank you so much. I loved reading your session reports and when I read the part about the death/dying rules, I knew I needed to have it. Your system is great and I think I will port it over to my game. I appreciate your help and the great examples. You rock!
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