Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Session LXXVI: And In Conclusion...

Current Player Characters:
Torvin Fulvousmith (Dwarf)
Minimus (Cleric)
Skwanky (Halfling)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

Needing to recover from the brutal battle with the Ant-men, our party of fearless adventurers barricaded themselves back in the hobgoblin lair. 

Once rested, they continued their exploration of the unexplored third level of the ruins.

They opened a door and find a room guarded by three Manticore!  As they decided what the do, the Manticore attacked Thenus with their spiked tail.  Some of the party wanted to make a hasty retreat but Minimus roused their fighting spirit and they charged into the room and attacked!

After a quick battle and some minor wounds the Manticore were defeated. 

Exploring the room only turned up garbage and the disgusting habits of the defeated beasts.  Opening one door was found to hold a chamber just filled with Manticore shit;  walls, floor ceiling.  The stench was unbearable and the party thought best to leave the area, but Wang Du thought otherwise and braved the shit filled chamber poking around with his spear.  The disgusting search paid off and a chest hidden in the feces was discovered! With the help of Skwanky, the chest was pulled out.  The chest was filled with riches and the fabled Boomish shield which they were sent in to recover!  Unfortunately, a cursed scroll was also found the upon reading it, Centari was turned into a pillar of salt!

With the long lost and sought after shield in their possession and with a cursed comrade it was decided to leave the dungeon and head back to town.  Protecting their salted friend from the elements and hungry horses, the next morning Minimus was able to remove the curse and bring Centari back to the group, though with patches of raw skin from everyone rubbing their dried meats on the salty treat.

Triumphantly returning to the town of Berkinstok the group shared their wealth and tales.  They returned the missing shield and family heirloom to Veshir Boomish who said that their family was forever in the debt of the party and that from this day forward, all of the Boomish clan will be considered allies.

With treasures identified and allies made, the party celebrated their victories and triumphs and settled in for a long earned rest!

Wealth can be wonderful, but you know, success can test one's mettle as surely as the strongest adversary.
 And it is here that we put the campaign on hold.  We're taking a break from our Swords and Wizardry campaign for now to dive into some other gaming activities.  One of our players, Mike, who ran a Robotech campaign a while back, will be running White Star customized for the Star Wars universe.  We've already rolled up characters and let me tell you that no world or universe is too scared for us to debase!  I'll try to post about White Star once that game kicks off.  Right now it looks to be board games for a short while.  We'll return to S&W sometime later so Game On!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Christopher Lee

Before he was Saruman (the ultimate in perfect casting!) and Count Dooku he was Dracula and Scaramanga and Lord Summerisle.  Like the films of Ray Harryhausen, I grew up watching all his movies. Hammer Films would not have been Hammer Films without him. Tons of great iconic roles and that voice! Cinema has lost a great presence.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Session LXXV: The Sad Final Fate of Fumark The Foul

Current Player Characters:
Torvin Fulvousmith (Dwarf)
Minimus (Cleric)
Skwanky (Halfling)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

Hirelings and Henchmen
Biggs - Mercenary
Steak - Man-at-Arms
Werm - Man-at-Arms
Relford - Man-at-Arms

NPC's
Fumark the Foul
5 Men-at-arms
2 burly Bodyguards

With the entire party standing before the great pair of iron doors leading to the dragon's lair, our chivalrous party plots how to get Furmark and his men to walk through the doors to become victims of the dragon.  Centari, with his magic sword Mindshiv, telepathically communicated with the dragon beyond the door and told him that they had brought Fumark to meet justice for slaying the dragon's mother Medora.  The Dragon Gramath decided to hide down a hallway to ambush his victims while the party would open the doors and let Fumark's party carelessly enter the lair once they saw the  unguarded riches piled there.

With the plan set, Torvin and Minimus attempted to open the large doors and a couple of Fumark's men helped.  Once the doors were opened, Furmark's men spied the unguarded hoard and rushed in.  Fumark, wary of a trap, approached slower but it was useless as he had already fallen into the trap!  With Fumark and his men inside the dragon's lair, Minimus cast hold person on Fumark which froze him to his spot.  One of his body guards turned to see what was delaying Fumark but was shot in the face by an arrow from Thenus.  It was then that the dragon came out of hiding and the frighten men tried to retreat but Torvin and Minimus closed the doors upon them and left them to the fate of the fiery breath of the dragon.
In moments, Fumark's men were dead and the cautious party slowly opened the door to see the young Gramath lording over the enchanted and helpless Fumark.  The party took some time to parley with the dragon who was grateful for the party's help in bringing Fumark to him but, having let them live earlier, considered their transaction completed. Skwanky the halfling, in a quite characteristic manner, handed over the Soul Gem to the Dragon hoping that Gramath would study it and free his friends.  The dragon gladly accepted the "gift" and saw the party to the door, impatient to begin spending some 'quality time' with his mother's killer.

Outside the lair there was some debate whether to go back in and attack the dragon and steal the treasure but it is decided to wait and perhaps some other day return.   So the party headed back up to level three of the dungeon and continued their search for the Boomish Shield which they were hired to find.

Exploring some more halls and passageways they came upon an iron door beyond which was an armored knight sitting atop a throne.  The knight slowly stepped down and asked the party to leave for he did not want to harm them. The party, of course, didn't leave and instead tried to open the large pair of iron doors which were hopelessly magically locked.  The cursed knight engaged the party and reluctantly tried to slay them.  Eventually the knight was 'slain' and his sword taken from him.  They left the cursed knight and continued their exploration retracing their steps.

Coming upon a chamber with a large crack in the floor and millions of tiny crawling ants, the party tried to cross the room but soon stepped on the tiny insects which would turn into a pair of Ant-men.  As they battled the Ant-men more of the tiny insects would get stepped on which would bring forth more Ant-men and so on. It is here that the party's men-at-arms, Steak and Werm, fell. It was quickly found to be a loosing battle and the party began to retreat but they were separated from each other by the forming hoard of Ant-men.  The party split up and headed out two different doors and resorting to flaming oil to slow the Ant-men down.

With Ant-men burning and the doors to the chamber closed, the bloody and separated party soon found each other again and continued  their search...

The proper way to kill an Ant-man is through an unfulfilled life.





Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Session LXXIV: Big Bird and Resurrection

Current Player Characters:
Torvin Fulvousmith (Dwarf)
Minimus (Cleric)
Su (Cleric)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

Hirelings and Henchmen
Biggs - Mercenary
Kray Rouis - Magic-user

Jumping right into the action, the giant Roc from the end of last session was swooping down upon our weary adventurers.  Arrows flew to slow down the beast but the over sized vicious bird grabbed the young Magic-user Kray Rouis and tried to carry him off.  However, a lucky arrow stunned the poor bird and he tumbled into the snow. The party unceremoniously hacked it to death.  Wang Du took the beak as a souvenir.

The party traveled back to Berkinstok in hopes of reviving their fallen comrade Torvin the dwarf who fell to poison gas busting open a chest.

In town they hurried through the onlookers surprised to see them return from the dungeon and proceed to the Temple of Mithra. After a hefty donation, the high priest raised the dwarf from the dead.

After the usual drinking and resting at the Hacky Shack inn, the party visited the wizard Mystor who was Kray Rouis' mentor.  They tell the master wizard the sad news of his apprentice's demise.  They then asked the wizard about the magic sword that they had left with him to research. Mystor told them that is was a very powerful blade called Mindshiv.  It had many magical powers the least of which was telepathy.  The sword was given to Centari the elf.

The party rested in town for a number of days preparing to, once again, journey into the underdark but only a few days after their return, another party that had forayed into the dungeon depths and haven't been heard from in over a year, walked into town lead by Sir Fumark the Foul!  The weary and beleaguered party regale tales of battling an entire city of Hobgoblins.  The party listened to their tale knowing that Fumark was lying but the townsfolk ate it up the tales of high adventure!  Torvin the dwarf called them out and Fumark and his weary men almost come to blows with the dwarf but Thenus stepped in and settled the argument.  Knowing that the brood of Medora, the slain dragon, is looking to reap vengeance upon Fumark, Thenus told Fumark that they too had explored only the first level on the dungeon and would be interested in a joint expedition to find the supposedly unguarded dragon treasure.  Fumark agreeed but Centari, using the sword Mindshiv, discovered that the shifty Fumark will betray them the first chance he would get.

Weeks went by as the group awaited spring to wash away the winter snow and cold.  With full provisions, fresh horses and new hired men, the large party set off to return to the dungeons beneath Xlarthan's ruins.

"Finding" the ladder that dropped the group to the 4th level where the dragons reside, Thenus lead the unsuspecting Fumark and his party to their doom.  They soon arrive at the entrance to the dragon's lair....

Monday, April 27, 2015

Even More MCU Marvel Value Stamps!

Yeah, the MCU is getting pretty extensive...
More Value Stamps here and more to come...

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Session LXXIII: Blood'n Guts

Current Player Characters:
Torvin Fulvousmith (Dwarf)
Minimus (Cleric)
Su (Cleric)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

Hirelings and Henchmen
Biggs - Mercenary
Kray Rouis - Magic-user 

With the intention of keeping their surprise on the Hobgoblins the party makes their way deeper into the lair.  Seeing some young Hobgoblin guards in a distant chamber they charge them killing two of the young ones while two escaped through a door.  Torvin kicked the door in to find a large pillared hall filled with Hobgoblin women and children and the two young warriors warning the warriors of their clan who immediately attack the part.  But the wizards in the party are quick and put most of the warriors to sleep (damn magic-users).  The rest of the Hobgoblin warriors engage the party and a bloody and confusing battle ensues with females and children running around in a panic. 

As these warriors fall, more burst into the chamber from another doorway including some big hulking ones.  These newcomers are dealt with in a shower of blood and guts.
 With all the Hobgoblin warriors slain and the females and the young ones cowering in the corner, Cantari and Thenus slit the throats of the ones sill in an enchanted sleep.

Exploring deeper into the lair the party comes across some now empty living chambers and a locked door.  Centari unlocks the door with his magic.  Inside is a chamber filled with rich fabrics.  But beneath the fabrics is found the real treasure; a locked chest!  Torvin, the rash dwarf, smashes the locked chest but the chest was trapped with poison gas and Torvin Fulvousmith dies a horrible poison inflicted death!

Wanting to rescue the dwarf from permanent death, the party decided to hurry back to town but not before going down a few levels to retrieve their hidden treasures, which they do. But on their way back through the hallways they come across a statue of a half-naked halfling in the hallway where there once was none.  Peeking around they are attacked by a Cockatrice!  Minimus fights off the feathered beast and soon it is slain by the hand of Biggs.

Trying to revive the petrified halfling, Minimus tries to wash the halfling in the blood of the Cockatrice and it succeeds in reviving the little on (why not?), who turns out to be none other than Skwanky Furrytoe still in possession of the Soul Gem (last seen waaay back in session 59 & 60)!

With the halfling and treasure in hand the party works their way back to the surface (good map making helped a ton with this!).  There they found their cart turned over in the snow, the results of an attack by a Chimera on their camp which ate and scared off their horses.

Turning the cart over, they piled their treasures in it and pushed the cart through the snow and back towards Berkinstok.  But one day from town they are attacked by a giant Roc swooping down from the sky....!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

More Marvel Value Stamps

Second group of the MCU Marvel Value Stamps.

Toying With Marvel Value Stamps

Who would have thought growing up in the 70's (and 80's) for that matter that we would be seeing these Marvel heroes brought to the screen in such an authentic and successful fashion?  I never did.  That's why I love, love, love these Marvel movies.  Back in the 70's Marvel use to put these 'collector' Value Stamps in the back pages of their books.  You were meant to cut them out of your comic and collect them in a book.  I never did that but you could not miss those stamps with every Marvel hero is some icon pose.  Now-a-days telling someone to clip something out of their comic book would be blasphemous!  But back then, for .25¢ or .30¢ you'd get the good ol' newsprint comic that, yes, you would occasionally mark up and cut them up.

Yesterday I worked up the Captain America one.  Then I thought it would be amazing and fun to see just how many of these characters have been brought to the screen in a bit way.

Yeah....it's pretty amazing.

More to come...

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Marvel Stamps

Something that I'm toying around with.
 
 I just love these Marvel movies.  Having grown up with these characters on the comic pages I'm more than thrilled that they've been making these movies.  I don't read the hero comics much these days but these movies have filled that gap.  I look forward to each installment as I did a new monthly comic back in the day.  Back in the 70's Marvel use to put these 'collector' stamps in the back pages of their books.  I guess they were meant for you to cut them out.  I never did.  Now-a-days telling someone to clip something out of their comic book would be blasphemous!  But back then, for .25¢ or .30¢ you'd get the good ol' newsprint comic that, yes, you would occasionally mark up and cut them up.

More to come...

Monday, March 30, 2015

Session LXXII: Apes That Talk Like Men?

Current Player Characters:
Torion Fulvousmith (Dwarf)
Minimus (Cleric)
Su (Cleric)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

Hirelings and Henchmen
Biggs - Mercenary
Kray Rouis - Magic-user 
Puma - Mountain Lion

Leaving the hall of the young Dragons behind, the party back-tracked they way to more familiar hallways.  Coming upon a chamber with three sarcophagi, which they have usually avoided, decided to open and were immediately attacked by the three mummies within.  Using fire they defeated the ancient foes but not before the mountain lion Puma fell.

Continuing down some unexplored hallways they came to a chamber where dwelt intelligent mutant ape Klorbag.  Klorbag gave them refuge from the dungeons and the party learned that the mutant white ape was part of the clan that they had slain earlier.  Klorbag had sought vengeance on his clan for shunning him and banishing him into the depths of the dungeon.  It was there that he stumbled upon a chamber which changed him and gave him the big brain that he now possessed.

The party also learned from Klorbag that they were currently exploring the fourth level of the dungeon and that there were as many as ten levels filled with all manner of horrific beasts and deadly traps.  Also that there was an even more fierce dragon down deeper.  They also learned that a clan of hobgoblins infested the level above them and that they may find Fumark there as well.

After resting in Klorbag's lair, and learning of the nearest stairway up, the party ascended to the third level and quickly came across some hobgoblins which they quickly dispatched.  Exploring down a long hallway they spied a larger lair.  Avoiding that for now, they explored some more hallways and came across another group of hobgoblins guards which they fought and were victorious. 

Friday, February 27, 2015

Session LXXI: Dragon +1

Current Player Characters:
Torion Fulvousmith (Dwarf)
Minimus (Cleric)
Su (Cleric)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

Hirelings and Henchmen
Larton - Man-at-Arms
Biggs - Mercenary
Kray Rouis - Magic-user 
Puma - Mountain Lion

 With the dead body of Edan the Atleantean slain by spider poison, the party loots his body and continues exploring the rooms and tunnels beneath Xlarthen's tower ruins. 

It wasn't long, however, until they ran into a small band of hobgoblins dragging around a prisoner.  A quick battle ensued and the hobgoblins fell to the blades of the party. The rescued prisoner turned out to be a dwarf named Torion who had been traveling with the infamous Skwanky Furrytoe (last seen in session 59)!  Skwanky had hired Torion as a body guard and descended into the Underworld when things on the surface had become too hot due to the halfling's involvement with Baron Blackmoor's death.  Exploring the dungeons, the two were attacked and got separated.  Torion was captured by Hobgoblins and does not know the fate of the "Little White King".

With a new companion in the dwarf, the party continued exploring and very quickly ran into more hobgoblins.  After a quick fight, the monsters were dispatched but not until loyal Larton had fallen.

Feeling like that had explored as much of this level as they could and with many stairs descending down, the party chose one set of stairs and delved yet deeper into the dungeons!

They came out into a diamond shaped room with black stonework and four sarcophagi leaning against the wall.  This reminded them of a chamber they had seen two days ago when they had descended a ladder to some unknown level.

After some debate it was decided it was wiser to leave the sarcophagi unmolested and explore further where they came upon a room where one corner was the ceiling was covered with thousands of tiny spiders again, similar to something they came across two days ago.  They began to believe that they they may have entered the same level they had discovered earlier. 

Another room proved to be haunted by a weeping woman and soon more exploration did indeed connect their older maps.  They had been on this level before but from a different entrance. 

Winding their way back to where they had seen the tiny spiders on the ceiling the previous days, they cautiously made their way past them and into an unexplored part of the dungeon.  Here, at a door, they heard gruff arguments coming from the other side. With the aid of a silent spell, the dwarf Torion was able to peek into the chamber and see three Minotaurs arguing in front of a chest.  The fearful dwarf easily persuaded his companions to quietly leave the area and avoid the Minotaurs.

Exploring some empty rooms they soon found themselves in a dead end.  Behind them, however, were the three Minotaurs.  The spell-casters stepped up and put one to sleep and held the second.  The third was slain by the warriors in the party. 

With the Minotaurs dispatched the party backtracked back to the monster's treasure chest and grabbed quite a bit of loot!

With plenty of more gold in their pockets, they continued down some more deserted halls and eventually came upon a large hall at the end of which were a pair of tall iron doors. 

These the dwarf Torion swung open and before them was an immense sunk-in pillared chamber with pools of water in the corners and in the center of which was a pile of treasure the likes of which were only talked about in fairy-tales.  Unfortunately, sitting atop this glittering hoard was, not one, but two red dragons not at all surprised by the party's presence!

Centari, speaking in the tongue of the dragons attempted to dismiss their fear of attack.  The dragons, however, once discovering that the party was from the surface, asked them if they had heard any news about their mother Medora.  The party had indeed heard about the fate of that fierce dragon and it's death at the hand of Sir Fumark (session 16) who may very well be somewhere in this very dungeon searching for the dragon's 'unguarded' gold.

The dragons, upon hearing of this news, thank the party and offer to let them live if they can find this Sir Fumark and bring him to meet the vengeful brood of Medora!  The party agrees and slowly backs out of the dragon lair in search of Fumark!


Friday, February 6, 2015

Campaign Stats

The other day I was reflecting a bit on our ongoing sandbox campaign (it has no grand name) and in that process looked at and gathered some of the various 'stats' of our few years rolling dice.

As a GM it's important to take notes and keep records of extended campaigns.  Not only for keeping track of treasures, events, shenanigans, plot threads, NPC interactions, who's alive and who's missing but also to be able to look back and see the goings on and how far off the rails everything ended up getting - and I mean that in a good way.  I've used a number of tools for this including the Warlock's patented Dungeon Time Tracker, I've kept a campaign recap journal on this blog here of all 70+ sessions as well as having created another blog, Arvin's Avengers, for general notes and session backgrounds so that the players and I can jump right into the action.  With long gaps between sessions at times, I would never be able to keep track of what's happening.  Call it "getting on in years" if you like but that's just a fact.  But I'm glad I've kept all these notes because I can reflect on everything that's gone on - the history of these foolhardy adventurers and one bleary-eyed GM.

Total number of players that have experienced this grand campaign:  9

Real World Time: 5 1/2 years

Game Time: Just around 3 years

Important NPC's "inadvertently" killed:  Almost all of them!

Cities, town and villages explored: 7

Dungeons explored: 12+

Monsters Overcome: 2,098

Riches uncovered:  Unmeasurable!

Highest PC level obtained:  7

Longest surviving PC: Wolfheir at 59 sessions but he's only trapped in the Soul Gem so who knows...?  Gnarly was in second with 58 sessions.

The shortest life of a PC: 1/2 session with the second shortest with Arvin at 5

Average number of sessions survived: 22

PC's killed or missing:  13

The horrible PC fates:
  1. Arvin Ardmore (first PC death at the hands of Morak - session 5)
  2. Gedlessssmote Hammersend (died by lava when Clay forgot to check his hit points - session 20)
  3. Adara (killed by wights in Zenopus' dungeons - session 27)
  4. Tibag Backstabber (Died in ice lava, came back and is now in hell - session 33 and again in 63)
  5. Maudlin (my wife's first character that I killed with a Gelatinous Cube - session 35)
  6. Radius Longshadow (racist who lasted one session, killed by same Gelatinous Cube - session 35)
  7. Slick Vinny (a Vampire? Zenopus' bride?  His fate is truly unknown but it's sure not to be good - session 35) 
  8. Wolfheir (stuck in the Soul Gem - session 59)
  9. Thovin Brightsmith (stuck in the Soul Gem - session 59)
  10. Arg (stuck in the Soul Gem - session 59)
  11. Gnarly Blunderbrush (stuck in hell - session 63)
  12. Maximus the Giant Slayer (stuck in hell - session 63)
  13. Edan the Atlantean (Poison spider bite - session 70) 
Some of the Major Magical Artifacts found:
  • The Crimson Skull of Yam-Gregak
  • The Soul Gem
  • The Earth Stone
  • Blackrazor (yes, THE Blackrazor - don't worry, it's not in the player's possession)
  • The Crown of the Black Sun
  • Mace of the Dark Church
  • and all manner of magic sword, dagger, potion scroll, amulet, ring, shield, arrow, staff and gauntlet

Some more notes from a previous post about the first 26 sessions.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Campaign Reflections

I've been running our Swords & Wizardry campaign for a while now.  It's been going on 5 1/2 years over a course of 70 sessions. Our group has taken plenty of time off to play other games, some role-playing and some card and some board but we've always come back to the fun simplicity of this classic style fantasy RPG.  I thought that it would be good to reflect a bit upon what's gone on and what I've learned during these seventy sessions.

Like many of you players, I started with the hobby back in the late 70's with Holmes' basic rules.  I've written a bit about how we interrupted the rules to this very abstract game - which was pretty off base but still fun.  By the early 80's I moved away from RPGs and soon gaming as well.  Every once in a while throughout the years, I would try to run the game again but nothing ever really stuck.  Whether it was life, or 'growing up' or many other distractions (like having to make a living!), the games just didn't click.

Fast forward to the late 2000's....

Over the years I found myself always heading back to this fantasy RPG world where I could immerse myself in some other world or character. I found some enjoyment in playing MMORPGs such as Neverwinter Nights and was inspired by the abundance of fan created adventures based on some of the original TSR modules.  But I found those online games lacking the fun and intimacy of face to face table top gaming.

So like a Geas spell cast upon me, I began, once again, seeking out a way to get back into fantasy RPGing.

But the game had changed so much over the years....

I played with a group that ran a 3.5 game.  Man, this was not the game I remember.  Two hour long combats and railroaded story lines just didn't capture me.  I'm not trying to start an edition war here, I'm just saying that that version of the game didn't work for me.

Then I discovered what would later become the OSR - Old School Renaissance.

When I first started thinking about getting back into running a fantasy RPG again, I wanted something simple to run and rules-lite, much like the games that I grew up with.  I contemplated running Holmes basic or Moldvey basic but worried about getting copies of those rules to anyone interested not to mention many people seemed to be into playing more modern versions of D&D (3.5, Pathfinder) - see Why A Retro-Clone. I wasn't into those at all and wanted something that I was already familiar with.  I  looked into the new retro-clone rules of Labyrinth Lord and Basic FantasyRPG but eventually settled on Swords & Wizardry, which, for me, was the closest thing to what I remember running and playing.  These seemed simple enough to run with the modern life of making a living.

Next was to find players.  I thought I might get two maybe three players interested in playing an "old-school" classic style game.  I didn't think the interest was really there.  So I asked two of my comic book illustrator friends here in town and one guy I met through a RPG meet-up.  These guys turned out to be very enthusiastic about playing and even brought in more players.

Surprising to me, our first session ended up with 5 players which increased to 6 two sessions later and then 7 and then 8.  In fact, it was hard to fit all of us around the table at times.  I thought we'd be lucky to play through three sessions but the sessions just kept going and going.  We all really enjoyed ourselves and had lots of laughs face to face around the table.

I have to say that all the players, whom all work and have families and other obligations have always made time to attend out bi-weekly sessions.  All of us have had to cancel or miss sessions for those obligations, after all we're all adults with complicated lives, but if there is one thing that this game is about it's flexibility!

Some of the players were more use to the modern rules, others, like me, missed the lite game of imagination, others never played any RPGs before, but everyone embraced the fast-paced fun and loose style of Swords & Wizardry.

We began with the first printed edition of the S&W rules and our first session was October of 2009.  We moved to S&W Core and are now playing S&W Complete.

I had house-ruled the heck out of the the first edition rules, with many things I was picking up in the community online - new classes, rules for spells, combat.  Since then, the house rules have been trimmed back until now there's just a few very minor tweaks to what is in the Complete rule book.

My goal was to sandbox the campaign, to let the players create the world just as much as I did.  But I felt that to be comfortable in the role of GM I had to flesh the world out quite a bit.  I used a ton of material created by OSR folks on the internet along with original TSR published material.  I cut all that up and pieced it together into my campaign as needed - sometimes only using descriptions or just the maps or even just an idea.  The sandbox has worked out very well and it has kept me on my toes at the table.

One of the biggest things that I learned was to not plan too far or to much in advance.  In the sandbox setting, the players took things off the rails so often and so far that I found that those "unplanned" sessions were the best sessions.  Where I, as the GM, began to participate with the players more than just being a reactionary force behind a screen.  In fact, the screen was put away very early on and now I just use a small folded page of notes used mostly for critical hits and failures.

My other goal was to never ever fudge the dice.  I wanted to game to be pure and as random and undetermined as I could make it.  I've stuck to that with one exception which I rolled back into the campaign in quite a thrilling way.  You can read a bit about that here.

But I've learned to let the campaign be what it needed to be.  Sure, there was some gentle guiding along on my part, sometimes to keep things moving but the players determine the events in this world just as much as I do.  They've killed some NPCs that were, what I thought, important to the setting, but there is no character more important than the player's character and that is what this world is about.  These dead NPCs have made the game much more exciting for me as a GM.  These players have an effect on the events of the game world, sometimes small sometimes a bit bigger than small.  I think that's what I learned the game should be.  It's not my game, it's our game and it's been a great experience to have delved into this game once again.  I think even more rewarding than when I first discovered the excitement of the first fantasy RPG. 

Next:  Some Campaign Stats

Monday, February 2, 2015

Session LXX: Delving Deeper

Current Player Characters:
Edan (Atlantean)
Minimus (Cleric)
Su (Cleric)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

Hirelings and Henchmen
Larton Man-at-Arms
Biggs - Mercenary
Kray Rouis - Magic-user 
Puma - Mountain Lion
Gygash Graves - torchbearer
Turwick - Man-at-arms


Locking themselves into a room where they found the remains of a former explorer long dead and a more recent corpse of a mule (they really thought this was a good idea), they prepared to take a long rest. But moments later there was  a knock at the door.  Cautiously opening the door they saw one of the Molocks that they had befriended earlier.  The Morlock would not set foot into the room and tried to get the party to leave.  Taking the hint, they packed their belongings and followed the Morlock to the hidden Morlock lair.

The party spent their rest with the Underworld dwelling Morlocks who were munching on the rats that they had collected earlier.

Once rested they bid farewell to their Underworld companions and headed back to the surface to check on their camp finding it still in disarray but with no sign of the Chimera that had killed and eaten their horses.  Larton placed Gygash's body in the cart and looked forward to finally getting to use his sword-arm!

Delving again into the dungeons beneath Xlarthen's ruins they sought passage to the next level.  Retracing their steps they re-entered the room that was guarded by the Ogre and found that his body was removed and there were now two Hobgoblins along with another Ogre asking them questions in Hobgoblin (which nobody could speak).  Failing to communicate, weapons were drawn and monsters slain.

Opening the door to the now unguarded stairs the party descended down to a lower level.  Following a long passage they ended up in a large chamber with a few more giant weasels to contend with.

Exploring more passages and avoiding some purple slime they found a number of empty rooms.  When searching one of these rooms a Mountain Lion came through an opening and threatened the party.  Wang Du stepped up and conversed with the feline and befriended it.  It's name was Puma and use to be a pet of the Hobgoblins the next level below.  His patrol was killed and he's been wandering the empty halls ever since.  With a promise to bring lead Puma out and some standard rations, the Mountain Lion joined the party.

More exploration turned up a room with a magician's circle and mysterious buzzing was heard from within the hallway walls.  The party was hopeful that they had found the heirloom shield of Veshir Boomish but, alas, it was only a rusted relic.

Treasure was found in an urn and a slacking patrol of gambling Hobgoblins were slain with the help of Puma the Mountain Lion.

With an obsession to map the entire level, the party's explorations lead them to hallways filled with cobwebs and a sticky webbing.  Burning their way through they were attacked by fearsome giant spiders.  It was here that Edan the Atlantean fell to poison.




Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Session LXIX: Dungeon Crawl!

Nearly caught up with our session recaps, so read on....

Current Player Characters:
Edan (Atlantean)
Minimus (Cleric)
Su (Cleric)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 
Hirelings and Henchmen
Larton Man-at-Arms
Gygash Graves - torchbearer
Turwick - Man-at-arms
Biggs - Mercenary
Kray Rouis - magic user

With first brave torch-bearer, Gygash Graves the gravedigger, slain by ambushing orcs, the wounded and weary party thought it best to head back to the surface and rest for the rest of the day.

Working their way back through the tunnels, they ascended the stairs back to the surface only to find that a Chimera had attacked their camp, and was eating one of their horses.  With no current way out, the party rested upon the uncomfortable stairs.

Afterwards, the party continued exploring the first level.  However, Larton, not wanting to leave behind a fellow villager, insisted on carrying Turwick's body through the dungeon until a proper burial could be performed.

Exploring some rooms they fought a giant snake and some giant weasles.  The party came across another stone coffin wrapped and locked with chains, much like the one they found earlier in the dungeons.  Needless-to-say, they gave it a wide berth.

Retreading already explored passages they had mapped on an earlier foray into the Underworld, the party was determined to explore every corner of this level before delving deeper down one of the many stairways or hidden passages leading down, slaying patrolling orcs along the way.

Eventually they entered a room full of giant rats which they slain with only Turwick the Distasteful hireling killed in the process.

Beyond that was discovered a chamber with a demonic statue missing a hand that would be pointing at the door.  Perplexed by this strange object, they let it be for the moment and retraced their steps back through the bodies of dead rats.  There they found that the bodies were being scavenged by some underground dwelling Morlocks.  They befriended the Morlocks and the two groups went their separate ways.

The last room the party discovered was a closed chamber with the skeleton of a deceased Magician and a more recent carcass of a pack mule. 

They thought this would be a good place to rest....

Seriously.  They thought that.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Session LXVIII: Orc Ambush!

A note from the Warlock
Still catching up on our session recaps with just two more to go. .


Current Player Characters:
Edan (Atlantean)
Minimus (Cleric)
Su (Cleric)
Thenus (Ranger)
Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf) 

The next morning, the party thought it best to head back to the town of Berkinstok and hire some 'muscle' to help explore these dungeons.

In town they sought the help of the Innkeeper of the Hacky Shack to spread the word that work was to be had exploring the dungeons beneath Xlarthan's ruined tower.  Eventually they interviewed  a number of locals including Gygash Graves the ol' grave digger, and Larton a young adventurer to be.  They also hired Turwick, a veteran. Hearing that there was money to be made, the mercenary Biggs, who helped the party fighting the Big'uy back in the caves of Brushwood joined the party as well.

While a blizzard postponed their journeys they sought the aid of a local magician, Mystor, in identifying the Mindshiv blade recovered from the White Apes dwelling deep down in the dungeons. Mystron took the sword and only asked for any magic items they find as payment.  He also sent his apprentice, Cray Rouis, along to aid the party in that regard.

After a few days delay, the party, now equipped and reinforced and ready for anything, headed back out into the wild Gimm Hills and soon came upon the entrance to the dungeons once again.

Delving into the Underworld once again, the party explored and mapped their way through long passages and empty and looted rooms being very cautious.  Extremely cautious.  They came across a single copper coin which they let Graves pick up.  He was more than excited to have found his first 'treasure' on his first adventure.

After coming across a number of dead ends and unfinished construction the party found a room with a bubbling fountain.  They send Graves in to test the water (having had bad luck with 'wet stones' and fountains in the past).  Graves found the clear and fresh water quite refreshing!  What a brave soul!

Exploring some side passages they came across a nest of Zombies which they turned and dispatched quickly.

At this point in their exploration, however, their map became confused and they retreaded mapped passages and became slightly lost.  It as at this point that out of the darkness arrows came whistling by!  Trying to hide down a side passage they found it all to be a trap and were ambushed by Orcs!  Edan and Thenus charged the missile firing Orcs hidden in the fountain room while the rest of the party battled the ambushing Orcs in the hallways.  It is here that the brave Gygash Graves fell!



With the Orcs dispatched and the party fairly wounded, they continued to explore a side passage, with Larton, unwilling to leave the dead body of the Grave-digger behind, carrying the corpse.

In this last chamber they discovered a stone coffin wrapped in chains and locked tight.  after long debate about whether to unlock and open this coffin and unleash whatever horror lay inside or to just let it be, it was decided to let it be and make their way to the surface to deal with the body of their dead companion...