XP awards for sessions 2-5

Sorry for the long delay in getting this posted. Not a ton of minutiae to review, but a couple key milestones worthy of acknowledging:

• Eluding the forest bear - 175
• Escorting “the three” to Aryen’s Hope - 1,000
• Wolf attack amid the barrows - 650
• News/company returned from the Deadwalk - 2,000

In total, 3,825 points divided three ways makes for 1,278 each, with Ged also receiving a 10% prime requisite bonus (128 additional points, 1,406 in total). Updated party totals:

• Khadhras - 1,553
• Phelan - 1,553
• Ged - 1,709

With these additions, Ged crosses the threshold for 2nd level and may ascend upon training for two dedicated (in-game) days. Even if we don’t end up playing soon, I didn’t want to let this go any longer.

XP awards for session 1

Here are XP awards for the inaugural session, since Bungo may be taking some time off and I’d like to ensure we have a clean division.

• Slaying the undead wolf - 100
• Story award for sending news back to Pelanor - 1,000

Initial party totals are as follows:

• Khadhras - 275
• Phelan - 275
• Ged - 303
• Bungo - 303

The sidebar is updated accordingly. Please keep in mind that these awards, while small, are only for one session, wherein much time was spent on introductions.

Looking ahead, and final XP totals for the Khedrun Valley

First-level characters. 0 XP. With as few as four meager hit points.

A single, well-placed hit could kill a party member outright. Zeb and Audric have become the stuff of legends. Level 6 may not have felt so high before, but now...

It may be hard to emotionally invest in these PCs, before any sessions have been played. I don’t expect anyone to. It takes time. Effort. Luck.

Survival.

But, for those who reach 2nd, 3rd level, and beyond... the attachment will start to form. The work you’ve put in will matter. The story will matter. The characters will matter. Taking a night off from being on your game will mean risking the loss of everything. Most of us have been there, know what it’s like. Every decision is important. Don’t hinge it all on a roll of the dice.

Read this post.

...and have fun. May it be a truly epic ride.

* * *

With all that said, I’ll soon retire the previous campaign’s XP totals from the sidebar. Here they are, one last time, for posterity:

• Vonn - 13,088
• Audric - 34,389
• Zeb - 3,000/56,869
• Selben (h) - 18,451
• Lom (h) - 10,730
• Zargon (d) - 14,789

Game on!

XP awards for session 44

I'm going to go ahead and allocate XP for last session now. There's only one award to distribute, but it's a doozy...

The demon from the chasm is worth a massive 22,000 XP. Sure didn't feel like it thanks to Zeb's protection from evil, 10-ft radius spell, but well-earned nonetheless. The award is divided as follows:

• PCs/NPCs (4, including Bonie) - 4,400 each
• Henchmen (2) - 2,200 each

Updated totals, then, are as follows:

• Vonn - 13,088
• Audric - 34,389
• Zeb - 3,000/56,869
• Selben (h) - 18,451
• Lom (h) - 10,730

The only level-up goes to Vonn, though Audric, Zeb, and Selben are inching close. No training outside Fireshear, so Vonn will remain at 3rd level in terms of ability until the party makes its return.

XP awards for sessions 40-43

Four sessions into the fifth campaign arc, XP awards are due. Party allotment:

• Slaying Berigaard, his minions, and plundering his treasure - 10,000
• Opening the traveler's chamber - 5,000
• Disengaging from Sinjun's party - 1,000

These 16,000 points are divided into full shares (3,200 XP) for each PC and Bonie, and half shares (1,600 XP) for Lom and Selben. 

There's also the matter of the displacer beasts, which needs to be handled separately (thanks, Sean), since Lom was being played as a PC and certain party members were not present. For this encounter, Lom, Vonn, and Zeb each receive 488 XP (this also accounts for shares deducted for Sinjun's party). Finally, Zeb's 10% prime requisite bonus is also reflected in the updated party totals below:

• Vonn - 8,688
• Audric - 29,989
• Zeb - 3,000/52,029
• Selben (h) - 16,251
• Lom (h) - 8,530

No new are levels gained from these awards, but Lom inches precariously close to 4th, at which point he'll be only a level behind Audric.

XP awards for sessions 36-39

The following are the XP awards granted for the closure of the fourth campaign arc:

• Delivering news of Corin Redbeard to the Undercity - 2,500
• Duel with Rale Cotchen - 1,000
• Accepting Milter to Dagger's Deep - 500
• Goblins in the forest - 100
• Successfully boarding Moonmaiden - 1,000
• Navigating the ruins of Illusk and breaching the Sea of Swords - 15,000
• Payment received from Dame Azurris - 1,200

This amounts to 21,300 points, with full shares of 7,100 to each of Audric and Zeb, and half-shares of 3,550 to Lom and Selben. Zargon, having fallen in combat, reaps no final reward for his contributions. Updated party totals:

• Audric - 26,789
• Zeb - 3,000/47,972
• Selben (h) - 14,651
• Lom (h) - 6,442

The only level gained belongs to Lom, who advances from 2nd to 3rd. Training can be assumed to be conducted immediately upon reaching port in Fireshear. It can also be assumed that payment of 1,200 gold is issued to the party upon arrival, in the form of platinum coin rolls.

XP awards for sessions 34-35, revised

This post is a reissue of the XP initially awarded here. In discussions with the group since we played earlier this week, there are two issues I’d like to correct in favor of the party.

The first is that XP was not originally awarded for the magical longsword and military pick. These were intentionally omitted because they were discovered under circumstances where “there was no real danger associated with obtaining them.” In truth, that shouldn’t really matter: the party still plundered them and we’ve also had at least once previous instance where XP was awarded for items acquired in non-combat situations.

The second is that the XP total was divided evenly among all party members prior to halving the henchman’s share, instead of dividing the total into shares that would consume the entire allotment. This, too, was intentional, and I’ve actually been divvying XP this way for some time. Philosophically, it equates to a henchman requiring two of the group’s points to earn a single XP; the math is also much simpler.

After further research and deliberation, I’ve decided to revert to the approach where the entire XP allotment is used, with no “XP waste.” Either method can be argued as canon, but I’d rather err on the side of the party. Further, I don’t feel that the “divide first, then halve” method scales fairly with multiple henchmen. For example, in a situation where 6,000 XP is earned by a party of four PCs and two henchmen, the “no waste” method awards 1,200 XP to each PC and 600 XP to each henchman (1,200 + 1,200 + 1,200 + 1,200 + 600 + 600 = 6,000), however the “divide first” method gives only 1,000 XP to each PC and 500 XP to each henchman, with an effective “loss” of 1,000 XP (1,000 + 1,000 + 1,000 + 1,000 + 500 + 500 = 5,000) - an entire share!

This definitely feels wrong and, as we now have more than one henchman in the party, I can’t rightly defend the use of the “divide first” method going forward.

In light of these changes, the total XP earned for the last two sessions is 11,500 (10,000 for the behir and 1,500 for treasure plundered). This is divided into sevenths, with two parts going to each of Zargon, Audric, and Zeb, and one part going to Lom. Individual allotments:

• Audric - 3,286
• Zeb - 3,614
• Zargon - 3,286
• Lom (h) - 1,642

Revised updated totals:

• Audric - 19,689
• Zeb - 3,000/40,162
• Zargon - 14,789
• Selben (h) - 11,101
• Lom (h) - 2,892

In addition to Audric and Lom, Zeb also advances, becoming the first PC in the campaign to reach level 6! Hopefully this is agreeable to everyone. While I'm still considering options to improve the way the XP is allocated in our game, I'll plan to continue using this approach until any change is made official.

XP awards for sessions 34-35

Edit: this post is no longer current. See the revised version here.

The entirety of the XP award for the last two sessions is vested in the slaying of the behir in the catacomb below Dagger’s Deep. The sum is a whopping 10,000 points, divided five ways (Selben was not present) and with Lom’s share halved due to henchmen status. Updated totals:

• Audric - 18,403
• Zeb - 3,000/38,748
• Zargon - 13,503
• Selben (h) - 11,101
• Lom (h) - 2,250

Lom inches over the minimum needed for 2nd level, while Audric crests the hill of reattaining level 5 after a long journey back from his setback against the wights. Level ups have already been administered and hit points rolled, so everyone should be good to go next time we play!

XP awards for sessions 31-33

I’d like to make sure that XP is shored up prior to heading into tomorrow’s session, when the full party is set to reconvene. There are three sessions to cover; the first of these was the foray into the hidden cellar below Dagger’s Deep, where the party discovered the parchment and bloodstone (among other effects), worth 1,000 XP for each primary PC and half that amount (500 XP) to Selben.

The venture to Mirabar and subsequent investigative work there garners a nominal award of 500 XP to each of Audric, Selben, and Zargon, with half that amount (250 XP) awarded to Lom.

The orc-hunting expedition at Post South reaps a lofty 2,000 XP to each of Audric and Selben, and 1,000 XP to Lom. This is fairly generous awards, by the book, but in addition to enemies slain, reflects both relationships forged amid the outpost and knowledge gained of the area west of Mirabar.

In total, the awards for the three sessions sum to:

• Audric - 3,500
• Zeb - 1,000
• Zargon - 1,500
• Selben (h) - 3,000
• Lom (h) - 1,250

Adding in Zeb’s 10% prime requisite bonus, the updated party totals now stand thus:

• Audric - 16,403
• Zeb - 3,000/36,548
• Zargon - 11,503
• Selben (h) - 11,101
• Lom (h) - 1,250

This puts Selben solidly over the threshold for level 4 (for which he’ll need to train), a fitting reward for Jason’s choice to elevate him to a full PC for a short stretch and surviving the excursion from Orcdoom. Audric is also now reasonably close to reattaining 5th level.

Recovered Items

Not a ton to review on this front, but I’ll remind briefly that the bloodstone radiated a faint magical aura, while the parchment did not. The coinage found among the orcs was minimal, but a 120 gp bounty is awarded to the party by the city of Mirabar upon their return.

XP awards for sessions 29-30

The XP award for the past two sessions is wholly attributed to the party's contributions in the battle against the barbarian invaders; as such, Zargon receives a full share, even though Bill wasn't present for the return journey downriver.

The total award, less amounts reserved for Bonie and other NPCs, is 10,000, which divides to 2,500 XP per PC and 1,250 XP for Selben. Updated totals:

• Audric - 12,903
• Zeb - 3,000/35,448
• Zargon - 10,003
• Selben (h) - 8,101

Zargon has attained 5th level, and can advance upon completion of five dedicated days of training.

Recovered Items

Further, following are the noteworthy possessions recovered from the Stormlord, whose throat was torn out by Zeb. (It can be assumed that the other barbarians' and ogres' gear is mundane, and will be allocated to Dagger's Deep.)

• Large, claw-ended maul (functions as a bastard sword, magical)
• Chainmail, marked from use and mended in several places (non-magical)
• Black-iron medallion, hung from an iron chain and bearing a depiction of lightning bolts (non-magical)
• Leather pouch, carrying an assortment of small gemstones and a handful of nominal coins (non-magical)

XP awards for sessions 24-28

At this point we've gone five sessions without XP, and the most recent comments position the group such that the keravela camp can be considered a safe haven for the time being. As such, here's what the party has attained since the mine at Xantharl's Keep:

• Chasing off the wyvern near Minstrel's Glade - 700
• Felling three ogres in the northern Lurkwood - 810
• Spoils from the ogre cave (potions, gems, and coins) - 1,000
• Story award for diffusing the situation with Captain Rale at Dagger's Deep (Audric and Zeb only) - 1,000
• Defeating the fish creatures along the riverbank - 2,000
• Succeeding Kezia's tarokka test (second try) - 1,000
• Story award for protecting the lives of Odesia, Laerch, and Daegahr on the journey upriver - 5,000

Having a larger party is an adjustment in many ways, and also affects experience shares. The above 10,010 points are divided four ways, with one share each awarded to Audric, Zeb, and Zargon, and a half-share each to Bonie and Selben. Audric and Zeb also receive 500 XP each for the session that Zargon missed (and during which the NPCs were largely irrelevant). After all bonuses and additions, the party totals stand as follows.

• Audric - 10,403
• Zeb - 3,000/32,698
• Zargon - 7,503 
• Selben (h) - 6,851

No new levels are gained, so no consideration needs to be given to training at this time.

XP awards for session 23

Through a slog of comments over the past several days (the most we've ever had on a post), the party finally reconciled the situation of the crypt uncovered within the mine. Whether or not any future consequences of this are brought to bear, I'm issuing a story award here and now of 2,000 XP each to Zeb and Audric, and 1,000 XP to Selben. Of note, Audric was energy drained earlier in the session, reducing his XP total to halfway between the minimum needed for 3rd and 4th levels (5,400, based on our rules for the Crusader).

New party totals, following the session:

• Audric - 7,400
• Zeb - 3,000/29,395
• Selben (h) - 5,600

This award inches Audric back over the threshold for 4th level, so upon training for four days he can regain some of the abilities lost in addition to adding another hit die to his hit point total. Incidentally, the dividends also propels Selben to level 3 as a mage.

Training can be assumed to happen in Xantharl's Keep at the start of the next session.

XP awards for sessions 19-22

XP for the last four sessions is as follows, after accounting for NPC involvement:

• Aiding the Kromlor family - 1,000
• Deterring and escaping Niohoggr (the dragon) - 2,000
• Delivering the tribe to Griffon's Nest and slaying a hill giant - 6,500
• Foiling the thieves in the stable house - 1,000

These amounts sum to 10,500. Note that, while the above items are the main drivers for the corresponding values, awards should be considered dividends for the entirety of each session. PCs each receive 4,200, and Selben, with henchman status, receives 2,100. As always, Zeb receives a 10% bonus, bringing updated party totals to:

• Audric - 30,200
• Zeb - 3,000/27,195
• Selben (h) - 4,600

Selben inches near to 3rd level, but isn't quite there. At current rates, Audric is set to attain 6th level before Zeb, but neither is particularly close. Sean was able to remind me that Zeb's total is less than Audric's, even with Zeb's bonus, due to having used clerical powers during the encounter with Carcerus.

All for now!

XP awards for sessions 12-18

It's been a very long time since XP was last awarded, and over the course of these sessions, Audric and Zeb have several noteworthy achievements, including helping Jent's family in West Tower, usurping Crahdorn's control over the Anaithnid, and saving Nurué from the Black Rot (at great personal risk to themselves).

Story awards for the above items comprise the majority of the total for this stretch, which is 7,500 XP per character and 2,500 XP for Selben. While henchmen normally receive a half-share, Selben has been withheld from some of the party's more dangerous endeavors, so I think it makes sense to limit him to a one-third share for now. That's still enough for him to attain 2nd level, and I'll begin tracking his XP in the sidebar going forward.

This also boosts Zeb to 5th level as an abjurer. Updated totals:

• Audric - 26,000
• Zeb - 3,000/22,575
• Selben (h) - 2,500

The Malaran aftermath

This is not to imply that a dual-class human forgets everything he knew before; he still has, at his fingertips, all the knowledge, abilities, and proficiencies of his old class. But if he uses any of his previous class's abilities during an encounter, he earns no experience for that encounter and only half experience for the adventure.

(From the 2e PH, p. 45.)

That was really an incredible culmination of this adventure arc. I'd been waiting for an encounter between these parties for some time, unsure of how or when it would manifest, and hoping that Zeb and Audric didn't elect to leave Carrock before it transpired. Depending on the circumstances, they may or may not have been pursued.

Again, I advise the players to revisit Kezia's reading, in order to review it with updated context based on advances in the campaign. At the very least, I think there's musing, if not enlightenment, to be found within.

As for the Malarans, there was certainly a divide within the sect that sought its aclupar in Zeb. Korvich and Carcerus each believed themselves superior to the other; had they reached a point of severance as the power of the cult dwindled, it would likely have come down to whether the magic of Korvich could subdue the "Black Devil" before he and his wolves slaughtered the priest. Carcerus was undoubtedly the more powerful enemy; as he gained sway over the wolves and cultists fell both in Shadfeld and at West Tower, so did control over the alliance escape the Malarans' clutches. Carcerus bore no fealty toward any god; his grand design was to establish dominance over everything he could.

There still are many details to share about these events, but it's probably best to let them emerge gradually, through comments on the blog or as part of future sessions. The PCs did well in securing their victory; Zeb and Audric made sound decisions and used the available resources to great advantage. If the final encounter seemed easy, that's to their credit. The situation could easily have been reversed had the circumstances differed. As I'm particularly fond of saying, success or failure in AD&D is often determined before any dice are rolled.

XP

As this isn't a traditional dungeon-crawl campaign, neither has it made sense to award XP based strictly on treasure found and monsters defeated. While I still want to keep things relatively simple, I'm weighting more heavily the details of the party's accomplishments, in addition to accounting for the dual-class ruling quoted at the top of this post. The critical points to consider are that Zeb should receive no experience for the final encounter, and only half experience for the past two "adventures" (sessions), where he called upon his priestly powers for assistance.

• For "story awards," this means that Zeb only receives 3,000 XP, compared to 4,000 XP for Audric.
• An additional 1,500 XP goes to Audric for miscellaneous recovery of items. Zeb only receives half this share (750 XP).
• A final 1,000 XP is given to Audric for the Malarans and their spoils. Regrettably, this constitutes an "encounter," so Zeb doesn't share in the award at all. (Also keep in mind that there were five participants on the side of the PCs, and total experience has been divided accordingly.)

The values above are rounded for simplicity. Adding them up, and incorporating Zeb's 10% bonus, the total awards are:

• Audric - 6,500
• Zeb - 4,125

The penalty for prematurely employing dual-class powers is very real, and I thought it unfair to not enforce it. Audric has his own XP hurdles in terms of the steep advancement table drawn up for Crusader; nevertheless, this allotment crests him over the threshold for 5th level, which requires five dedicated days of training before he can raise his abilities. Updated party totals:

• Audric - 18,500
• Zeb - 3,000/14,325

Recovered Items

I'm assuming the passage of time sufficient for both characters to train (five days). During this period, castings of detect magic and read magic can be completed (note that these castings are still being made at Audric's and Zeb's "old" levels):

• The hook-bladed axe wielded by Carcerus emits a faint magical aura. This weapon deals damage as a bastard sword and can be used one- or two-handed.
• The wooden spoon carried by Maglarosh (but not the bowl) emits a faint magical aura. When placed inside the bowl, a pasty and unappetizing (but ultimately edible) gruel forms within.
• The ruby charm worn by Maglarosh upon a silver chain emits a moderate aura of abjuration magic.
• The necklace recovered from the troll's nest at Oldkeep is valuable, but non-magical. It may have once belonged to a noble or some person of importance. Erathmar appraises this piece at 500 gold pieces.
• The oakwood medallion bearing the symbol of Nobanion is non-magical.
• None of the other plundered wares present as magical.
• Same as previously, Audric's pewter ring radiates an overwhelming magical aura. Its school cannot be discerned.

The spellbook found in the basement of the tower in Carrock contains the following spells:

• 1st level
• Cantrip
• Detect magic
• Enlarge
• Identify
• Light
• Mount
• Read magic
• Spider climb
• Spook
• 2nd level
• Bind
• Deeppockets
• Detect invisibility
• Locate object
• Melf’s acid arrow
• Whispering wind
• 3rd level
• Delude
• Dispel magic
• Secret page
• Protection from normal missiles

Happenings in Carrock

The party's victorious return brings revelry and accolades. In the ensuing days, Larimo the gnome begins to recover from his injuries, Rould is appointed head-huntsman following the loss of Arkhen, and Tussugar Grim is named Carrock's official captain-at-arms, with all martial training and the entire defense of the village under his charge. Moreover, the dwarf agrees to make his permanent residence within the tower, taking ownership of the structure once commissioned by his longtime friend, Reginald the Stoutheart.

For Zeb's part, the requested pauldron and helm are fabricated by village craftsmen at no cost. Neither is coin accepted from Zeb or Audric for meals, ale, or accommodations for the remainder of their stay. They are truly looked upon as heroes.

When approached about the upcoming journey, Bonie is taken aback, and Larimo even more so, knowing little of the PCs at all. Like Tussugar, the gnome is slow to heal naturally, a generation (in gnome years) more aged than the others. Following her initial surprise, Bonie expresses a need to return to West Tower with news that the valley is once again safe for travel. She pledges to consider the offer, though much will depend on the health of Larimo.

Rould is grateful for the desire of his accompaniment but respectfully declines, hopeful that he might aid Tussugar in fortifying their new home. There is much work ahead in Carrock to prepare for the coming winter. Erathmar, however, is ready cut his losses and agrees to the proposal instantly, along with the rest of his company.

Selben's progress in magery is slow, but not fruitless. By Zeb's estimation, a month of additional study is required for Selben to learn read magic sufficiently to begin scribing a new spellbook from the existing tomes. Neither are the necessary materials available in Carrock; the resources of a larger settlement will be needed. (Such is the danger of losing one's spellbook.)

Moving Forward

I think that's all I have for Zeb and Audric right now. Feel free to post comments to advance things forward. If you choose to pass additional time in Carrock, let me know how much, and for what purpose. If you'd like to open dialogues with specific NPCs, you're free to do that as well. The time of year is early fall, several days before the autumn equinox.

XP awards for sessions 5-7

Looking at the accomplishments over the past few games, I'm going to continue the advancement rate (for now) of 1,000 XP per character, per session. More reasoning and explanation can be found here.

Updated totals:

• Audric - 12,000
• Zeb - 3,000/10,200

This puts Zeb over the key threshold for attaining 4th level as an abjurer. The training requirements set forth last time apply now as well, and I know that Jason has some specific ideas around this milestone that he can work on executing next session. While Zeb's two recent advancements feel a bit close in proximity, this is mainly attributable to his dual-class nature. It's also probably the last time we'll have this situation, since XP requirements going forward are now significantly higher.

XP awards for sessions 1-4

I'm awarding 1,000 XP to each PC for each of the first four sessions. My goal is to set us off on a solid clip; the enemies defeated so far, though few, have been powerful, and clearly the village of Carrock would be much worse off had the party not intervened. I'm leaning loosely on monster XP values from the books, but all in all, the traditional AD&D XP system is designed for dungeon crawl style campaigns, and this campaign is definitely not that.

Here are the updated totals:

• Audric - 9,000
• Zeb - 3,000/6,900

This should gain each PC a level. Advancement is not instantaneous; a number of days equal to each character's new level needs to be passed with a focus on study and self-reflection. This can occur in Carrock if the party chooses not to set out again immediately. Assuming this will be the case, Zeb and Audric can continue to investigate the recent happenings so long as the majority of time is spent in training.

FR #17: Beyond Death's Door

The party is expected to win every time. The bad guys only have to win once.

4 Flamerule

Having arrived in Mirabar under cover of darkness with Aranos still incapacitated, the party sought refuge at an inn whose placard had long since faded. The next day, while Aranos rested and Riwyn tended her scrolls, Wren and Arendeth made contact with a lanky, buoyant man named Drunfeldt, who bid the party to sup with him that eve at a nearby residence where they might find suitable employment.

They agreed, and subsequently visited the cottage of Agloroth and Reticence, a husband-and-wife duo nearing sixty winters who brokered specialist work for the city. The couple explained that, in early spring, rich veins of silver were struck in a previously unworked area of the lower peaks of the Spine of the World. Regrettably, the mine bearing the silver collapsed, killing a score of men and dwarves, the tunnel rendered completely impassable.

More recently, additional teams dispatched to the area located a second cave, harboring a catacomb which led toward the vicinity where the silver was found. Thirteen miners delved deeply within, but only three returned. Of these three, all were seriously injured, one having already died, the others left in the care of a cleric of Moradin in the Undercity. The survivors bore accounts of miners ripped limb-from-limb by a massive creature that neither could identify. Prior to this, the miners had been set upon by chitines: ruthless, four-armed humanoids with an affinity for traps and deception. While the miners stayed off the chitines to some success, the emergence of the larger enemy brought about their doom. Moreover, the miners spoke of other oddities in the tunnel that impeded them in battle: a solid stone wall that softened into mud, and errant, spell-like effects.

In light of these events, further exploration of the area was abandoned until a properly-equipped band could ensure the safety of future expeditions. Agloroth and Reticence offered a bounty of 5,000 gold pieces for proof that any threats to miners had been eliminated.

The PCs accepted the job, passed a day making preparations and locating one of the survivors in the Undercity, and departed north, with Drunfeldt escorting them to the base of the lower peaks. A family of perytons, airborne predators with the bodies of eagles and the antlered heads of stags, had recently been sighted near their destination, and as such the party traveled at night to avoid the creatures' daytime activity cycle.

At the landmark denoting the farthest reach of Mirabar's protection, Drunfeldt rode back for the city, and the party made camp under tree cover at dawn, spotting the perytons during their watches but avoiding any unwanted attention. When darkness again came, they trekked to the plateau that harbored the cave entrance, looking down upon a valley to the north where a spattering of fires suggested an encampment of unknown inhabitants, more than a mile off.

Deciding against an investigation, they entered the cave as the sun began to rise. Inside, the air was cool and damp, and they penetrated the tunnel with caution, prodding at the natural stone floor, wary of ambushes or traps.

As they descended, they found signs of the miners' deliverance: drained and consumed corpses, and a severed dwarf arm which bore a gleaming, pewter ring on one of its fingers. Leaving it, they advanced to an area of the tunnel where thick strands of webbing blocked a portion of the way forward, leading passers-by toward a deep hole burrowed into a section of softened stone. The party burned away the webs and circumvented the hazard, then came upon an impossibly thick barricade of webs, which they similarly vanquished.

Uncertain from the lack of a clear threat, they continued on, setting a makeshift camp near the edge of a partially-webbed segment of tunnel, and passing a few restless hours before a skittering noise betrayed a fleeting, shadowy form ascending the wall, amid the strands.

Concerned, they drew weapons and advanced, cutting at the webs ere being descended upon by several four-armed creatures who assaulted them viciously with claws and blades. Only Riwyn drew back, the others wading into combat, outnumbered and suffering from the chitines' multitude of attacks. Upon casting glitterdust and exposing a dozen more creatures lurking near the ceiling, Riwyn attempted to invoke a powerful spell from one of the scrolls plundered underneath Brithem, but failed.

The spell, chain lightning, had a failure chance of 45% due to being nine caster levels higher than Riwyn could normally use. This was an epic roll, as it almost certainly would have saved the party from its recklessness and felled the chitines, to the one, had it worked.

Aranos succumbed to his many wounds, and Arendeth was set upon in full as the glitterdust faded, vying to utter hold person against the four chitines that surrounded him.

This chance, too, failed by a hair. Sean executed his spell, rolling a "4" for the number of enemies affected, on the same initiative count that Arendeth was assailed, before realizing that he'd misstated the spell's casting time. The chitines' attacks subsequently disrupted his casting, thwarting the spell.

Wren and Arendeth were laid low. Riwyn, still uninjured, bolted from the melee, but the chitines doubled the elf's speed. Lighting a torch amid the cavern, she struck and killed one of the vile creatures before they took her life.

The party fell on the eighth day of Flamerule, Year of the Bow (1354 DR). Their story, for now, is at its end.

Post-mortem

AD&D is a difficult game. This is easy to forget when surviving, time and again, whether by luck of the dice, sound strategy, or favorable circumstance. Laughing and joking around the table, it often feels like participation is enough, that the greatest challenge is in making the time in our busy schedules to get together to keep the game going. That a high-level character is the eventual reward for a steady dose of regular attendance over time.

Not so. A high-level AD&D character is truly something to be treasured, the culmination of years of emotional investment and consistent execution. Creating a high-level PC from scratch is one of the least fulfilling RPG experiences I've known, which is why I enforce that any new PC joining an existing game, for any reason, must start at the initial XP total set for all characters when the campaign begins. If this results in a 1st-level mage signing on with a party of established, 9th-level adventurers, so be it. The mage will make his place soon enough, or die trying. From the starting point onward, every new level and ability must be earned.

Last night, there was no lone decision that cost the PCs their lives. There were avenues of escape, dice that might have fallen the other way, and choices to be looked back upon and questioned. We talked about how the party could have sought hirelings in Mirabar, could have proceeded differently in the tunnel, could have managed the combat with the chitines more judiciously. I need not rehash it all here. This session was a grim reminder of the dangers of adventuring, and hopefully comes with lessons to be remembered during the players' next AD&D foray.

What Next?

I have no specific plans yet for how to move forward from here. We've breathed life into this setting through our play, and that could be something I choose to leverage in developing a new campaign. A higher-level party may have possessed retainers, heirs, or next of kin to take over the reins as new PCs, but this group is effectively ended with the deaths of Arendeth, Aranos, Riwyn, and Wren. Might a new party emerge somewhere nearby and experience the world anew? There's much to be considered and discussed in the coming days, balancing the availability, schedules, and interest levels of everyone involved.

Final XP Totals

No experience is gained from a session in which every character dies. Berwyn and Lincoln were not present and technically are still alive. For archive purposes, here are the sidebar XP totals as they stand today:

• Berwyn - 11,169
• Arendeth - 15,472
• Riwyn - 7,736/7,736
• Wren - 7,033/7,736
• Lincoln - 10,852
• Aranos (h) - 2,128

I don't have much more to offer. The party threw caution to the wind one time too many, and ultimately paid the price. There wasn't much I could do to save them, in the end.

FR #16: The Road to Mirabar

18 Kythorn

Recovery from the catacomb was long and arduous, absent Arendeth's magical healing for several days while the dwarf regained his strength. Though the fallen were tended to graciously, the party was otherwise left to deliberate its course, and the decision made was for Luskan. Before their departure, the PCs were solicited by the missionaries, Lucido and Winifred, that adventuring work in the name of Tyr could be found under the employ of their benefactor, Elidar Highborn, in Leolin. The offer was considered, but declined.

They reached Luskan two days hence, having encountered a trio of armored riders and a small contingent of wagoners en route. As the sunlight faded over the Sea of Swords, Luskan's gate-guards demanded a steep tariff for entry, taking advantage of the late hour and of the city's inherent prejudice toward non-humans. With a sour taste for the place already, the party made its way to the piers and procured lodging at the Shadowatch Inn.

Inside, they were met by an old acquaintance, Pevrel the gnome, who admitted to following the PCs since their episode at the gate. The gnome, who concealed a trained ferret underneath his tunic, mentioned that a local ranger was seeking arms-for-hire to combat goblin uprisings to the east, in addition to hearsay that an unnamed man was bartering in high coin with magistrates of Luskan's "prisoners' carnival" for its captives, effectively thwarting a number of (gruesome) public executions.

The gnome left after drinking his fill, and the next morning the PCs visited a moneychanger to unburden themselves of the copper, silver, and electrum plundered from the catacomb. While Arendeth and Aranos tended the coins, Wren and Riwyn were quietly approached by a hooded man in the marketplace in search of crew for a southbound merchant caravel; at an offer of a hundred gold pieces per head but requiring immediate service, Wren displayed interest but neglected to commit. Upon reuniting, the party agreed to move on from the likes of Luskan and spent the remainder of the day purchasing and outfitting riding horses before departing the city's north gate with an eye for Mirabar.

The lightly-beaten road rolled over vast stretches of hills and plains, the River Mirar flowing ever at the edge of their view to the south. For three days they traveled without incident, but that eve the tranquility was broken by the howling of wolves, far in the distance. On the fourth night, after Arendeth scribed a protective glyph of warding around those who slept, the howls were usurped by a crescendo of marching, singing, and rolling wagon wheels as a caravan crested loudly toward the party. Its lead rider drew close, hailing the PCs and imparting that a pack of dire wargs lurked dangerously near - enough so that the caravan, a camaraderie of men and dwarves journeying from Mirabar to Luskan, broke camp in the dead of night to distance themselves from the threat.

Denying an offer to return with the company to Luskan, the party continued watches into the early morn, finally being set upon by a pair of the fell creatures as they rode on. Aranos was bucked from his horse and mauled to unconsciousness before the wargs were slain, ere the party pressed on wearily, arriving at Mirabar's gates after middark on Flamerule the Fourth.

DM's Commentary

Overland travel is no picnic, and the PCs are lucky to have completed a 240-mile journey with no unrecoverable losses. Merchants caravan in large numbers for a reason, and while adventurers oft possess skills and defenses that commoners do not, a full pack of wargs had a sizable chance of annihilating the party outright; as it was, though they ventured on in spite of warnings from the company from Mirabar, fortune saw them meet only two of the creatures along the road. Had they been set upon at night, when the entirety of the pack was afoot, the outcome may have proved disastrous (although Arendeth's glyph of warding was a superb proactive measure, to be sure).

Luskan and Brithem feel far removed as the salty breezes from the Sea of Swords have given way to rolling pastures and silhouettes of mountain peaks on the northern horizon. For now, marshes and catacombs, gnolls, gate-guards, and banditry seem little more than distant memories.

(My initial draft included a section here for mounted combat, but it ended up being long enough that I'm making it a separate post for easier future reference.)

Riding Horse Attributes

It bears mentioning the attributes of the riding horses procured in Brithem, whether or not they're needed again soon:

• Hit dice: 3 (i.e., 3d8 hit points each, rolled randomly)
• Hit points: 17 (Riwyn's mount), 12 (Wren's mount), 17 (Arendeth's mount), 9 (Aranos' mount)
• Armor class: 7
• Movement: 24 (240 yards)
• THAC0: 17
• # of attacks: 2 (per round)
• Damage/attack: 1d2/1d2

PCs can succeed a Wisdom check to control the attacks of their mounts, provided that no morale checks have been failed (in which case a steed is likely to bolt).

XP

Since the party has landed at a (presumed) safe point, I do want to award XP for the wargs, even though the amount is small enough to warrant rounding up to simplify my math (we'll call the total 100 XP per PC and 50 XP for Aranos).

I've discussed at various points previously (most recently here) the Tao of D&D XP system, which awards experience primarily based on damage dealt to and by combatants and spellcasters. I still don't feel that the entirety of this system is appropriate for our game, however I am going to begin issuing individual awards of 20 XP per point of damage sustained by PCs and henchmen, effective this session. In short, this helps bolster the party's XP in a fair and realistic way, while not significantly affecting my bookkeeping. I may continue to refine the XP system later on, but for now I see this as a "quick win."

As a result, Aranos (the only combatant damaged against the wargs after I retracted falling damage from Riwyn and Wren) sustained a total of 15 points, and therefore receives an additional award of 300 XP for the session. Accounting for this and for prime requisite bonuses, the party totals now stand as:

• Arendeth - 15,472
• Riwyn - 7,736/7,736
• Wren - 7,033/7,736
• Aranos - 2,128

Sean will be happy to see that Aranos has attained second level and may roll for hit points and adjust stats accordingly the next time we play.

FR #15: Underneath the Castle

17 Kythorn, middark

Having spent several days recovering and deliberating their course, the party was awakened late at night by castle guards headed for the basement in response to a handmaid's distress. The PCs followed, and reaching her learned that a second maid had been set upon by a dark form in a storage room where the pair had been gathering wheat. Located near the end of a seldom-used corridor, the party entered the chamber to the sight of a large, centipede-like creature feasting on a humanoid body.

They attacked, drawing its ire, and it struck back with tentacles protruding from its mouth, oozing a poisonous secretion on Wren and Riwyn which numbed their arms and legs. Aranos and Arendeth slew the creature grimly, ere the dead handmaid was identified and Wren and Riwyn carried to their barracks, where they recovered over the course of an hour.

In the wake of the night's events, a search of the basement revealed a partially-collapsed stone wall below the tower previously felled by the black dragons. The wall had been in place for generations, sealing a path to a stairwell that led to an underground catacomb. The catacomb, Mara explained, had been used to operate a mine in the years before the castle was constructed, when men vied against orcs for control of the region north of Port Llast. The last known resident of the dungeon was a wizard of centuries past; when the wizard was eventually routed from the site, the catacomb was sealed, and Brithem was built atop it.

The opening in the wall was high and narrow, but undoubtedly the means by which the carrion crawler had entered. At daybreak, the party ventured beyond the wall and descended the stairwell, emerging in a cavern that forked into deeper darkness. Taking the rightward path, they discovered stonehewn walls of construction unlike the castle proper; traversing a narrow hall, Arendeth sprung a mechanical trap and suffered an impaling blow before the rest of the party ventured through unharmed. Stone steps ascended to a deteriorated wooden door, and beyond it Wren spotted the remains of a human, long since passed.

As she investigated the room, a score of disembodied, clawed hands scuttled from the recesses around her and attacked. Raking and pummeling and grasping at her neck, Wren sliced them as she ran for the next room, seeking shelter. Her companions followed, barricading themselves in an otherwise exitless bedchamber with a dozen of the wretched things while others attempted to reopen the door from outside.

The melee that ensued turned grave when one of the claws seized Arendeth's throat and strangled him to unconsciousness. For several rounds, Riwyn and Aranos worked to sever the creature's grip as they fended back others and Wren pressed her weight against the door. By the time Riwyn had taken the last claw within the chamber, both Arendeth and Aranos were swooned.

Long minutes elapsed as Riwyn scoured the room. A casting of detect magic revealed a secret compartment in one of the chamber's walls; hidden inside she recovered a chest of coins and gems, a hand-painted portrait of a man in embroidered robes, a half-completed letter negotiating a slave trade, and a large bundle of scrolls. Her friend's strength waning, the elf maneuvered the straw bed against the door and heaved her two comatose allies atop it. The pair guarded the door intensely for many hours before Riwyn rested to memorize spells, the disembodied hands unyielding in their attempts to gain entry all the while.

Knowing that the stalemate would eventually be broken, Wren coated her fishing net in oil and fastened two of its corners to the door. She pulled the door ajar, holding the net taught, ere Riwyn set it aflame as the claws leapt in, withdrew, and cast two magic missile spells in succession. The fire, bolts, and cuts from Wren's blade finally silenced the horrific scene, a full day after it unfolded. Over the course of several hours, Wren and Riwyn carefully returned their injured companions to the stairwell and summoned the castle guards.

DM's Commentary

Crazy session, and third in our recent games where at least one PC strayed dangerously close to death. This time, the rolls trended strongly in the enemies' favor, though there were a few instances where the dice spared Arendeth from dropping below -7. It takes a long time (several days) for a character to recover from that weak a point through rest alone; losing the party's cleric was a fearful event, indeed.

Despite their adversity, the PCs succeeded in returning to the castle intact. What's less certain is where the party chooses to go from here, assuming a handful more days of rest for the fallen: back into the catacomb for continued exploration; back to the Witherwood in search of the source of disease; north to Luskan as tentatively decided earlier; or somewhere else entirely? I'll get with the group on their options before the next time we play.

Residual Effects

The fiefdom of Brithem has surely known a run of bad luck lately: dragons assaulting the castle, gnolls attacking its soldiers, and carrion crawlers invading the basement? One could definitely make the case that I'm coming up with anything I can think of to throw against the PCs while they're here. There's of course a bit of truth in that, but it's not the spin I'm going for.

As explained in various posts and sessions, Brithem and its surrounds comprise an ecosystem anchored by the marshlands, the Witherwood, the fiefdom, and the road. Wetland creatures keep within the marshes and create a barrier against the forest gnolls and their ilk; the heavily-traveled road between Luskan and Port Llast deters monsters from the Neverwinter Wood; and while the jagged, perilous shoreline stymies Brithem's ability to trade by sea, equally does it protect the fiefdom from pirates.

When the pair of black dragons claimed residence in the Witherwood for reasons unknown to the party, this ecosystem was disrupted, and Brithem and its populace have been feeling the ripple effects ever since. Most recently, a sealed-off corridor beneath the castle failed under the strain of the collapsed stone tower above it.

No settlement, however large or small, can subsist indefinitely in a constant state of threat and instability. What the characters have witnessed since arriving in Brithem doesn't represent the relative peace endured in decades past; rather, the fiefdom's ecosystem is being tested, the forces within it affecting boundaries not penetrated for centuries or longer.

Will they break, or merely bend?

Initiative in Action

As talked about earlier this week, we tried individual initiative for this session using the spreadsheet I created, and while I haven't had a chance to poll the players on it yet, from my standpoint it worked fantastically. Aside from the fact that the crawling claws always seemed to go first at the worst possible times, the initiative process was quick, easy, and allowed for a better distribution of actions in combat. Barring any negative feedback from the group, I plan to keep using it for now.

On a side note, when I set up the sheet, I elected not to have Dexterity-based reaction adjustments affect PC initiative rolls on the basis that it's not mentioned in the AD&D rules and would create pressure to account similarly for enemies. After running the two encounters last night, I'm changing position on that - for one, over the course of a campaign, the players need all the help they can get, and secondly, monster physiology is often so divergent that trying to normalize Wren and an army of crawling claws in terms of initiative seems like a futile effort entirely.

What that means is that characters with high Dexterity will have reaction adjustments applied favorably to their initiative when I roll. We have too many occasions where initiative is a critical factor in determining life or death to not err on the side of the party.

XP

A decent amount of experience gained for the foray underneath the castle; as the PCs have returned to safety, I'm free to award these now:

• Carrion crawler - 270 XP
• Crawling claws, 19 - 227 XP
• Wizard scrolls, 6 - 2,300 XP
• Coinage, gems, and artwork - 1,635 XP
• Story award - 2,000 XP

That's 6,432 points, which divides into full shares of 1,837 XP for each PC, and a half-share of 919 XP for Aranos. Dead characters aren't eligible for experience awards, but unconscious ones definitely still are. Accounting for bonuses, here are the party's updated totals:

• Arendeth - 15,362
• Riwyn - 7,681/7,681
• Wren - 6,983/7,681
• Aranos - 1,778

No levels gained at this point, though a couple milestones draw nearer. Multi-class characters, particularly, have a slow going of things.

Scroll Contents

The contents of the wizard scrolls were conveyed to the party in-game under the assumption of multiple castings of read magic by Riwyn; to reiterate:

• 1st-level: hold portal
• 2nd: locate object
• 4th: enervation
• 5th: sending, shadow magic
• 6th: chain lightning

Please check the spell descriptions in the Player's Handbook and review the tail end of this post for detailed rules regarding scrolls.