They Met at a Tavern 25: It's Beetle-riffic!

The Unusual Band of Suspects:

• Rick: Bjorr, 1/2 orc Paladin
• Chris: Thorn, dwarf Wizard
• Dan: Kiara, elf Ras Godai
• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Callista: Erol, elf Priest
• Roger: Drom, dwarf Desert Rider

The party returned to town, dirty and bloody from their excursion into the Sealed Tower(tm). Recovered loot is converted to booze/carousing, and all repeating PCs bump to 3rd level (I'm not keeping close track of xp, more vibe-advancement). The paladin had been off doing paladin things, and the desert rider returned from a fruitless ziggurat search.

slightly clearer map

Erol noted side-eyes from the citizenry, before being told by a priest of Madeera that the Terragnis sect was generally blamed for the city's misfortunes after the demonic betrayal of Brother Taran Trudheon. She pointed to an overgrown vacant lot - the site of the former Temple of St. Terragnis. The party's ability to enter the tower was a mystery - perhaps the seals were weakening, or the party had some unknown attribute that allowed them entrance. Either way, a mystery to solve.

Some business was conducted, and Bjorr traded his dragon's egg for some mithril chainmail. It was decided to see if the merchants of House Zulad may have any clues or tasks suitable to the party. The unnamed family representative (he of the Rasam's Shop incident) met the party and (random roll on Unlikely Treasures) said that, yes, there was an item of some value that the family would like. The "Scroll of Esoteric Artwork" - a device that would aid in the identification of alchemical and magi-tech items. Something to give them an edge in the relic market. Especially since Rasam was... indisposed. It's in a jade scroll tube. Oh, and we'll put in a good word for you, help clear up that whole Rasam association.

Where was it? Word had it that it was in some old shrine or barrow (because my players lllooovvee barrows). 

And off they went.

D66 Items Found Found in the Sewers

So, I'm working on a funnel adventure for Shadowdark. Might as well post up part of the work in progress. The most important part of said adventure - the D66 random items to find while slogging through the slop...

source

I mean, these are 0-level rat-stickers and clog-clearers. There have to be some perks of the job...

No. No, there are really no perks to these jobs... 

source

Anyhow, without further ado, a lovely list of valuable and useful items floating among the other floaters...

They Met at a Tavern 24: When the DM Mentions Something in Passing, Part II...

Better get this written down before I forget details of the chaos...

The Miscreants:

• Wayne: Pharan, human Sea Wolf
• Chris: Roult, human Basilisk Warrior
• Dan: Kiara, elf Ras Godai
• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Callista: Erol, elf Priest
• Mike: Merrick, human Bard
• Mark (first timer): Irir, elf Thief

First of all, bumped a couple of the Repeat Offenders to 3rd level, since they keep showing up.

The returning crew from last week was heading back to Bettiholm, when they chanced upon a couple of adventurers (Merrick and Irir). The pair looked shady, so were welcomed to join the crew. The group then caught up with a small caravan carrying a mixed selection of supplied and curiosities for delivery to town. Some haggling went on, but the party was unsuccessful. 

The caravan parked outside of town at the caravanserai, and the party headed in to catch up with gem dealer Delmar. Perhaps to find a more reputable broker, since they suspected that Kashmi Rasam had double-crossed his buyer, and they didn't care to be associated with that. In the meantime, they had to dodge "Chicken Day" where the mayor was handing out food donations to the downtrodden of the city. Of which there were plenty. It's a good thing that the caravan included chickens among its cargos.

Somewhere in this, the DM produced a rough map of town and pointed out some features that the party had visited, as well as other landmarks:

Cat not included 

The Sealed Tower (upper RH corner) drew them like moths to flame... Well, it was sealed by multiple methods after Bad Things Happened, of course. Perhaps it's associated with the city's curse and loss of significance. What would have instigated it (question to players) - diabolic dealings and summoning. Always a classic. 

The party ventured to meet the mayor (Fabio Hegewald) as he was washing his hands after a day of handing out foodstuffs and (eeww!) touching the citizens. The mayor and advisor indicated that the sealing occurred after a priest of Terragnis had violated his vows and called up demons in a gamble for power. Can we get into the tower? No, its been sealed, although there might be alternate paths. Have other adventurers explored it? Yes, and they never returned (dramatic music). 

Well, ok - let's get some rest, resupply, and look at things in the morning (i.e. no carousing). Of course, they were met at their inn by representatives of House Zulad, the Dissatisfied Customer from the prior relic sale. Of course, they wouldn't have known of the double-cross, but their reputation was now suspect. And yes, we caught Rasam on his way out of town with a number of items, including the inner workings of the Orb. Of course, it wouldn't do to just kill him, as he has knowledge and talent (big reveal)...

They Met at a Tavern 23: Breaking out the Temple of Dynss, once again.

Who graced the table at the brewery?

• Wayne: Pharan, human Sea Wolf
• Chris: Galen, human Priest
• Dan: Kiara, elf Ras Godai
• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Roger: Drom, dwarf Desert Rider
• Wilson: Gim, dwarf Fighter

Full house. Let's do it. 

The party departed from Zelkor's Ferry to the nearest city of note. What's the town? Let's ask the players for help. 

We have a medium-sized city that is well-established, but fallen on hard times, and a shadow of its former glory. It is run by a council of merchants, with a figurehead of a mayor. The city looks backwards, and makes a good trade in relics. That said, one of its notable landmarks is the old trading hall, once an impressive edifice, but now threadbare. The city is called Bettiholme. 

The party disembarked from their packet-ship, and paid a treasure toll to the harbormaster. Gim, an itinerant dwarf, was met. Fending off a band of enterprising urchins, they reached the shop of Delmar Hevrolug, brother to Kalgor Hevrolug of Zelkor's ferry. After some bitching about the state of his business, Delmar agreed to find a buyer for the party's magic orb. 

The party was directed to the shop of Kashmi Rasam, an artificer and dealer in artifacts. They managed to avoid serious mishaps and petty crime as they were slowed by a small street carnival, with snake charmers, jugglers, and acrobats. As city guards rushed in to apprehend pickpocket jugglers, spilling snake handler baskets, the party made a quick departure...

Rasam was quite enthralled by the find of the orb, pressing the party for information. The orb was demonstrated, although Kashmi warned that it may only have a limited number of uses left. Best not to show it off. He agreed to act as broker and find a buyer.

But first, we carouse. The party was recommended a modest dwarf-operated inn in the neighborhood. None of that weak halfling beer there. Only one PC woke up in the gutter. 

They Met at a Tavern 22: Breaking and Entering the Crypt of King Solimas (plus mini-review)

 

• Seana: Tarl, human Fighter
• Chris: Roult, human Basilisk Warrior
• Callista: Erol, elf Priest
• Dan: Budris, human Bard
• Wayne: Pharan, human Sea Wolf
• Roger: Drom, dwarf Desert Rider

So the band decided which way to go - west into the hinerlands, or east across the water to hock the magic orb. Barrows are always a fun attraction. And our high-rolling priest is back. Necromancer Solace knew of a clump of them about a day away, and provided a map. Budris sought out some lore, finding that some barrows were known to contain "interesting" fungus.

Drom got his camel out of the stable, and led the rest of the boot leather band westward. Eward, mute stablehand, was excited to have been able to care for, and pet, a camel. 

Humping across the grasslands, a herd of loose horses were spotted. Some scouting, and it was found that they were domestic, likely escaped. Some herding and horse-handling attempts later, and everyone had a ride, although Budris and Roult needed quite a bit of help, as their horsemanship was pitiful. 

Onward, and camping. The party awoke to find themselves among several burrows (not barrows, nor burros). Chris (as player) recalled another unfortunate camping experience... Several giant soldier ants emerged, but chose to simply block the burrow entrances as the party immediately decamped. 

Good morning!

Ok. Barrows.

I have a handful of barrow maps, with associated random tables. But I also had "The Crypt of King Solimas" burning a hole in my adventures folder. So be it.

The party found a barrow with a bronze-coated slab, rather than the boring old stone. Must be important... 

They Met at a Tavern 21: The Bloodsoaked Gem Caverns That Weren't (plus mini-review)

Who's hanging at Bristleback's Inn?

• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Chris: Roult, human Basilisk Warrior
• Rick: Bjorn, 1/2 orc Paladin
• Tony: Holmarn, human Fighter
• Wayne: Pharan, human Sea Wolf

Note: Wayne is better known as Fulvus, halfling terror, from my OSE campaign. Tony asked to watch, as he needed to be somewhere, then said, "give me a character."

The ferry/packet arrived. Certain hooded individuals met with Hebetha Solace, carrying off a certain package. A couple of new adventurers stepped off the boat. Holmarn, newly arrived in town, was on the hunt for portable wealth, preferably gems. He checked in with Kalgor the gemcutter in his shop for possible leads. Kalgor greeted him and, after conferring with "Olaf," an apparently invisible friend. After some back and forth, Kalgor sketched out a map to an abandoned mine that was worth a look.

They stopped at the trading post for supplies. Rasmus, in addition to normal tack, had also recently traded for a prism and some vials of acid. The party bought a vial. 

Off they went. 

While trekking to the "X" on the map, the party encountered a like-numbered group of beastmen. Bjorn, as is his way, greeted them with his cask of ale (I really need to enforce slots better. Is it one or two? Anyway...). The leader hesitated, but a drinking horn was produced. Some language difficulties overcome, the party asked about the local terrain and what the beastmen were up to. "Well, we hunt, maybe we take things from settlers." "Do you attack caravans?" "No - Too many spears. Like you guys. Too many spears. Oh, here's a silk robe and slippers we "found" in exchange for the ale."

source

The two groups parted ways, and the party found their way to the mine, Some poking around, and they found a winch/elevator to get them into the works. The rope held, and into the caverns they went. 

"All in the Family" or, The Family that Prays Together, Stays Together...

... or something like that.

Here we have a family interred within their family tomb, which is also a shrine to their god, as well as a gateway for an avatar of that god to treat with them, other faithful followers, as well as those who may seek conversion and the gifts that act bears...

It took me a while to come up with what "lived" in the pool, until the phrase 'flayed god' came to me. Leaning heavily on the imagery of Xipe Totec, I went with it.

The OG Flayed God

Anyway, I'm not sure how this one turned out. It was an interesting presentation and content challenge. The adventure-bits themselves are basically one page, with lore, monster and spell descriptions, and other material taking up four pages... The spell Fear doesn't show up in B/X-OSE, with its first appearance in AD&D as a mage/illusionist spell. Likewise, Shadowdark has neither Fear or Remove/Cause Fear in its original edition. So those spells are included, and modified to fit the systems. I got lazy and didn't convert the family members and avatar to SD, but I think they are straightforward enough to run on the fly. Also, this can be approached as a delve, or potentially access to a resource, depending on how it plays out. 

Anyway, you can check in on the Viermetz family and their fleshless proselytizing here. 

Going to step into the Crumbling Keep of Khashmur with some other yahoos on Monday evening. Watch our hapless adventures here.

They Met at a Tavern 21: When the DM Mentions Something in Passing...

What did I get myself into tonight, and with whom?

• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Roger: Brom, dwarf Desert Rider
• Chris: Roult, human Basilisk Warrior
• Callista: Erol, elf Priest
• Daniel: Hawk, human Ranger
• Rick: Bjorr, 1/2 orc Paladin 

Note: Callista is Chris' granddaughter, who had never rolled dice before this session. This will become important later.

Well, the party docked at Zelkor's Ferry, arriving due to some unfortunate events in the last town across the water.

This, coincidentally (or not) was where a prior party arrived a couple of sessions ago... Note: None of the players (except the Shorter Half) were involved in that session, so it's untrodden territory.

ANYWAY, the DM (who had a trio of available scenarios lined up) mentioned that the party meets some other patched-up adventurers going the other way with a couple of chests of loot. They mention that they got it off some pirates, but you don't need to worry about them. Just the undead dragon.

So much for delving some pre-selected tomb or abandoned mine...

The paladin beelined to the inn to purchase a cask of ale to fortify himself for the adventure. It was determined to be evening anyhow, so everyone eventually followed. They got a bit of background from the militia sergeant and a rough map the adventurers had left. The desert rider asked the priest if undead dragons could still speak and throw spells (WIS roll, dirty 20) - we decided that Erol did well in her Undead Studies classes and suspected that, depending on the cause of undeath, that the dragon was unlikely to still speak. 

Things in the inn took a turn when the local blacksmith showed up to play (poorly) her bagpipes. As well as a certain coolness that came over the crowd when another local appeared, Hebetha Solace. Erol's neck hairs stood up a bit as the woman approached the table. I understand you are seeking looking to hunt down the undead dragon. I have associates who are in need of the head. I'll pay you good coin if you are able to retrieve it.  

More coin? We're in.

Oh, and she dropped off a pair of Hugo's Healing Potions (tm) as a down payment. 

In the morning, the band set off in a somewhat patched-up small sailing boat, captained by the sea wolf, with assistance by the ranger (sailor background). The desert rider hung over the rail, and tried to keep land in sight. 

A shark followed the ship, possibly lured by the desert rider's "chumming."

They Met at a Tavern 20: Ignoring the NFC Championship Game

Besides running Shadowdark, I'll get further onto BXBlackrazor's pariah list by ducking out of various Seahawks viewing opportunities to run another one-shot. 

Because The Ridgecrest doesn't sport a TV. 

Anyway. Off we go:

• Chris: Thorn, Dwarf Wizard
• Seana: Katwaen, Dwarf Sea Wolf
• Michael: Rango, Dwarf Knight of St. Ydris
• Patrick: Nix, Kobold Thief
• Daniel: Maven, Elf Witch

Three dwarves, two miscellaneous others. Dwarf-themed misadventure, it is.

I've always wanted to see how Dwarves With Worms runs at the table. PCs bumped to 3rd level, plus some random magical items, just in case.

Rango's "cousin" Ugraen had headed out with some followers to reconsecrate or expand some old temple. Trouble is, he'd gotten excommunicated from the local temple for some questionable practices and beliefs. Anyway, better go check up on him.

The party found the complex, showing signs of recent excavation and expansion. Upon entering, the dwarves were disappointed to see shoddy excavation and stonework. I mean, humans could do this...

Listening at a door, they heard nothing. Deciding to explore in the opposite direction, they spiked the door and headed deeper into the complex.  

Well, that noise called up something:

arrrrr.....

A trio of vacant-eyed dwarves accosted them. The party sussed that they weren't quite undead, as something seemed to writhe under their flesh. 

Many poor rolls occurred. Finally, the wizard was able to web them up for easy disposal. Upon slaying them, large worms burst from their bodies, and swarmed the party, intent upon infecting them. Much worm stomping and stabbing, and possibly one Knight of St. Ydris screaming like a little girl. The wizard quaffed their sole potion of healing. 

Fortunately, around the corner, the explorers found a stash of ale, which went a long way to cure shaken nerves.

Onward!

They Met at a Tavern 19: Visiting Foxtail Grotto

Set up at the brewery on Sunday night, and found a full table. Excellent. I had a few choices in my folder, but with a table of meat, er, PCs, it was time to take on Foxtail Grotto. 

The cast: 

• Freya, Seawolf
• Durl Snuggs, Priest
• (forgot name), Bard
• Eswald, Seer
• Rand, Fighter
• Gilden, Wizard
• Holbarn, Fighter

We started at a small coastal settlement that had been plagued by pirates. The garrison's sergeant didn't have the resources or talent to root them out. But look! A seawolf and a handful of "talent." The party was equipped with a small sailing ship and basic supplies, given a map, and enough rumors to point them in the right direction. A day or so of sailing along the coast and poking around in coves, and they were rewarded with signs of activity, such as harvesting of timber for ship repairs.

Carefully navigating shoals, and they found the pirates' ship, the Meteor (mis-heard as 'meatier'). But it was in sad shape, holed on a rock. The party carefully navigated toward the ship to investigate, and got themselves hung up on the doomed ship's rigging. While clearing the snarl, one of the gaff hooks was snapped off, and a rotting, undead shark made its appearance.

duh-DUHN...duh-DUHN

It got turned away, and in spite of the hazard, three of the PCs hopped over to investigate the damaged ship. It was found to have been stripped of loot, and they were able to return to their ship without incident.

They Met at a Tavern 18: Stealing Dolls from the Stonewills

New month, new brewery. They are trying to get some traction for the Sunday game night, so posted up for a table.

• Will: half orc Ras-godai (pointy helmet with plume)
• Roderick: Human witch (shaved head, scorpion tattoo on scalp)
• Tim: halfling fighter (short, curly hair)
• Seana: Human fighter (bald)

The party disembarked from their anonymous freighter, looking for work. The Ras-godai caught the eye of a stevedore, who flashed a sign. A sibling organization, a thieves guild... The Ras-godai (with stocky halfling backup) stepped into an alley to get a lead. The stevedore gave them a wooden token and told them to ask for Solange at the Hidden Hand for work...

(Both my readers know the trope - party talks to hunchbacked serving girl, go into back room, serving girl drops disguise, revealing head of local guild of independent acquisitions...) 

But not after the 18CHA witch had made sure everyone had drinks. 

Anyway, they were offered two jobs - Get an idol from the Stonewill estate or see what's going on in the basement of the wine garden. Brief discussion, and idol recovery was elected.

They decided not to get their feet dirty in the sewers, and reconnoitered the surface routes of entry. The front was too well-trafficked for entry, so perhaps a side route. While the witch and halfling staged a lover's spat to distract the street traffic, the Ras-godai scouted the alleyway, finding the entry to the back courtyard. Good enough, wait until dark.

At the appointed hour, the party convened at the alleyway. The witch kept watch while the party attempted a B&E. As they tested doors and finally lofted a rope and grapple over the back wall, the witch intercepted a couple of hapless city guards, distracting them from the party's efforts.

something like this

Once inside, they attempted to unlock the back gate. The Ras-godai claimed to be able to pick locks (using a bent clothes hanger), but to no avail. OK, we'll just throw a rope back over. 

They Met at a Tavern 17: Visiting the Zombraire's Estate

Happy Halloween!

It's been about three years since I ran The Zombraire's Estate, so time to dust it off again, this time for a Shadowdark crew....

• Brandon: Halfling Bard
• Matt: Dwarf Priest
• McKenna: Human Fighter
• Mike: Human Witch
• Jema: Elf Knight of St. Ydris (late arrival, see below)

We Rolled For Hats and got moving. I kept to the stock game plan from the module, and had the players hired to root out and purge the old manor of its curse... 

The initial four PCs approached the manor. Spotting the skeletons arrayed by the front gate, the dwarven priest approached to give a blessing to the dead. The dead woke up and were having none of that. Stabbing and smashing and failed Turn Undead rolls commenced (even with a luck point - Madeera was not answering calls today).

source

The party then circled around the compound, finding the Wrenwald family crypts. As they waffled about checking them out, Luacia the Dryad's raven found them and asked for assistance. The raven recognized the witch with their mouse familiar as a kindred soul. The mouse was sent with the raven to assess the dryad, returning to confirm their veracity. Luacia explained the blight from manor's curse and begged the PCs to help. They agreed. She healed the priest in thanks. Her bless attempt failed though, a sign of her fading powers.

Entering the compound, the fighter checked out one of the animal pens, finding the zombie chickens... After poking a stick at them, she decided that checking for eggs in the coop wouldn't be a good idea. 

The witch found the poisoned well, and recovered a magic short sword from the doomed adventurer. The bard took the sword for later use. 

More poking around and avoiding the other animal pens and zombie gardeners. This party was way too cautious...

They Met at a Tavern 16: Into the Caluromys Chambers

Who showed up and had to try to hear me over baseball playoffs?

• Jema: Half-orc Desert Rider
• Brandon: Halfling Wizard
• Gurleen:  Elf Fighter
• Seana: Elf Thief

Using something I've had knocking around for five years or so... Looking at the printout I have in my adventures folder, I can tell I've at least prepped it for play (notes on hp, treasures, etc.) but I couldn't find a writeup or other play notes so... I guess this is a first playthrough?

Started the four miscreants at the entrance. Made a call that the wizard had some knowledge of the place and its prior worshipers. 

They immediately came upon the first serpent-folk guard and his watch-lizard. The pair were put down with a brief fight. Finding the first Possimium statue, the fighter prudently added a few coins to its alms bowl, preventing its trap function. 

The quartet worked their way through the corridors, backtracking if they though it was wise to check another passageway or route deeper into the complex. Finding a sarcophagus with its attendant bust of the interred hero, they respectfully left it alone. Finding the second Possimium statue, a few more coins were left, for good measure.

Yet Another Mass Combat Hack - Using "Field Combat Rules for Shadowdark" in OSE

OK, for those who have been tuning in to the channel, we had a knock down drag out battle a couple of weeks ago in the campaign world.

There was strategizing. And cookies.

But prior to that, I needed to come up with a mass combat system for the session, something light enough that it didn't bog down our usual chaos. Plus I'd never run mass combat before. A couple of our crew have wargame and other miniatures battle experience, so I didn't want to look like a total noob. 

So what to do?

Well, of course obsessively look for the "perfect" system through all the mass combat rules I've acquired. And then homebrew off the favorite. As you do.

So, this exercise wasn't completely cut from whole cloth. After looking at how I had already inventoried my spreadsheets of potential forces of allies and foes, I needed to find something that worked off a similar structure as to what I already had in mind and had modeled a bit in my prep.

So of the sheaf of options, I chose "Field Combat Rules for Shadowdark" by Connor Ludovissy for my starting point. The system starts with the extrapolation of an individual NPC combatant to a "unit" of similar capability. While Connor's assumption is five combatants per unit, my combatant number ("company") was more nebulous, in that it could represent a larger group of militia archers or a small group of elite knights.

For example, here is a unit of what may be considered militia from the original rules:

"2. Fighter Unit

• Men and women with basic training and sharp weapons.
• HP 24, AC 12, ATK 1, 1d8 damage, close
• When half of unit is lost, DC 12 WIS or flees."

Very simple stats, and easily ported over to our B/X-OSE environment. In fact, I just kept the SD morale roles to simplify the number of dice on the table.

But the simple combat rules really stood out, especially since they give the option to give bonuses to units when PCs incorporate themselves into the unit, both for damage and morale. Field Combat Rules 4 and 5 line out most of this:

"4. Player characters may fight as individuals using their unmodified statblocks. However, characters with allies of a similar type may also form units, and their stats can be abstracted (adding additional damage and HP as indicated).

5. Any unit that is forced to flee leaves the battlefield and does not enter combat again. A friendly unit accompanied closely by a player character has advantage on WIS checks against fleeing from battle."

I modded it slightly: "Party members can either attack an individual target or add their damage to a unit & +2 morale." I figured that the miscreants would want to go stab the various big-bads directly, or step back and fire spells. Which they did.   

Here's a couple of final example stat blocks, with a couple of  different "Companies":

Opposing forces (mutant foot, cavalry, and chimera) had similar stats.  Certain groups, like the undead soldiers and zealots, were exempt from morale effects.

As noted, I kept a similar number of hit points per company as Connor had in his units. Damage was based on an assumed HD average for the group: 1HD: d6, 2HD: d8, 3+HD: d10. Damage was also modified to reflect "averaging" effects of various attack abilities and bonuses, so we weren't getting bogged down if a mutant had an extra claw attack, or some chimera had poison or not. I can see adding a single extra "ability" for a group of combatants without too much complexity, such as a secondary damage or effect on a foe. I wouldn't go further than that in the spirit of keeping the combat light and fast. Connor recommends changing damage as the unit takes losses, so I would probably add a rule about dropping the damage die by one once the unit take half damage to represent their decreased effectiveness.

For our battle, groups of allied combatants were split out and printed onto individual sheets, so each player had their own batch of mercs and mooks to manage, between two and five groups. Likewise, they were in charge of moving the company's meeple, calling actions, and noting if the PC was in the group or separate. Late-arriving or reserve combatant units (such as the Khanate cavalry or the mutant chimera) were added to the field based on timer rolls.

I ran the opposing forces, both individual high-level NPCs/monsters, as well as the various combat units. For this battle, this involved rolling/selecting actions for about a dozen combat units and four NPCs/monsters. Although two NPCs got taken out in the first couple of rounds, simplifying my tasks...

Initiative was by side, the usual Dueling D6 of Doom per B/X-OSE (Connor also reverts to side-based initiative in his rules). 

Overall, as an experimental method, I think it works well. I would need to refine it in the future, particularly with respect to PC values added to combatant units. I wasn't sure how to manage some bonuses, so we mostly just stuck with normal PC combat bonuses, although I may choose to stick to unmodified PC damage in the future (e.g. 1d8 vs 1d8+2 STR +1 magic). Something to refine. Otherwise, we didn't bog down or have too much ambiguity on what was happening, and the battle was regarded as fun. Which is what counts.

Connor's rules are seven pages in length (including cover). There is space left on a few pages for notetaking or homebrewing rules. The rules include unit examples, an example combat, and rules for training forces. I would highly recommend it for mass combat scenarios, as it can be readily modified for a rules-light combat, whether the opposing forces are a handful of skirmishers, or of multiple unit types and capabilities. Since the individual combat units are essentially NPCs, I wouldn't have any hesitation in dropping this into a one-shot or for people not familiar with mass combat. I would still use a battle map of some sort, as physically moving units and being able to visualize positions is helpful for immersion.

Other rules considered/read during the process:

• Mass Combat (ver 0.6) by Ratmanof (I can't find the original source, so uploaded it here - if someone knows the source, I'll update)
• https://lairofthelich.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/simple-mass-combat-rules-3.pdf
• https://castlegrief.itch.io/killchain
• https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/140878/by-this-axe
• https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/141199/by-this-poleaxe
• https://lixu-gaming.itch.io/appendix-l5-rising-generals
• The mass combat rules from Aftermath! (The rest of the game is overly-complex, but the mass combat system is relatively straightforward)

They Met at a Tavern 15: A Visit to Zorus Island

Who subjected themselves to my GM skills:

• Michael (repeat offender): Goblin mage
• Seana : Elf thief
• Matthew: Elf Priest

Usual Meetup Malady. Full table that dissolves to a couple of folks. Fine (shuffles away planned scenario). That's why I carry a sheaf of adventures. 

With a small party, I decided to try out a Zorus Island scenario. I mean, it's only been seven years since I wrote them. No need to rush into playtesting.

The three got word from the local harbor master that a resupply boat fled after encountering "zombies" at the dock, followed by a hastily-scribbled note by carrier pigeon from the island's small watchtower.

And since the party was capable and/or expendable, they were given a boat and tasked with finding the truth of the goings-on. They circumnavigated the island, before deciding to start at the dock. Scattered supplies were left on the dock, with no one around. Poking around the buildings, they found a corpse infested with a black, dusty growth.

They quickly returned to the spilled supplies, finding linens and making up ad hoc facemasks.

They Met at A Tavern 14: Return to The Serpent Cult

First of all, it's been about 2 1/2 years since I ran this adventure. I'd dovetailed it into my growing (inadvertent) campaign world, and recalled that we'd had a good time taking down the cult. So why not Shadowdark it up?

The Meetup crew:

• Adam - Rugrord, half-orc priest
• Tyler - Marthal, elf wizard
• Jimmy - Ren Halder, human bard
• Seana - Khori, dwarf fighter

I used the module setting this time, with the party arriving at the settlement of Haven by boat. As per the last time, though, it was a port of surreptitious cargo comings and goings, with the "Solinsky brothers" exchanging coin for no questions. Khori ("drifter" background) had passed through before so knew where the tavern was. 

Approaching the tavern, they see Pip, an entrepreneurial elf, selling very large eggs from a handcart, which he claimed to have found along the shore. 250 coins? Too rich for our taste. Rugrord (hi WIS, low INT cleric) is certain of giant chickens. Entering the tavern, the party got rumors from the barkeep, and pointed toward the town's Elder for a potential job. Marthal left immediately, leaving the others to finish their drinks...

Elder Oddmar told of the town's issues - missing boats, cultists, and oh yeah, the eggs. The herbalist Helga may help as a guide, if needed. She was agreeable, as long as they kept an eye out for spiders.

Off they went.

The party headed south out of town, following the coastline. No eggs. But they did find a wrecked fishing boat, possibly one of the errant ships.

source

They were inspecting it, finding claw and corrosion damage, when they were confronted by five cultists. 

They Met at a Tavern 13: "Harlow's an Odd Duck..."

Time to return to playing with random strangers. Or a least one random stranger, since my Meetup attendance has been quite spotty lately. Fine, we run for who shows:

• Dane: Cogarn, Human Thief
• Seana: Halibarn, Human Fighter

In the flavor of Shadowdark.

Fallback onto an old reliable, "Requiem for Atticus Stumps."

It's good for a small party, with its small encounter areas and typically singular foes. The pair started off as the usual two broke adventurers. "Random Headgear" gifted them both with long flowing locks (odds of 1:25,600? I'm not sure - didn't take enough stats). Maybe they are siblings.

Anyway, they were solicited by Kellen and Lois, and accepted the job. Kellen told them to seek out Harlow the halfling, but be aware that he was an "odd duck." Fair enough. But let's buy a honey cake from the local baker to sweeten the pot.

Away they went, finding the halfling sweating away in his rocky garden. He snatched up the cake as quick as a viper, and returned with his spear and weird lantern.

Off they went, Harlow keeping up a running commentary. "Oo, those berries are almost ripe. That's where I found the dead deer with the weird growths. Oops, look out for that bear trap, almost forgot about it..." 

But he prevents random encounters, so there's that.

They Met at a Tavern 12: Back into the Sewers

A late Meetup posting for a Monday game at the end of the three day weekend. Players:

• Peter: Quorl (Pronounced Carl), Elf Fighter
• Mike: Otzi (I didn't write down his name), Goblin Ras Godai
• Seana: Halibarn, Human Fighter

With three players, the Sheaf O' Adventures(tm) revealed Macceum Sewers as a good option. The setup: The PCs were new in town and short on coin. Unfortunately, the only guild hiring bravos of no reputation was the local Sewer Militia. They were given tarnished brass badges, a couple of healing potions, and a rough map of the area where they were supposed to perform "maintenance." 

Welcome to work

The party had an uneventful morning, poking at clogs, getting their boots mucky, and finding a couple of corpses. However, some recently cleared brickwork revealed a unknown passage, and explorers need to explore.

The three entered the passage. Unfortunately, Otzi stepped on a pressure plate. Fortunately, Otzi is short and the crossbow trap missed.

Next room, and Halibarn splinters the door. A massive bat swoops at the three. Quorl and Halibarn see it as an illusion. Otzi, already paranoid, is shaken. Among the debris, they collect a coin purse and puzzle over the gouges in the floor and broken stone foot.

Through the next door and down passageways. Taking a left, they were set upon by a trapdoor spider as they assessed the next door. Stabbing happened, and Halibarn shook off a venomous bite. 

Further exploration, and they discovered a chamber with flowing metal passing through pipes and a basin. Unfortunately, the mercury vapors gave a couple of the PCs the shakes.

Back to the main passage, and Otzi, stumbling along under the influence of the vapors, brushed against a secret door. They pried it open, then failed to breach the next doorway. No worries, the blind wererat and his rat minions opened the door and attacked. More stabbing and biting occurred. The party whomped on a couple of the rats, causing the others to flee, and leaving the wererat at disadvantage. They slew it and picked through the trash. Halibarn upgraded their armor and doffed a healing potion.

Halibarn pokes at a forgotten alter and swipes the pewter offering bowl. Quorl, not to be outdone, taps along the wall, finding a second secret door. More prying, and into another side passage. 

Another failed door kick causes the medusa within to reveal herself, commanding the explorers to leave or die. 

PCs, always.

Fortunately, the PCs were able to beat the medusa's initiative and scored a couple of hits. She drew a sword and struck back, then began to pull back her hood. Second round, and the Ras Godai pulled one of his tricks out of his sleeve, striking at her with a paralyzing blow. Halibarn pulled out a "Clash of the Titans" move and beheaded the incapacitated medusa. Fine, kill my monsters.

The party blocked the door, recovering over the night. They cleared out the medusa's loot pile and found her stash of petrified victims. The head was bundled up among the takings.

They emerged from the sewers and were no longer counted among the dead Sewer Militia. Loot was distributed. Quorl banked his away in hopes of returning to a noble lifestyle. Halibarn placed bets on herself in the local arena, gaining some more coin. Otzi carried the severed head to his Ras Godai contacts, selling it to someone in need of a powerful item to solve a problem...

DM Notes:

Fun, quick session, about two hours for this one. Good use of the Ras Godai in this session. It is one of the supplement classes that has grown on me. The "Sewers" has some fun exploration, and I'm considering some minor edits after several sessions of running it. Currently scribbling up another Tim Shorts map for future explorations, as well.

DragonFlight 2025: Games and More Games

Ok, this will be a long one, so either grab some coffee or come back when I'm less vociferous. I ran five sessions through the three day weekend, three of Shadowdark and two of OSE-B/X. Had full tables for all, and a lot of good play. Met a few folks, saw a few old friends, and generally enjoyed the scene. 

With five sessions, I'll just be hitting the highlights, and some impressions.

Friday Afternoon: Shadowdark; Adventure: The Howler.

After my recent test-run of the adventure using Shadowdark, I posted it up as my first session. This is the only session for which I pre-selected the adventure. I had a full table, plus a few folks on standby. My intent is to get as many people to the table as I can since picking and choosing games at a con can be a fraught affair. So I ran a table of nine for this game. Which meant that foes were bulked up and hazards slightly inflated to keep up with the crew.  

Cast summary:

• 1 Ras-Godai
• 2 Fighters
• 2 Priests
• 2 Wizards
• 2 Thieves

The party found Gundrin's corpse, and was set upon by the vultures. After emptying pockets, they advanced to the tomb, where the goblins ganged up on them. Shooing them away, they entered the tomb to investigate. One thief scouted into the dark. The purification room had LOTS of spiders, and there was much whiffing. The thief aced his find traps roll and everyone made it down the trapped corridor with no harm. Rains was stabilized and ranted before pointing out the Howler. Light died during the battle, and the Howler absorbed a spell and magic sword to heal (And the players had thought the GM was being generous with those magic items...). The Howler was distracted with other thrown magic items, and set on fire. It fled, leaving the PCs to explore. They dodged a gas explosion from a brazier, and identified mystery mushrooms by taste test. They then found the mummy sarcophagi, and in contrast to the last party, did NOT read the inscription out loud. After discussion, they chose not to risk potential powerful undead. The PCs gathered up scattered loot and carried the two doomed explorers back to town to reveal their fates.

DM Notes: 

It wasn't too bad running a large table. Everyone was a "grownup" and worked and played well together. Of course, there were a couple of players who took a bit more initiative at the table, but not to the session's detriment. I did a rough initiative houserule, with the highest scoring player going 1st, then rotating turns either clockwise or counterclockwise around the table. The enemies went at a selected turn within the combat round, usually at "that water bottle."  I stuck with this system for Shadowdark throughout the weekend. The adventure ran better with familiarity, and I was able to use the Howler to better effect, particularly during the light loss. Accordingly, the players took advantage of its compulsion to lure it towards the strongest fighter before immolating it.

They Met at a Tavern 11: Shadowdarking 'The Howler'

Ok, had people show for this session, so things were good.

• Betsy - "Charm" - Dwarf priest (pageboy haircut)
• Candace - "Driznag" - Goblin Priest (Banded helm)
• Seana - "Ad Bather" - Halfling Fighter (Hood w/ ancient symbols)

First, we must note that none of the PCs were over four feet tall. This will be important later. I also provided each PC with a random magic item to bait the Howler.

As I mentioned before, I ported over the monster stats for JV West's "The Howler" to Shadowdark, and wanted to give it a run-thru, since it will likely be a con game, as well.

I've run the adventure before, so I'll go light on the details.

We started off among the barrows and graves with the party finding the body of Gundrin O’Noggin. Some questioning, and I shared that they heard the fellow's name in the tavern and that he was going to poke around the tombs. Probably because that's where kids would go to smoke.

They went through the corpse's pockets, respectably, of course. And threw rocks at the vultures harassing them.

The party listened to their common senses and didn't desecrate any random tombs. The blood and drag-trail led them to the tomb entrance, and the fun could begin.

Driznag caught a sneezing fit, which started the "Howler timer." They found some minor items in the entrance chapel, and poked at the slimy water in the ritual pool. More investigation alarmed a giant spider, which they killed without too much effort.

Into the dart-trapped hallway. Remember, they're short. And crept down the hall, unbothered by the darts firing over their heads. Finding a ranting, nearly-dead Rains Calibrin, they attempted to heal him, and only got more ranting.

And the warning that the Howler was creeping along the ceiling behind them. Battle was closed, and a knock-down drag-out occurred. The Howler alternated between attacking magic items and PCs. The creature's ability to heal from magic energies was quite frustrating. 

The priests attempted turning, but found that the Howler was not undead. Spells failed. Driznag went down but was revived with a healing potion. And finally the halfling made two crits to put the thing down. A vision upon the killing blow revealed the Howler's true nature.

The battered PCs recovered a handful of abandoned items from the temple chamber, and chased off lurking spiders with fire. 

Finding the crypt, they investigated. Driznag knew enough Primordial to piece together the epitaph on the sarcophagus plinth. But made the mistake of reading it aloud as she sounded out the words. Oops.

The mummies arose, attacking and chasing the party from the chamber. The dwarf got zeroed out (plus some CHA damage). The goblin and halfling each went invisible and fled (I'd randomly rolled a Cloak of Elvenkind for Driznag). Satisfied, the mummies returned to their sarcophagi, and the surviving PCs dragged the dwarf free. 

A quick check of the remaining chamber, and mushrooms were found. These did not revive the dwarf, although a third Nat 20 by Ad Bather allowed for a stabilization. 

Fleeing with their recovered goods, the party stopped to recover Gundrin O’Noggin's body to return him to town. And if the mummies somehow arose and started to wreak havoc, well, the party wasn't admitting to anything. It was probably those kids sneaking into tombs to smoke.

DM Notes:

I've reviewed the adventure before, and my opinion is similar after this run. Because of its organization and wall of text style, it can be less straightforward to run than something of a more bullet-style or concise format. And this DM got the pages out of order during the session so had to do a lot of flipping. For the next run, I'll probably pull more salient details into my text document with the monster stats, as well as highlight important bits. It's unfortunate, because it detracts from a good concept and creative monster. For instance, I missed some overly-complex if-then details on the Howler's abilities.

If anyone is interested in running the Howler using Shadowdark, I've put a document with stat conversions here. Note: I realize I've been using the original version of the adventure (no longer available), which is written for a generic D20 system. The adventure has since been revised for Labyrinth Lord/OSRIC, so will easily port over to any OSR-style game, like Old School Essentials. It looks like the newer version has been somewhat reformatted and content updated, as well. I've snagged a current version copy, and have revised my conversion stats and update notes.

And, with the presence of a goblin priest, we established the alignment of "Goblin Lawful."

In other notes, we met up with Jonathan (B/X Blackrazor) Wednesday night to playtest an AD&D tournament-style adventure he wrote for an upcoming convention. Let's just say that we wouldn't have scored well. But we had a fun time pulling the levers and opening doors we shouldn't have.