I started a new sandbox campaign about a month ago, this time 1974-vintage OD&D but with a custom thief class. It’s loosely based on an OD&D play-by-post I ran at the Unseen Servant forums a couple of years ago, but with some changes. I started with a simple town map done up in text, like I did for some of my previous adventures. I then added in the nearby geography, just a descriptive paragraph or two, and a local area hex map. I then filled in the town with a few important NPCs and some adventure hooks. Here is the area background around the town of Frostmark, this is the standard idea of a safe-haven town on the wild borderlands, in this case off to the west.
To the west of Frostmark are the Broken Plains, across which cold winds bring snow and storms from the western reaches of the Crag Peaks in the winter. Farther west are wild, untamed frontier lands said to hold ancient ruins, wealth and secrets. To the east, the valley of Silverwood is sheltered from the winds and more temperate, home to farms and the Druids. To the north the North Road leads to the Iron Hills, then the Crag peaks, through which the Miner’s pass leads to Bryn, the home of Lord Percy. To the south, the Twin Towns road leads along Lake Mistwater, to the lakeside towns of Fishpot and Stewgray. The traveler’s inn ‘The Unseemly Wench’ is along this road.
The Twin Towns road brings fish and crafts from the south. The Silverwood Valley brings wool and food from the farms there, along with game killed by hunters, stone from local quarries and wood from the forests. Bryn brings hard goods via the Miner’s Pass. There are also mines near the pass that provide iron and precious metals.
Here is the player’s town map, at some point I’ll hand-draw it but for now this works:
The thief class I added because I have one player that really likes to play thieves. I based it on the simplified thief in Delving Deeper, Seven Voyages of Zylarthen, and the original thief as Gary Gygax envisioned. This thief is a fighter subclass (with he same XP requirements), and can actually use any weapons and armor, but can only perform thief tasks in leather armor. For my pure fighters I’ve added a simple weapon specialization and a second attack after any killing blow, but thieves forego these martial abilities and instead can sneak, hide, remove small traps, pick pockets and locks, and backstab (note no climbing walls). All but the backstab succeed on a 1-3 in d6 at 1st level. Thieves also are lucky, and can re-roll a die that affects them once per encounter. I allow any character to find traps and secret doors, these tasks are purely descriptive – which essentially means if an area with a trap or secret door is searched, I will describe it in such a way so as to make the door or trap obvious. They can then tell me how they are opening the door or (as a thief) they can make a roll to disarm the trap. I my view this solves two problems with thief skills, one is that the chance of success is too small at low levels, and two, the this prevents the monotonous “I check for traps” rolls. When my players say that, I ask them to describe where they are looking and we go from there. It is a bit more work on the referee’s end, but I think adds to the sense of accomplishment when a trap or secret door is found and subsequently overcome. I’ve been toying with this idea for a few years.
We’ve had three sessions so far with one PC death, and it’s been loads of fun. In future posts I’ll detail my house rules and give some session reports.
On G+ today, James Spahn asked about finding the text versions of Labyrinth Lord. They used to be easy to find on the Goblinoid Games website, but that site recently underwent a redesign, and in the process the old forums and some of the downloads were removed. Among those removed were the word document versions of Labyrinth Lord and the Advanced Edition Companion. Since I had downloaded copies and still had them, I’m making them available:
Here is another of my ‘Adventures in Text’ – the first was a S&W White Box adventure called The Lair of the White Wyrm. This one is an outdoor encounter/setting that can probably be handled by a group of 2nd level PCs. I wrote it with OD&D / 0e and clones in mind, but of course it is easily translated to other systems, mainly creature hit dice and damage will get bumped up to 1-8, rather than 1-6. If the referee decides to use the given hook, the NPC is my Warden class for OD&D.
The Grendel Camp
This is a small, setting-based outdoor encounter for a group of
2nd-level PCs (or so). It can be dropped into any wilderness setting
as a planned encounter, or a random one, or you can use the hook
detailed below. It uses 0e stats, but of course could be used by for
any old-school D&D or clone thereof.
~
..+..+m -+ - .-. -..m... [H]
[G] . -+--+%.+++-m--#++--+mm-.rubble [G] . .
. . .....-++#######*##*m%m*+**##. . ....... ..
. .+. ..... .-mmm+--m++-%+-.+.++%*m.+..... ... .. +.+-
-+-. .... .- - m .-m- -.-* .. .. ..%%--.
+.+#m... . +.. - -. ...+ .- lean-to[B].. --.#*..
..*#% Wo -+++- . ..#* .
..m#%+ Wo ||| . ##m..
.+m##.. lean-to [A] ||| ....*#mm-.
--m##+- -\-\ ----- -+++-- . -##--+.
+*##-. \ Gr\ ( well) ...-m#-m
-*#.%- \ \ \Gr ----- Gr .--.#%+%
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..-+#-m+m-*m#- / | \ ------- ... .
..m-##*#*###.++ Wo ...
.-.+%m-m+##-*#-- fire pit .....
rubble -+++#m-###--- ....
[D] +.m--+m##m+-. . . . ... .-- . ..
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| N . +m-+mmm-m. .
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. .. .m-.
|-10'-| -------------
| well |
Wo: Wolf ----| [E] |----
Gr: Grendel | |
| |
| |
| ..-+.-...-................
| ... ..
| [F].+-+....- /-o-\ ....
| .-.---. ..---..-.............
|-------- | refuse pile - spider
| water |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| scroll |
+---------+
~
A small band of Grendel have made a home out of some abandoned ruins
in a small, forested valley. Nothing is left of the original
structures but some piles of rubble and an old well. The Grendel don't
trust the well, having recently heard strange sounds coming from it,
so they covered it with sticks and weighed the sticks down with flat
rocks a few days ago. A giant wolf spider inhabits the well, in a
small burrowed tunnel about half way down its 50' depth.
Six Grendel live in the camp, four males and two females. They have
three wolves they have trained as guard animals. They will have one
Grendel and a wolf on watch at night, concealed in the woods just on
the edge of their camp (roll d8 for direction). During daylight hours
there is a 50% chance that 1-2 Grendel and one wolf may be out
foraging or scouting for victims.
They prefer to raid nearby farms for food or livestock (which they
kill and eat). When they conduct raids, all six will go, with one
Grendel and a wolf acting as an advance scout and then as a watch
while the raid is conducted.
Loranna the Runner, Warden for the area, has been watching nearby
farms in hopes of catching the Grendel in the act. After the last
raid, she came upon the farm a mere hour after the Grendel had left,
and was able to track them back to their camp. She is now looking for
assistance in clearing the camp.
Map Key
[A]-[C]
Grendel lean-tos - roll 1-8 twice for each lean-to searched:
1. Duff bedding
2. Wool blanket
3. Wooden cup and plate
4. Leather pouch with 2d6 gp
5. Leather cap
6. Short sword
7. Leather pouch with dried meat
8. 50' of rope
Southwestern Rubble pile [D]
Roll 1-12 five times, re-roll duplicates or choose:
1. Rusted dagger
2. Animal bones
3. Brass amulet on tarnished silver chain - Gunther's Amulet of
Knowing - allows bearer to read languages once per day as per the
spell
4. 2d6 sp, 3d8 cp
5. Broken pottery
6. Curiously polished rocks
7. Gold ring [150 gp]
8. Small, bulging sack with rotted food
9. Water-stained parchment in leather tube, showing a partial map
10. Silver swizzle stick [10 gp]
11. Silver comb [30 gp]
12. Snake - Poisonous Asp, [1/2HD, bite for no damage but save or die
in 1-4 turns]
The map can lead the party to a nearby ruin or dungeon.
[E] Well
A 50' deep stone well with about 20' of clear (still drinkable) water
in it. The side tunnel with the spider den is just a few inches above
the water line. At the bottom of the well, lying amongst the small
stones lining its bottom, is a white bone scroll tube sealed with wax
- a clerical scroll of 'hold person'. Anyone shining a light through
the water will see a reflective glint from the bone case. They may
also see the dark spider tunnel opening, if they illuminate the walls.
[F] Spider Den
- Broken but bejeweled silver holy symbol, still worth 300gp
- Rusted mace and chain armor
- 23sp, 130cp, 40gp
- Various animal and human bones, a human skull
[G] Covered Pit Traps
The Grendel have dug four covered pits of about five feet deep each
around their encampment. Anyone deliberately searching (during the day
or with a light source) will notice something not quite right with the
ground cover in a four-foot diameter circle. Any Man, Dwarf or Elf
stepping on one will fall into it, Halflings will only fall through
one-third of the time. No damage will be taken, but it will take a
full turn to climb out of a pit. The noise will alert any Grendel or
wolf in the camp.
[H] Northern Rubble Pile
One of the Grendel discovered a cache of gems in a recent raid, and
has secreted it in this pile, in a small sack. There are 12 gems worth
10-60gp each.
-----
Giant Wolf Spider
AC 7
HD 2+2
ATK Bite 1-6
SP Poison bite - Save at +2 or die in 1-6 turns
MV 18
AL Neutral
-----
Wolf
AC 7
HD 2+2
ATK Bite 1-6
MV 18
AL Neutral
-----
Loranna the Runner
Level 3 female Warden
HD 4
HP 14
AC 7 (leather)
AL Lawful
Weapons: +1 lawful long sword, +2 versus humanoids [detect evil to 6"
3x/day], long bow (+1 to attack rolls)
Special: Healing poultice 2-7, tracking, surprise 1-3, detect
snares & pits
-----
Grendel
AC 6
HD 2+1
ATK Bite 1-6 or weapon (see below)
SP Surprise on 1-3
MV 12
AL Chaotic
Grendel are fearsome, disfigured humanoids with large ears, mottled
skin, and sharp, extruding teeth. They are highly skilled at sword
fighting and typically attack with two blades, gaining +1 to-hit and
the better of two damage rolls if they do hit. They will also carry a
few throwing knives secreted about their person, which can be used as
missile weapons at medium range (within 30 feet) with +1 to attack
rolls. Grendel can bite if they are disarmed.
Thankfully, they disdain traveling in large groups, preferring smaller
groups of perhaps five to six with lone scouts sent ahead. Such scouts
are quite stealthy when encountered alone, surprising half of the
time. They move quickly and prefer to travel lightly. Female Grendel
are just as fearsome as their male counterparts, and can be found in
equal numbers amongst patrols. They like to live in small communities
in shallow caves or outdoors in shelters of their own making. Such
encampments will be protected by various snares and traps around their
perimeters.
Grendel tend to be distrustful of even their own race, and will hide
treasure in secretive places. They like to train and use wolves as
guard animals.
-----
About four years ago when I was getting my kids into tabletop RPGs, I wanted to start them out with a simple adventure we could play in an afternoon, where they could get the flavor of old-school RPGs and all that goes along with that – role play, imagination, and danger. As a programmer and sysadmin I spend a lot of time in a text editor, that being GNU Emacs, so it was natural for me to whip up a short adventure in my editor, map and all. The
result was The Lair of the White Wyrm, a Swords & Wizardry White Box adventure for 4-5 first-level characters. Nothing original, to be sure, but I found it a good starting adventure for my kids, with an overall plot and some critical thinking when they run into the white dragon. And let’s face it – to those that have never played D&D-like games before, Orcs, giant spiders and dragons are pretty damned cool. After this, I switched to hand-drawn maps and a key, all on one page, but I’ve been thinking of doing more of these, since they are so easy to make and text is such a universal format.
Here is the adventure, presented in all of its pure-text glory. For those interested, the map was done in GNU Emacs’ artist-mode. If the below preformatted text is mangled, here is the original text document.
The Lair of the White Wyrm
This is a Swords and Wizardry White Box adventure for 4-5 1st-level characters. I originally wrote it for my children, then ages 7 and 10, whom I was just introducing to tablletop RPGs. So it is by design simple and thematic, meant to be played in one session of perhaps two or three hours.
~~~~~~~~~
A white dragon has moved into a lair of caves at the base of the Frozen Spires near to the town of Snowcap in the northern reaches of the Known Lands. A renowned halfling thief by the name of Fin Hairbreath recently stole a purportedly magic gem (known as the Shadowgem) from the lair, enraging the dragon and causing it to take it's anger out on area villages and merchant caravans bringing supplies to Snowcap from the south. Yesterday, Fin was caught trying to fence the gem in town, and arrested by the town guard. The town Regent has asked for volunteers to return the gem to the Wyrm's lair forthwith, to prevent more attacks by the dragon. Rumors of the lair's dangers, including orc guards have kept away volunteers, but you are anxious to prove your worth as adventurers. The adventure starts just outside of the cave entrance, in the blowing snow and biting cold, with the gem in hand.
...
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..... .......... .. ...
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..........
....
Note: There is a 1 in 1d6 chance of the worg from area 6 being present as a wandering monster in any of the rooms of the complex, except the dragon's lair.
1. Entrance/ guard area
Three orcs guard the entrance at all hours; at night there is a 4 in 6 chance that one of the orcs will be asleep. They have a small camp setup near the eastern wall, there will be a small fire here at all times, venting smoke through a natural chimney. Under a pile of rocks against the eastern wall is a leather bag with 40GP.
Orcs: AC: 13 HD: 1 HP: 2,5,4 DMG: 1d6 sword SAV: 18 HDE/XP: 1/15
2. Storage area
Barrels line the walls, containing dried foodstuffs, water and ale. Behind a broken barrel of food along the northern wall, two giant rats will be hiding. If the party does not disturb them, they will likely not attack. Note that a fight here will alert the orc guards in area 4. The rats have no treasure.
Giant rats: AC: 12 HD: 1-1 HP: 2,3 DMG: 1d6 bite SAV: 19 HDE/XP: <1/10
3. Empty cave
A small cave lies to the east of the storage area. It is empty, although there is a pit trap in the center of this cave, anyone walking over it has a 4 in 1d6 chance of springing it and falling 10ft. for 1d6 damage. Dwarves will notice the trap 1-2 in 1d6. The skeleton of a long-dead adventurer lies at the bottom of the pit, with a rusty helm and sword. A pouch near the skeleton will hold 10 small gems worth 100GP in total. If the trap is sprung, the party will have no chance of surprising the dragon in area 8.
4. Sleeping quarters
Four Orcs and their leader live in the alcoves here. At any given time, there will be a 2 in 6 chance of one of the Orcs being asleep, meaning they will not be able to participate in the first round of combat.
Orcs: AC: 13 HD: 1 HP: 4,3,3,1 DMG: 1d6 sword SAV: 18 HDE/XP: 1/15
Orc leader: AC: 14 HD: 1 HP: 6 DMG: 1d6+1 sword SAV: 18 HDE/XP: 1/20
The south alcove belongs to the leader, he has 20GP and a potion of healing amongst his belongings. The small cave to the south (4a) is used as a latrine.
5. Spider cave
Humanoid bones and refuse litter the floor of this cave. A giant spider lays in wait, hanging from a large web that covers the ceiling. He will surprise the party 1-5 in 1d6. When (if) the spider is killed, the party can search the refuse and find a quiver of 10 +1 arrows, a pouch with 23 GP, and a large ruby worth 150GP.
Spider: AC: 13 HD: 2+2 HP: 9 DMG: 1d6 bite SAV: 18 HDE/XP: 5/240
Special: Poison bite, save vs poison or 1 hour of weakness, unable to fight.
Stairs cut into the rock lead down and to the north, directly into the dragon's lair.
6. Stream
A cold mountain stream flows through the southern portion of this cave, it is the water source for the Orc guards. There will always be several empty buckets laying next to the stream. On the other side of the stream, a worg has made it's lair. It is a pet to the Orcs, and will be present 1-5 in d6 (otherwise wandering the caves).
Worg: AC: 13 HD: 4 HP: 16 AT: bite DMG: 1d6 HDE/XP: 4/120
A downward-sloping tunnel exits to the north and area 7.
7. Secret door
A dead-end is actually a secret door, activated by pushing on the floor just below the wall. Elves and Dwarves in the party will notice the triggering mechanism 1-2 in 1d6. The door opens silently, out into the dragon's lair.
8. Dragon's lair
The young but still imposing white dragon is holed up here along with an impressive pile of gems and coins, with an occasional sword or bit of armor visible. The dragon will only be surprised by those entering from the secret door to the south, otherwise he will always be alert and watching the staircase entrance.
Young white dragon:
AC: 17 HD: 7 HP: 14 ATK: Frost Breath (3/day)/Bite DMG: 14 HDE/XP: 9/1,100
The party can use the Shadowgem to make a deal with the dragon in trade for some of its large treasure pile. Offering the gem quickly will result in the dragon offering a the party a large sack, filled with the following:
- A +1 dagger
- A +1 war hammer
- Cloak of protection +1
- Scroll of cure light wounds
- 860 GP
- 1200 SP
- 18 small gems worth 20 GP each.
The GM can reduce this a bit depending on the party's behavior and the dragon's implied reaction. The GM can also decide how to deal with the rest of the treasure hoard if for some reason the party decides to attack the dragon, and (however improbably) kills it, but it's more likely a single breath weapon attack would kill an entire party of first-level adventurers in one fell swoop.
There is a small alcove on the north wall, where the dragon usually keeps the Shadowgem inside a large, unlocked chest.
Upon returning successfully to the town, the grateful Regent will reward each player 100GP.
