[Solo] My Rules for Solo Play

     Unfortunately, I don't get to play with other people that often.  There aren't any rpg clubs in my area and my social circle isn't particularly interested in roleplaying so I've looked into solo gaming.  It's a bit different from playing with a group but it does have some unique advantages such as being able to play whenever you want.

    As I've mentioned before, my preferred system is Basic/Expert and it's actually really easy to convert into a solo system with just a few additional resources.

Dungeon Generation

    For dungeon generation, I like to use either the Strategic Review procedural dungeon generation rules or the Appendix A tables in the 1e DMG.  They are almost identical but I usually lean towards the Strategic Review version.  I also like to use the dungeon generator from Donjon.  I'll generate one, print it out, put it in a plastic sleeve, and use wet erase markers to track my party's movement.  This is definitely a faster way to play and when I just want to get into an adventure right away I usually go this route but using the Strategic Review tables is really nice too since you get to make the dungeon on the fly without knowing the layout beforehand.  There's a lot of other methods for generating dungeons but I haven't tried the others out.

Dungeon Stocking

    I leave dungeon stocking up to the tables from B/X although the tables from Strategic Review and AD&D both have treasure tables that can be rolled on.

Oracles

    In the past, I have looked into Mythic but I never really liked it that much.  Instead, I simply use 2 different d6's to determine an outcome.  Sometimes I'll add in a 3rd die to sway the decision if I feel a particular outcome is more likely.  This system is very simple and doesn't require a table or any additional rules so I like it quite a bit.

Changes to B/X

    Since the rules were not intended for solo players, some changes have to be made to be able to play without a DM or group.  The first change is that, in the beginning, you will likely control an entire party's worth of characters.  This can make roleplaying a bit difficult and I'm guilty of using my characters as simple pawns.  I'm hoping that after my characters gain a few levels and can stockpile some decent treasure, that I'll be able to control 1 or 2 characters and fill out the remainder of the party with retainers so that I can get into the individual characters' goals, motives, and personalities more thoroughly.

    Another thing I had to work out was traps.  Initially, I just didn't include them and would re roll any trap result since I couldn't telegraph anything to myself.  I didn't really like this though since I felt like I was missing an integral part of a dungeon adventure.  My current rules for traps are that when a room trap is generated, the party will be given a chance to both find and disarm the trap (1-in-6 for room traps).  If the party has a dwarf, then a 2-in-6 chance is given and if a treasure trap is generated then it's up to the thief to use their skills.  This is pretty simple and although it will inevitably lead to a significantly higher level of lethality, feels fair to me.  In my previous post about solo play, I forgot to see whether or not the trap would actually spring and instead just had the traps go off automatically.  According to the rules, they should go off about a third of the time (2-in-6) which should definitely help in decreasing the mortality rate amongst my adventurers.

    Other than that, there isn't much to change in the rules which is one reason why I like to use B/X for solo games.  Its straightforward but procedural-heavy rules lends itself to be easily used for solo play.  I'm also hoping that as I get better at solo play, I will also be better at running the game in general so that when I do have an opportunity to play with others the sessions will go much more smoothly.  If you run solo games or have different methods for generating dungeons, running the game, etc I'm interested in hearing about them.  I'm always trying to research other people's ideas for how I can improve my game so any advice is welcome!

[Lore] Halflings

A halfling taking a smoke break.

    I'll start off by saying that I like halflings a lot.  I like their cozy homes, agrarian lifestyle, and love of good food.  A halfling town would definitely be a nice spot to visit, just going off of the description found in Basic D&D.  Initially I was fine with this sort of take on halflings but lately I've been thinking about how I can make them a bit more interesting.  I admit that I do want to stick fairly close to the B/X rules but I still want to add some of my own stuff to it.

    Just like how I divided the dwarves and elves into a few different sub-races, I'd like to do the same for halflings but I'm not sure in what ways I could alter them.  One thought I had was to make the halflings feral.  I pictured them as the kindergarteners from the cartoon Recess and honestly, I really like this idea.  However, I don't want this to be the only type of halfling that exists since I still have a fondness for a Tolkien-esque halfling vibe.

Spinelli with her army of savage kindergarteners.

    Another thing I wanted to explore is the idea of halfling thieves.  According to B/X, halflings are closer to being rangers than they are thieves.  I also didn't want to just slap on the entire list of thief skills to the halfling class as 1. that would require way more XP for them to level up and 2. I don't think halflings should be THAT criminally inclined.  So, I'm thinking of giving them a 1 or more likely a 2-in-6 chance of being able to pickpocket.  This would put them roughly at the ability of a 3rd level thief (it also sticks with the other demi human skills all being 2-in-6 chance which is nice).  Halflings being good at picking pockets is much more in line with my concept of a halfling thief as opposed to giving them abilities to find traps.  I never really pictured halflings as being mechanically gifted since their agrarian lifestyle kind of goes counter to having machines.  I also don't even know if halflings would be familiar with locks, considering that they generally live in incredibly high trust societies.  Pickpocketing, on the other hand, does feel like a reasonably good fit to the class since it makes sense that a creature so small and agile would be able to pull off such a task fairly easily.  It also doesn't seem like that powerful of an ability for it to really warrant a change to the XP tables.

    Giving the halfling a thief ability also plays into the general tone of xenophobia that exists in Dragonwrath.  Each race is fairly isolated and distrusting of one another and few attempts are made to build more healthy relationships between the races.  This means that settlements are largely exclusionary to outsiders.  A human keep would rarely accept the visitation of a demi human and vice versa, unless the outsider has some sort of escort that belonged to the native population.  An elf, for example, could possibly gain entry to a stronghold or town if they were accompanied by a well respected human.  They'd probably have to pay some kind of tax, venders would likely overcharge them, and they'd experience some level of racism but they'd at least be able to enter the safety of civilization even if it is fairly unwelcoming.

    I also like the idea that halflings are basically never seen or even heard of.  Having a town or village that has a mixed population of human and halfling could be fun but I would want to make it special by keeping it incredibly rare.  It'd have to be located close to a halfling settlement since the little creatures rarely travel far from home.  Towns like this could also be a source of rumors that halflings, while generally nice to be around, are quite impressive thieves.  This would result in many human settlements being quite strict about who enters the settlement and banning halflings as a preemptive measure to reduce crime.

    Okay, so back to the idea of separating halflings into sub-races.  I'm not sure what I would call each group but one would be the typical halfling described in the rulebook and the other would be feral, as I mentioned before.  I could just call them halflings and feral halflings but I'm not quite sold on it yet.  Maybe I should stick with the theme I was already doing and name them after their favorite terrain.  Vale halflings and woodland halflings?  Hill halflings and woodland halflings, that sounds a bit better.  Maybe woodland halflings could be called wildlings or something, that might be cool.  It also is very close to halfling while still being different enough for players to not immediately hear the word and relate them to halflings which could play into how different the two groups are.  Yeah, I'll probably stick with halflings and wildlings.

[Lore] Dwarves

 

A dwarf and fighter

    Since I made a post about elves I thought it would be good to expand on the other races as well, so here's a post about dwarves.  There are 3 types of dwarves that currently live within the Gryphon Vale - mountain, hill, and woods.  Mountain and hill dwarves are described according to the Basic rulebook.  They are thick-built, 4 feet tall, bearded creatures, and weigh 150 lbs.  Their skin is earth-colored and have dark colored hair.  A typical dwarf enjoys hearty meals, strong drinks, mining, slaying goblins, and recording grudges.  They are expert craftsmen and love gold and gems.  Mountain and hill dwarves build large stone structures underneath the earth and have been known to dig too deep and too greedily which always invites unwanted attention.  

    Now, at first I thought the dwarves and humans might have fairly good relations because they both are lawful and could benefit from trading with each other but after reading around and thinking about it further I think it would be unlikely for them to interact with them significantly more than humans interact with elves.  There are a few reasons for this, the first one being that I want to keep demi humans strange and mysterious so establishing well known trade routes between Dwarfland and the human lands would defeat that purpose since the two groups would become so familiar to each other.  Another reason is that dwarven smiths are so far beyond human capabilities that any dwarf wanting to set up shop within a human settlement would get kicked out after the local guild masters use their political and economic sway to force the local lord to help protect their control over various trades.  Could some trade happen, sure, but it would likely be heavily regulated and rare.  Maybe once in a blue moon, a dwarf merchant comes by to sell and buy goods but other than that the dwarves and humans wouldn't really interact with each other.  Not unless some war broke out and they had to form some sort of alliance to survive.

    Woods dwarves are a little different from their relatives.  These dwarves are much smaller, standing at 3 feet and weighing in at 100 lbs.  Woods dwarves have outsized noses, earth-brown skin tones, jug-handle ears, and their beards are usually white.  Many humans, and non dwarves in general, might refer to such creatures as gnomes.  Woods dwarves also have a different ability compared to mountain and hill dwarves, instead of noticing traps, shifting walls, and recent construction, they are able to detect slanting passages and can sniff out tracks one third of the time (2-in-6).  They are also able to create a ring of small stones that act as a spell of Protection from Evil once per day.  They do not need to memorize the spell, as long as they can find some stones and arrange them in a circle, the area will be enchanted as if the spell had been cast.  Woods dwarves (due to their more solitary nature) tend not to build large structures but rather something closer to a halfling hole but with fewer rounded corners and generally more "house-shaped" if that makes sense.  The houses can be above or below ground, it is up to the individual dwarf.  A small hut or cabin in a secluded forest would not be an uncomfortable or uncommon living situation for a woods dwarf.

    Regardless of the type of dwarf, they all speak in what we would consider a "Scottish" accent even though Scotland doesn't exist in the World of Dragonwrath.  Dwarves, again of all kinds, place great importance on their beards.  Beards are decorated and elaborately styled, according to the occasion, and can tell a lot about the dwarf who wears it.  Each braid represents something related to that particular dwarf, whether it is showing his lineage, profession, achievements, etc.  If a dwarf was to commit some kind of serious offense to his kin and clan, he would likely be stripped of his beard either by cutting it off or by burning it off (this would be for particularly heinous crimes such as kinslaying so that the steel would not suffer offense from being used on such a disgusting being).  Originally, I quite liked the idea that female dwarves didn't actually have beards but would actually style their hair into a faux-beard but I decided that would be too silly for the general tone I'm trying to achieve (plus it is already difficult getting my players to not laugh at NPCs already).  Instead, female dwarves will naturally grow beards and they would have their own set of practices for how and when they style their beards.  Most dwarves, well most demi humans in general, never actually step foot outside of their homeland and so most dwarves never actually learn that non dwarves don't grow as thick or as long facial hair compared to them.  Even when it comes to the women of non dwarven races, they are surprised to find out that they are actually beardless.  Dwarves are also identified by their beards and so not having one, is akin to a human hiding their face with a mask.  This results in a bias against unbearded folk, leading many dwarves to believe that those without facial hair are untrustworthy.  Adventuring dwarves can eventually learn how other races are and correct their misconceptions but this obviously takes time.  However, if someone befriends a dwarf then that dwarf is a friend for life.  There a very few bonds stronger than a dwarven friendship since dwarves build things to last, and that doesn't just apply to their underground fortresses.

This is what I was originally thinking for dwarf women lol.

[Lore] Elves

An elf maiden

     I've been rethinking the elves of my setting since when I started out, I kind of made them a bit too evil imo.  I've decided to change them a bit and have the evil characteristics as rumors that are believed by the local human population but aren't necessarily true, although they could still be true.  It would be up to the players to actually find out about it though.  So far, there are currently 2 types of elves that live within the Gryphon Vale, woodland elves and meadowland elves.  I might add some sort of dark elf that lives underground in the future as I think that concept is kind of cool and have already made a version of those before for a different setting I was working on in the past.

    Alright, so back to the 2 types of elves.  First off, we have the woodland elves.  These elves are how elves are described according the the Basic rulebook.  They are 5 to 5 ½ feet tall, have pointed ears, delicate features, and weigh about 120 lbs.  They also enjoy feasting and frolicking in the woods under the moonlight.  Woodland elf strongholds tend to be very beautifully crafted out of wood and stone, and often incorporate the local terrain into their construction in ways that men wouldn't.  These elves are generally neutral.  Their long lives and isolated communities make them fairly incapable of understanding the plight of shorter lived races.  This isn't necessarily because they don't care, many young elves have similar passions to humans, but more so because they rarely encounter problems that they can't just ignore or outlive.  A young elf might grow very attached to his adventuring companions but will almost certainly outlive them (assuming the elf doesn't get killed in combat) and so by the third or fourth adventuring party they will usually distance themselves emotionally or withdraw themselves from an adventuring lifestyle and go back to Elfland to enjoy the good meals, songs, and dances.  Another reason why elves enjoy these sorts of activities so much is because they have ample time to slack off essentially.  Since most elves will live to be 1,000 years old they don't feel the rush of motivation that humans or even dwarves do to build kingdoms and empires.  Although elves in general are quite xenophobic, woodland elves have been known to accept guests into their halls but this is quite dangerous as the food, drink, song, and general merriment in Elfland tends to cause normal beings, such as men, to forget the passage of time and whither away without having noticed the years going by.  It also doesn't help that elvish woodlands are permanently shrouded in twilight which makes keeping track of time even more difficult.

    The second type of elf is the meadowland elf.  These elves are very similar to their woodland counterparts except that, despite their long lives, they are much more goal oriented and disciplined.  Meadowland elves like to build large and ornate crystal palaces that can be seen for miles (unless the castle is hidden by magical means which is not at all uncommon for elves).  These crystal palaces are difficult for any non elf to orient themselves in as the crystal walls bend and refract light in ways that are strange which affect a person's ability to navigate effectively.  One of the reasons why elves do this is because the odd shapes to walls, corridors, and rooms allows for the light to create rainbows and beautiful dancing shows, similar to phenomenon such as the aurora borealis.  The added benefit of creating a "home court advantage" is largely secondary to the meadowland elves.  Meadowland elves rarely accept visitors and prefer to hide away, only leaving their castles when they have to (launching an attack against orcs, for example).  This extreme isolation tends to make meadowland elves more xenophobic and haughty than their woodland cousins.  These elves view the extermination of "lesser" races, such as orcs, as their racial obligation to their people and homeland.  This does allow for some positive relationships between human and meadowland elf settlements since they can unite against a common enemy, although the elves still view humans as being lesser than themselves even if they find it admirable that humanity, despite their short lives, still tries to fight back against chaos.

A fighter and elf

    Now, as for the rumors about elves, changelings, and the kidnapping of human infants.  I actually really like this aspect of real world elf lore but I think it will be best to keep it as a sort of unverifiable rumor that gets thrown around, which of course leads to anti elf sentiment in human lands.  I'm thinking I will possibly have some elves engage in that sort of behaviour but more likely, I will come up with a separate group entirely that does the kidnapping and swapping.  The villagers won't know who actually did it and they barely know anything of elves other than that they are weird and mysterious so some villagers might just blame the elves since it's an easy scapegoat.

    I'd also like to talk about the interbreeding between elves and humans.  The concept of half-something seems pretty cool to me but the more I think about it, the more I lean towards the idea that the child would have to choose which form to take.  One reason why I like this is that it means elf and human maturity rates match closely to each other which is something I prefer in fantasy.  I never really understood the idea that it takes 100 years or however long for a race to reach maturity.  Any race that worked that way would die out fairly quickly because they wouldn't be able to replenish the loss of life with new births after even a moderately successful goblin attack.  Animals in the real world that live long lives also reach maturity fairly early which is another reason why I prefer long lived races to reach maturity near when humans do but once they reach that point their aging process is significantly slowed.  If I were to include half elves I think I would just rule it as an elf in everything except flavor.  The player could describe themselves in any way but mechanically speaking they would act as an elf, which I also like because I play B/X.  So, I could really go either way and I'll probably have to think about it some more in terms of worldbuilding but I'm definitely leaning on the side of choosing between elf and man, I think it helps to distinguish elves as strange creatures rather than a slightly thinner human.

    Elves also have an aversion to cruciforms and if they are to use a sword, the cross guard can never be straight.  Usually it takes the form of a crescent, reminiscent of the moon which is something all elves hold dear.  They also dislike iron or steal and any armor or weapons used by an elf must be either magical or of elven-make.  Elves forge their weapons and armor out of elvish metal using methods and materials completely unknown to man.  It is assumed that when a player creates their elf character, that their equipment of elven-make but if they were to lose their equipment then they would have to travel to Elfland to buy replacements or possibly find a wandering elf merchant who deals in such goods (these are incredibly rare though).  In addition to this, elves rarely travel alongside clerics (although it can happen) because when the clerical spells are spoken or the holy symbol is displayed, elves will feel pain and discomfort.  Nothing to cause any lasting damage but the effect is similar to hearing or viewing an opposite alignment tongue, it can burn your ears, make you nauseous, fill you with anger, etc so most elves will try to avoid such things when they can.

[Homebrew] Fighter House Rules

 

This picture goes incredibly hard, feel free to screenshot.

    Since the standard B/X fighter is fairly lacking in terms of abilities compared to his peers I wanted to add some rules that would benefit the class.  I really like the idea from OD&D and AD&D 1e where the fighter gains multiple attacks against 1HD monsters and although I was tempted to stop there, part of me still wanted to add something extra to the class.  In OD&D, fighters gain a few other abilities that deal with morale which I think add a lot of mechanical benefit to the class as well as a bit of flavor.  If fighters, upon reaching a certain level, automatically gain morale and loyalty bonuses or they immediately cause fear in the hearts of their enemies then it really cements the idea that fighters are great leaders in battle as well as excelling at crowd control.  This reminds me of how Holger from Three Hearts and Three Lions, Aragorn from LOTR, and Conan the Barbarian were able to inspire the men around them and lay waste to their foes.  So, if you are interested in checking out these house rules, they can be found below.

[Lore] Major Races of the Gryphon Vale

This is one of my favorite old school D&D artworks.

Humans [Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic]

    The most prolific human culture is that of the Valemen. Valemen are usually Lawful. These people have lived in the Gryphon Vale for centuries and call it their home. Generally, Valemen are fair skinned and will have brown hair ranging from light to dark. Their eyes are usually brown or hazel. Men, on average, stand at 5’9 and women stand at 5’4. The second human sub race is the Hillmen. Members of this sub race are usually Neutral. Hillmen form clans and tribes, favoring a nomadic and “barbarian” lifestyle over that of the more “civilized” Valemen. They are also quite strong and robust, usually standing at 5’11 for men and 5’6 for women. Generally, their hair color is blonde or lighter browns and their eyes tend to be blue or grey. The third human sub race would be the Moormen/Marshmen. These men tend towards Chaos and often make up the majority of bandit and brigand bands. As their name suggests, these men generally settle in the moor/marsh that is home to a number of unsavory monsters. Moormen have sallow skin, black hair, brown or green eyes, and wide mouths. Men typically reach 5’7 and women 5’2.

Elves [Neutral/Chaotic]

    Elves are long lived, aloof, and fairly short creatures. They don’t seem to care or understand the problems of Man. Elves stand at 5’ to 5’6 and have graceful, slender physiques. Their skin is white, and their hair is a silvery blue color. Their eyes are usually grey, blue, green, or yellow. Their features are delicate and angled. Elves typically weigh 120 lbs. Elves live for about 1,000 years and reach maturity around the same age as humans do but start to age incredibly slowly once they reach adulthood. They also frequently kidnap human children and replace them with their own. These Elf children are called changelings and until the changeling reaches childhood (5-10 years old), humans have no chance of telling them apart from human children. It’s at this age that their physical and magical differences become more apparent. This phenomenon has led to negative attitudes towards Elves and Faerie-folk in general. Some people, however, will raise the Elf as their own child. Elves also tend to live in crystal palaces and castles far away from other settlements deep within old forests where they are free to frolic and feast at their leisure. Most Elves don’t care much for advancement, yet they still make impressive warriors and sorcerers. Their long life span also reinforces their already aloof nature since they will undoubtedly outlive their non elf companions, leading them to be very insular and rarely adventuring with other races.

Dwarves [Neutral/Lawful]

    Dwarves are a proud, strong, and short race of expert craftsmen and warriors. They stand at about 4’ tall and have earth-colored skin with dark brown, grey, or black hair. Dwarves also have very long beards, that have great sentimental and cultural value to them. Often, these beards tell of Dwarven history through the various braids that style them. Each braid has a specific meaning and Dwarves take great care to display their beard. Dwarves also have long lifespans, though not as long as Elves, usually living for about 300 years. In this time they will devote much of their energy to different professions and crafts. They make excellent miners and builders which allows them to charge a high price to non Dwarves for their services. They also weigh about 150 lbs on average. Dwarves value gold and kin above all else. Their greed and loyalty has been known to get them involved in many difficult and unpleasant situations. Their desire for gold is only barely more insatiable than their desire for strong ale. Loyalty and tradition are key pillars of Dwarven society and a Dwarf that goes against either, is not seen as a Dwarf at all. The elder Dwarves keep great tomes of the history of all Dwarf kind, carefully tracking those who have been kind and especially those who have done them wrong. If you befriend a Dwarf, you will have a friend for life, but if you anger a Dwarf, you will have an enemy for life (which is sure to be short as Dwarves will stop at nothing to achieve vengeance).

Halflings [Lawful]

    Halflings are small, gentle folk that prefer the comforts of their shires over a life of adventure. Some, however, are more outgoing than others usually in an attempt to gain more of those home comforts that they’ve grown so fond of. Generally, Halflings have curly hair, pointed ears, large hairy feet, and little to no facial hair with the exception of side burns and some mustaches. Their hair colors range from blonde to black and their skin is fair to ruddy, sometimes with freckles as well. Their average height is only 3’ and usually weigh about 60lbs. The average lifespan of a Halfling is about 150 years. Despite their small stature and general desire for comfort, Halflings, can actually make great adventurers and companions. They are skilled at hiding and using ranged weapons. Halflings will also always carry some pipeleaf with them. Halflings will usually be friendly to outsiders although they are weary of them. Sharing a hearty meal, or three, with a Halfling will likely result in a friendship which can last a lifetime. Even after knowing a Halfling for so long they will still be sure to surprise you as Halfling society tends to be very isolated and private.

[Lore] The Gryphon Vale

Map of the Gryphon Vale, scale: 6 mile hexes

History of the Gryphon Vale

• Psychic War (wizards created dragons)
• Dragon War (dragons grew numerous and nearly wiped out all human life)
• Wilderness and monster life thrive.
• Dwarves are exiled from their mountain homes and seek refuge in the Olde Wood.
• The Elves refuse to allow the Dwarves to live within the forest.
• Elf and Dwarf War begins.
• Elfland is attacked and portions of the Olde Wood are destroyed.
• Various war bands were able to form or retake strongholds to defend against the dragon hordes.  Dragonwrath is established.
• Dwarves reclaim their mountain strongholds.
• The Dragon population is severely weakened and dragons are now rare.
• Petty (Human) warlords decided to unite under a monarchy.
• The Good King died without an heir.
• War of the Crown (War breaks out over who should rule.)
• War of the Crown ends and The Alliance of 3 Crowns is formed.
• Armies of Chaos are gathering and preparing for war.

[Solo] [Session Report 1 - 5/22/24] "R2, we need to be going up not down"

     

    My party consisted of 8 adventurers, To'Chor the Furtive (Fighter), Hor'No the Orange (Fighter), Trabran the Mighty (Magic User), To'Rin the Batrachian (Cleric), Wal the Weird (Elf), Don Web the Pious (Fighter), An the Mantled (Thief), and Hofan the Vigorous (Cleric).  The names were generated using the Holmesian Random Names generator and the characters were generated according to B/X rules.

    The party set out to explore an orc lair, however, after entering the second room they fell through a trap door that led to the 2nd level of the dungeon.  At this point, fear had not completely set in and they were still optimistic about the possibility of gaining a few extra coins due to being on a lower level.  After falling down the trap door, they started to make their way northward down a 30' long corridor that turned west for 40' until they eventually came across a door.  To'Chor and Don opened the door to a 20' square room but were surprised by a group of 5 Troglodytes!

    Now, the party was in a melee but they were caught off guard which gave the monsters a free round to attack.  Hor'No and Wal both suffer damage at the hands of these foul beasts.  Again and again the troglodytes attacked the party quickly slaying Hor'No and Wal after only a couple rounds of combat.  To'Rin also is slain but this allowed for some space to open up between the troglodytes and party members.  The party members quickly took advantage of this and decided to move backwards, then throwing their daggers, and finally Tabram was able to cast Sleep which knocked out 4 troglodytes.  The final monster, too scared to continue fighting, fled from the party.  The party quickly dispatched the sleeping troglodytes and while searching the room, were able to find a magical shield +1.  The party decided to give To'Chor the shield so he could swap his mundane one out for the magical one.  After this, the party took a much needed rest before they carried on adventuring.

    Finally rested, the party reminded themselves that they still need to find a way back up to the first level of the dungeon and so they headed east through a door and entered an empty 10' square room.  They continued east through another door and a long corridor.  At the end of this corridor was another trap which sent the party falling down into the 3rd level of the dungeon!

    The party was now very worried about finding their way out.  No matter where they turned, the dungeon seemed to keep forcing them downwards, deeper and deeper into the dungeon.  Once they got to their feet, they saw a group of 6 harpies!  Luckily, the adventurers were able to get the initiative and although hope seemed to be lost the party decided that if they should meet their end in this dungeon that they would go down fighting until the last man was slain.

    The melee began and To'Chor, Tabran, and An focused their attacks on a single harpy which allowed them to kill it swiftly.  Hofan then attacked another harpy, significantly wounding it.  This shook the harpies, perhaps they thought these humans would be easy prey, and they decided to flee.  The adventurers, somewhat emboldened by this victory, still needed to find a way out.  They chose to go through the western door and entered another 10' square room but this time it had treasure!  They gathered up 700 silver pieces and 200 gold pieces and stuffed them in their bags.  At least now, if the party made it back to town they would be able to afford a nice meals and bed to rest up for a while.  

    Not letting this get to their head, the party pressed onward and entered a 20' square room but as they entered it poisonous gas started to fill up the dungeon room.  To'Chor, despite his remarkable strength, began to choke and fell to the ground.  Tabran also started to cough and died.  Finally, Don choked and died as well.  An, however, quickly covered his mouth with his cloak and arm.  The poison began to dissipate and An relaxed.  After collecting the treasure and some light sources, he made his way to the northern door to open it.  He failed to open it.  Then, he started to hear the sound of harpies and the sound kept getting louder.  They had to be getting close!  An kept trying to open the door but it wouldn't budge until he gave it one last push with every last bit of strength he had.  The door opened but An, due to his momentum, flung forward and fell into a 10' deep pit and fell to his death.

[Session Report 2 - 4/12/24] "The Lair of the Ogre Lord"

 

    This was a duet session between my cousin and I, it was also his first time playing D&D.  After I walked him through chargen, I started the adventure.  His party (consisting of Peter the Veteran, Kratos the Veteran, Merlin the Acolyte, Gandalf the Medium, and Hammer and Anvil, two Dwarf brothers) was greeted by the local manorlord of the village.  He asked them for help in the slaying of a local Ogre who has been terrorizing the local populace.  He regrettfully informed them that due to the attacks, he was unable to offer any men to assist them in the journey except for a guide that would lead them to the cave.

    Once the party reached the cave of the Ogre Lord, the guide turned around and went back to his village.  The party was on their own from here on out.  Gandalf lit a torch and the party descended down 20' into the lair.  The party entered a 30' by 30' room with a passageway to the north and a door to the east.  The party leader, Peter, elected to go through the door with the party following behind him.  They travelled down the hallway and came to a "T" section going north and south.  The party chose to go south and passed through a small room where they came across a spiked pit with some corpses.  Frightened by this discovery, Peter the Brave thought that finding another route might prove more advantageous.  They double-backed and headed north.  They decided to listen at the door but were interrupted by 9 giant rats that came at them from behind.  Luckily, Merlin slayed one rat quickly causing the rest to scurry away in fear.  Now, they could open the door.  They walked in on the Ogre Lair and were horrified by the sights and smells of this foul location.

    The party scanned the room and saw the Ogre and his 3 Orc soldiers along with 3 villagers chained to the cave wall.  The party sprang into defensive positions, trying to make a stand in the doorway.  The Ogre yelled and ordered his Orc minions to kill the human (and dwarf) invaders.  Now the party was locked into melee with Peter, Merlin, and Hammer in the first rank.  The battle was bloody and brutal.  Both sides exchanged blows and soon Peter was able to drop an Orc.  Then immediately after, another Orc cut Hammer down.  Peter, in a fit of rage and desperation, hacked away at another Orc, killing it quickly.  At this point the Ogre Lord thought that his minions were of no use and knocked the 3rd Orc to the ground to make room for himself and joined the fray.

    Now the Ogre Lord himself was upon the party.  They had never seen something so violent and terrible yet the party held fast and their courage didn't fail.  Peter slashed away at the Ogre Lord but it was not enough and the Ogre Lord, with his mighty club, bludgeoned poor Peter to death.  This shook the party's morale but it still did not fail and now their resolve to finish this fight was even stronger.  Anvil attacked the Ogre and was starting to see the Ogre wince in pain.  They knew that this beast could be killed, but could they hold out long enough before it killed them?  Merlin had also fought back but the Ogre retaliated and killed him.  Gandalf was next.  The crushing blow from the Ogre's club turned the frail magic-user into smithereens.  His body and blood spattered across the remaining party members.  They had never witnessed such devastation before.  Then the Ogre killed Anvil, giving Kratos an opportunity to strike.  Kratos grasped his weapon, knowing that he had to kill the Ogre now or all was lost for nothing, and with one valiant swing, the Ogre fell to the stone floor and breathed his last breath.  He then made his way over to the prisoners, freed them, looted what he could from nearby chests and made his way out of the dungeon and went back to the village.  The manorlord rode out to the wounded fighter and offered him what little treasure he could, a chest of some gold,  a signet ring, and his undying gratitude for eliminating the evil that had brought so much destruction to his home.

[Session Report 1 - 3/10/24] '"The Cult of the Medusa"

   

    This was a duet session with my sister.  She had 6 characters in total, including 2 fighters, a cleric, a thief (party leader), a magic-user, and an elf.  Each character was 1st level and rolled up according to the Basic Rules.  The adventure started off with each character receiving rumors although due to poor rolls, some of the adventurers gained little to no information.  This didn't deter them however and they soon entered the ruined temple.  Upon entering the dungeon, the party explored a 30x30' room with a northern and eastern exit.  Each passage was illuminated by wall mounted torches to the  right of them.  The room's construction was clearly old and had seen better days, vines and moss could be seen growing from the cracks of the dungeon walls and floor.  Nature was reclaiming what once was hers.  2 statues dominated the room and were posed quite dynamically, as well as displaying expressions of terror.  The party examined the statues and tried to move them, turn them, etc to no avail.  However, they did notice that these particular statues lacked any sort of base to them.  Immediately, the party started to fear for the worst... they were in the Medusa's lair!

    Quickly regaining their composure, they decided to avert their eyes and try to walk through the dungeon mainly by looking at the floor, occasionally looking up as they journeyed through the stone passages.  The party decided to take the eastern exit and after a few winding corridors two party members suddenly fell into a pit!  The elf and cleric were unlucky enough to trigger the trap as the others walked over it.  Inside the pit were 5 Spitting Cobras and 3 corpses.  The adventurers, wanting to avoid the same fate as the poor bastards laying beside them, acted quickly and while avoiding the venomous spit from the cobras were able to climb up the 10' pit with the help of their friends and some strong rope.  Even though they were able to avoid any harm from the snakes, they still had taken damage from the fall leaving the elf critically wounded at 1 HP and the cleric hurt at 4HP.  The party, determined to not leave empty handed, pressed on into the darkness.

    The new room they had entered was empty, but a passage to the north was seen and the party kept marching.  They came across a larger room, about 40x40', that had 5 statues similar to previous 2.  This wasn't the worst part, they had stumbled upon 7 cultists wearing dark grey hooded robes that had insignias of 3 joined snakes.  Fortunately for the party, the cultists decided to simply warn the party to leave and never come back.  Heeding their warning, the party decided to double back only to be stumped by the pit they narrowly escaped earlier.  This led them to return to the cultists, hoping that they could be shown a different way out of the ruins.  Enraged at the party for not leaving, the cultists decided to attack.  They lunged at our heroes with daggers.  Then, the magic-user who had prepared a sleep spell beforehand, quickly cast it immediately dropping 5 of the 7 cultists which broke their morale.

    The cultists fled to a northern exit and shut the door.  The party quickly slit the throats of the sleeping cultists and tried to rest up before deciding to leave the dungeon.  Just as they were heading down the western hallway, they heard multiple foot steps and the hissing of many snakes.  It was the Medusa, the cultists went to alert her!  The party decided to stay and fight and used the hallway as an effective choke point.  The elf and fighter launched their spear and javelin as the enemies approached, hoping to finish an enemy off before getting into a melee.  The fighter had missed but luckily the elf landed a successful hit dealing 6 damage to the Medusa, leaving her with 4HP (Yes, I know I rolled terribly for the medusa's HP LOL.)

    Now, the enemies were upon them and the fighters and cleric were in the front rank, trying to protect the squishier party members.  Within a few moments, the cleric dropped dead!  The elf, quickly taking his place, started to defend as well.  Attacks were exchanged, first a cultist was killed, and then with the mighty thrust of his spear, the elf killed the medusa causing the last cultist to run away in terror.  They followed and eventually cornered her, killing her swiftly.  The room they followed her into also had a locked chest placed against a wall.  The thief tried to pick the lock but failed, leaving the fighter to hack away at the box until it finally broke.  Despite their losses, this adventure was worth it now because they had just found a few thousand coins and some other items of interest as well including a chainmail shirt +1 (party doesn't know it is magical yet), some potions (growth and diminution) and an interesting looking gem that resembles one they heard about in the rumors.  They gathered their belongings and were able to leave the dungeon safely and headed back to town.

[Homebrew] Character and Party Record Sheets

     Here are some character sheets I made for B/X although they would probably work for most OSR rpgs.

[Homebrew] Hirelings and Retainers

    

The party sets out in search of the unkown.

    One of the things I really like about old school D&D is the large party size.  Something about large groups of adventurers, mercenaries, laborers, and specialists travelling together in search of adventure really appeals to me much more so than the modern style of fantasy where 4 characters are able to accomplish pretty much everything.

    Going off of B/X, hirelings have 3 categories: Retainers, Mercenaries, and Specialists.  In addition to these, I also use the term hireling for general laborers but for the purposes of my game those kind of fall under mercenaries.  Generally speaking, retainers are your fellow adventurers that are willing to adventure alongside you both in and out of dungeons.  Mercenaries are primarily for guarding locations, such as strongholds, as well as doing battle in the wilderness.  Finally, specialists refer to special NPCs that are skilled in a particular craft such as an armorer or a sage.

Negotiating terms of employment

    In order to facilitate the hiring of these NPCs I've come up with some rules that make searching and hiring NPCs fairly simple.  My rules can be found here.

Equipping the retainers

    For a character to hire a retainer, the first thing they would do is choose various recruitment methods.  Each of these methods adds a chance of finding a retainer to the base chance that is determined by the local region's level of stability (war time, peace time, borderlands).  After spending some gold on recruitment methods, the DM will check the settlement type that the player character is in and that will determine how many retainers are there.  Once the amount of retainers is generated, the player character is free to interview each one and make offers of employment.  The length of time this takes is left up to the DM.  If the character wants to hire a mercenary then they would follow the same steps but instead of looking for retainers they would specify which type of mercenary they want (heavy foot, light cavalry, etc).