Adventures In Terra AD

Earlier this year I thought I might start a new classic fantasy campaign, filled with as many classic RPG tropes you could think of. Sadly it never got off the ground. I would have liked to think the problem was my busy schedule with university and the work of maintaining a flourishing social life. That would however be a lie. If I really wanted to I would have found a way for us to schedule some gaming sessions. The real problem was simply that I wasn't feeling it, I had burned out on medievalist fantasy, at least for RPGs. However, when the summer rolled around I felt I really wanted to do some roleplaying again. Since I still felt no draw to fantasy I landed on science fiction (or science fantasy) in either a classic "traveller style" or something post-apocalyptic. Having run a few one-shots of mothership I realized that the post-apocalypse was for me the more fresh option. 

Thusly I tried my hand at running some of my first ever sessions of Mutant Crawl Classics (a game I had wanted to run for a looong time) and really enjoyed it! Since I was burned out on the genre of fantasy and not the rules of certain popular fantasy games, I had no problem with the use of ability scores and armour class. Having never played DCC I didn't really have any expectation on the game system, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how comparatively easy to run the game actually is in play. The only real complexity comes from the large amount of tables that can be used to generate anything from appearance to actual mutant powers. These are however fun, with a lot of interesting and varied results which in my opinion justifies the complexity. 

Below I have included a quick run-down of the adventures of our (mostly) post-human heroes. I've divided them into three different sections based on the adventure module I used for each. The first is Reliquary of the Ancient Ones (at level 0), the second is Welcome to Eastwood (at level 1), and the third is Warlords of ATOZ (at levels 2 & 3). Important names (such as those of player characters) are introduced in bold whenever they first become individually relevant to the main action of the play report. Beware that this write-up ended up being quire long! 

Content Warning: The play report of "Warlords of ATOZ" has some references to several vile right-wing political movements from our real world. If you prefer for RPGs to be escapism then fair enough, perhaps this blog post isn't for you. If however, nazi and KKK cultists getting blasted away by a gang of outcast mutant heroes sounds appealing, then read on!

cover art by Doug Kovacs

Reliquary of the Ancient Ones

We start our adventures in the village of Kleta, a small but humble settlement on the border of both a hot-house jungle and prairies which give way to rocky deserts. Under part of the mound on which their village is built, the people of Kleta have discovered a passageway leading deeper into the earth and ending in what seems like a blank (and dry) pool. As a test to become adults, the village elders decides to send sixteen unproven mutants into the pool to discover what lies beyond. 

Using ropes ro rappel down, the party pass through the pool and into a large and otherwise empty cavern beyond, with a carving in the shape of a doorway on one of its walls. The first casualty is suffered as the boar-manimal Harry Bottom decides to jump down instead of using a rope. The group find a console next to the carving on the wall. By pressing random buttons the room lights up and the rope by which they came down seems to disappear. A voice welcomes the group to "the archives" and begrudges that some of "the programs" might be experiencing power outages. 

The party mash a few more keys on the console and the carving of a doorway lights up with an image of a fine marble interior. The characters discover that they can enter the image, after which the doorway closes behind them once they have all entered. Inside the marble halls are many alcoves with strange artefacts protected by static fields of force. The party manage to get past some of them through violence but also attract several dangerous enemies: one extra-dimensional smoke squid and one doppelganger that surprisingly turns out to be the more deadly foe. The doppelganger kills several PCs, including the mighty human Ken Power and the mutants Satan and Fidgetspinner. After defeating the smoke squid and taking some of the artefacts, the portal which the characters came though opens again. 

The Group are able to return to the central chamber, where after some more button-mashing they are able to enter another room. This time they seem to be in some strange laboratory with two cages. One contains semi-intelligent manimals, and the other has feral humans inside. The party quickly send Dog the beaver-manimal through one of the vents to try and end the lock-down that the facility seems to be under. In the meantime the others search through the room they are in. Arnold the human finds a powerful mazer rifle. Ned Fart (also human) finds a strange device which activates a nearby mechanical man that throws one of the manimals into the opposite cage where they are torn apart by the humans. As Dog turns off the lock-down the cages open and the party are forced to flee through another portal at the other end of the facility. 

The party once again arrive back in the room they first entered, only this time it is no longer lit and at it's centre sits a strange glowing orb on a podium next to a console. The whole room is pulsing with strange lines of light on the floor and as the PCs start monkeying with the console it's as if several opponents are conjured from the air to fight them. First some neanderthal cave-men and then a medieval knight sat on a horse. As the party shuts down the console the enemies vanish and the strange orb falls off the podium. 

Retrieving the orb and finding the rope through which they came down, the party ascend back up to the surface and are excitedly greeted by the other villagers. The orb is taken into the custody of the village elders and the party are declared to have passed their trial of adulthood. Each non-human PC goes through metagenesis and gain a set of new powerful mutations.  

cover art by Peter Mullen

Welcome to Eastwood

Some weeks pass with more and more strangers spotted in Kleta. Some are seemingly on the run from some northern calamity and others are asking very probing questions about the orb and the archive. As it happens, one of the younger villagers—Jésus—has recently disappeared. Hoping to both get the heat off of the village and find the youngster, the elders of the village send the party westward into the desert carrying the orb. 

After several days of travel the party come across an area of desert which seems to be covered by a giant vision-obscuring forcefield. After entering the field without issue, the party discover that they can in fact not pass out again. In front them is a small village with several wooden buildings. Before they have time to really consider this, a strange man wearing strange clothes including a wide-brimmed hat, boots, and a leather vest approaches them. "Welcome to Eastwood!" he exclaims, and after dodging some of their questions directs them to the nearby a nearby building known simply as "Earl's". 

As they enter the village the party's search for Jésus quickly gets sidetracked. A lot of time is spent throwing dice and playing cards inside Earl's, though only after the PCs manage to acquire a strange "card" which seems to be able to pay for goods and services. The party also use the card to buy gear at a local shop, finding a large selection of different wide-brimmed hats; one pink, one with a leopard-print, and one black with metal studs. The group also purchase what seems to them to be small bullet-fed pistols and other types of assorted gear. 

As they  explore more of the town they are challenged to a duel by a strange metallic man carrying a similar pistol to the ones they just purchased. The metal man immediately shoots—and seemingly kills—the gigantic Fanged Mutant and the green gibbon-manimal Julia. After smashing the metal man the party are however joyed to find that both are still alive, having simply been stunned by the gunshot and taking no permanent damage. 

Sadly the tussle attracts undue attention from some more metal men dubbed "security". The party are forced to hide inside first a doctor's office and then a temple of some kind. At both locations they are attacked, by a crazed doctor and some inter-dimensional hounds respectively. The party conclude that Jésus most likely has been taken by security into the town prison and hatch a plan to get themselves captured and then get him out. Julia and Arnold are thrown in jail after a quick bank robbery, and are happy to discover Jésus locked inside, along with his plantient cellmate Vitae and a snake-manimal the party had previously sold out to avoid getting thrown in jail themselves. Somehow (though great luck rolls) the party is able to find a hole leading out through Jésus and Vitae's cell. Arnold sends his telepathic rat companion Rått-Eva to fetch the keys to the cells, ensuring an escape from the jail!

The party spend some more time dicking around the town but become all the more focused on leaving Eastwood for good, the best bet seemingly being the newly arrived metal snake (a train). Before boarding the group say their goodbyes to the town, exploring the outhouses and ranch, and going for a dance at the local "house of ill repute". As they are boarding the train they are called out to by a mother who pleads for the group to help her spasming daughter. As the group try to hold her down she begins thrashing to such a degree that she flings her limbs and head off, spouting a strange milk-like liquid everywhere. The party—suitably creeped out—leave Eastwood. 

After some time spent playing cards and fighting off a train-robbery, the group stops outside of an old mine. They are ushered off of the train by the conductor and then approached by a seemingly crazed old man. As they help him push a cart of explosives down the mine he goes crazy (much like the girl from before) and his head starts spinning. The party are able to flee the explosion back up the mine, which after the dust settles reveals a glowing hole in the ceiling. 

The party ambush and smash a couple more metal-men and enter the hole where they find themselves in a place most like "the archives" of their previous adventure, though with more hallways. After some exploration and another fight with a group of metal-men, the group can feel the heat of radiation coming from down one of the corridors. Investigating further, the party find a set of large double doors. After being thrown open they reveal a pulsing reactor core guarded by a giant 20 foot tall fox-manimal wearing clothes akin to those of the people of Eastwood. The party recognize the fox from several items at the store, which had borne the likeness of the fox. 

As battle ensues the Fanged Mutant is knocked out (though not slain) in a single round and the fight looks as though it will be a deadly affair. Luckily Julia decides to not attack the fox directly, but instead hammers the reactor which causes a shutdown of the facility including the fox-manimal which had turned out to also be made of metal. As the party leave the facility they discover that the shimmering field keeping them in has disappeared, transposing the town of Eastwood onto the actual non-pocket-dimension landscape. The party say their goodbyes and begin making their trek back to the village of Kleta. 

cover art by C. Aaron Kreader

Warlords of ATOZ

As the party near Kleta they begin to spot masses of black smoke rising from where they know their home village to be. As they finish their trek back they are shocked to discover that a charred ruin is all that remains of their once flourishing home. Further investigation leads to the centre of the village where a strange hooked cross has been smeared in blood. Vitae, a member of the benign "Clan of Cog" recognizes the symbol as belonging to the "Gene Police" (though this is not their true name), a pure-strain human supremacist faction. The party also realize that even though they find several dead bodies, there are not nearly enough dead to cover the entire population of Kleta. Two trails of footprints are found, one big leading north towards the great grasslands and another smaller leading east into the nearby jungle. 

The group investigate the smaller track first and are overjoyed to discover a small band of survivors (the other survivors of the 0th level funnel adventure) held out in the jungle. They explain that the village was attacked the same day the group left to investigate Eastwood by a group looking for the strange glowing orb. The party decide to send their fellows into the jungle in search of a strange shamanic Oracle that is reported to live in its depths. Both to keep the orb safe from the gene police, and to perhaps explain what its capabilities are. The party themselves take some much needed time to recuperate before they set out, following the larger trail of footprints northwards. 

After some time traveling, the group reach the crimson fields of the blood-grass savannah. Through some mutant powers they tame some giant grasshoppers (called hoppers) to serve as steeds. Speeding along the plains they soon come upon a place where the trail seems to congregate with several other ones, all leading even further north. In the distance the party spot a group consisting of warriors mounted on giant lizards and walking captives moving north. The characters manage to sneak up on the group and initiate a battle with the warriors, dispatching them easily. The many-limbed plantient George Buske manages to catch one of the warriors as Dog acquires a mecha-arm from their leader. 

Through information gained from interrogation of the warrior and captives, the party learns that their fellow non-human tribesfolk are about to be sacrificed in a debased ritual to the warrior's god ATOZ. Before making the final trek to the temple of said god, the party are again joined by the other characters sent away to deliver the orb to the oracle. In fact, the oracle himself now joins the party. He is a human who seems to always be freezing, having ice-white hair, an odd-gait, and missing an eye. Having unlocked some of the secrets of the now known to be data orb of mankind, the party is feels strengthened (each PC leveling up) before finally arriving at the temple of ATOZ. 

In a ritual before them, a figure wearing a pointy red robe (surrounded by others wearing similar white robes) sacrifices an old mutant before a crowd of cheering warriors wearing red cloaks and armbands. After some deliberation the PC's decide to seek out and defeat the source of these evils directly, taking the fight to ATOZ himself. The party sneak around the camp using a magic spell of invisibility cast by the oracle, bypass the guards and climb in through the mouth of the head-shaped temple of ATOZ. 

Inside they manage to defeat a couple of security bots without making enough noise to alert the hundreds of chanting warriors outside. The party proceeds further up into the temple and come upon a large floor with facilities for installing mechanical body parts. Through the oracle's manning of the facility controls Arnold receives a robotic eye, whilst Vitae also gains a mechanical arm as well as a mechanical heart. 

In the uppermost level of the temple the group finally come face to face with ATOZ and four of his pointy white-clad bodyguards. Before the enemy can act, Dog uses his mind-controlling ability to turn the four bodyguards. Arnold supercharges his mazer rifle and disintegrates what turns out to be a holograph of ATOZ. As his avatar is destroyed, ATOZ appears on the screens cursing the PCs and commanding the head to lift off the ground and plummet to its destruction. Through the oracle's feather fall spell the party is able to escape. Dog commands one of the guards to steer the head right into the congregating warriors down below. 

After landing safely the group incite a slave-revolt which combined with the shock from the crashing temple cause the "gene police" to be essentially annihilated after the party engage in a desperate firefight with the survivors. The party are overjoyed to reconnect with their friends and family, and eventually return home to rebuild Kleta. With the aid of the data orb of mankind they ensure this now settlement—Kleta 2—will flourish into an even more prosperous settlement. 

cover art by Peter Mullen

GM Thoughts 

This campaign was great! A real breath of fresh air and the folks who played in it seemed to think so as well. I have very few thoughts on the system. It essentially plays just like most other B/X adjacent OSR games (in which I also include the likes of Mörk Borg), albeit with a few non-grating 3E-isms. One of my players remarked on how she found the system to in fact be much simpler than she first thought, which should taken as a compliment I think. Another player remarked on the quite large amount of combat during the campaign. He was probably right, wether it was me or the modules I used there was a lot of fighting to be had this time around. I probably want to reverse this trend for any other upcoming games. 

Reliquary of the Ancient Ones was the weakest of the three adventures in my opinion. I think this ultimately comes down to it being a tournament module of essentially a series of not very interconnected encounters. Going by the module i think (as long as I didn't misunderstand the text) you just roll randomly for which room the PCs encounter until they eventually reach the end. That is quite unsatisfying, so I ran it a bit more like a depth crawl so that the PCs were always making progress toward the final room The data orb was an addition of my own. The concept of an archive of important moments from history is great though, and the scenes themselves are good and most have a lot of fun interactable elements. In the end I would rate this adventure as flawed but easily salvageable. 

Welcome to Eastwood was the only third-party adventure I ran. It's also the adventure most similar to the kind of location-based adventures I'm used to. One of my players is a bit of a cowboy-junkie and so I felt I had to run this adventure. It was more information dense and terse than the other adventures and this meant it also had a lot more actual adventure content. In fact we spent three out of the campaigns five sessions on it! The strength of this one is the limited but very thematic sandbox that the town offers, the whole place being a pastiche of Westworld is certainly a fun reveal. The part where it flounders is the quite lengthy and linear end section. Overall though I would recommend this adventure as it's strengths are much more prominent than it's weaknesses. 

Warlords of ATOZ is an odd adventure. The way it is written is very linear, but if you take the content out of the context of the adventure and treat it more like a location-based adventure-toolkit it's actually pretty good. This was the adventure I changed the most—the adventure is a reference to Zardoz, not real-world dickheads—but the quite simple outline made changing it quite easy. Since my players have never seen Zardoz I thought it would be more cathartic to splatter the brains of some neo-nazis than reference a—albeit very fun—movie from the 70s. Changing the warlords to have captured the people of the PCs home village was great since it served as a much better call to adventure. It also providing the party with the option of raising a slave revolt as an alternative to just sneaking into the temple. Although this was the adventure i changed the most, I can't deny it was easy to run and a good length for one or two sessions. 

In regards to the overarching mcguffin narrative, I essentially just used it as a way of connecting what would otherwise be a series of disconnected adventures. The campaign was basically as a series of one-shots with a recurring cast of characters. My main motivation behind this was that I was unsure about how many sessions we where going to play, and so I felt a more episodic approach would make any sudden end less jarring. In return, I very sadly had to sacrifice some player agency in regards to what the players goals were. At no though point did I railroad what the PCs had to do to achieve those goals. For a short campaign, using a new system, I found this to be an acceptable trade-off (though you make of it what you will). 

Something great about a post-apocalyptic/neolithic setting—such as in MCC—is the character's lives are already an adventurous struggle. Contrast this against various medievalist fantasy settings where getting the characters from their otherwise settled lives into becoming adventurers can be a bit of a hassle if online complaints are to be believed (ultimately I think this is an issue of play-culture and player expectations, not so much setting). The question of "why would my character go into this dangerous dungeon?" is less pressing when the rest of the character's life is already a daily fight for survival and they have no safety to return to. 

Something else I've come to love about science fantasy (which a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction falls into) is the ease at which you can throw anything into a game and not have it be jarring. The tone of lord of the rings would be heavily impacted if Anduril was actually an alien laser gun (it would be cool though), whereas replacing he-man's sword with such an item wouldn't be out of order at all. The whole genre is to me at it's best when it includes as many whacky and high-concept ideas as possible, becoming a sort of stew of equal parts grounded and zany adventuring. I can go on gushing, but ultimately I think I just love when a genre allows for me to base a campaign on the (second?) best Tenacious D album. 

Post-Demi-Humans

I recently read through the 5E book "weird wastelands" by Web DM as well as rewatched the land between two rivers streamed game made by the same folks. Part of the set-up for land between two rivers is that all traditionally "good" fantasy races have gone the way of the dodo due to the fantasy apocalypse. Throughout the series the PC's still encounter several humans which for some reason or another survived or were created after the apocalypse, though no dwarves or non-drow elves are ever found. As such I had fun designing some 5e versions of "post-dwarves" and "post-elves". The "elves" are in this case a dark crystal rip-off while the "dwarves" are inspired by the character of puddles from my old hill cantons campaign. Do what you will with the ancestries, hopefully you will find them neat. 

from the Time Machine (1960)

Click Here for 5E Post-Demi-Humans!

Hankerin' for Classic Fantasy

I've recently been really excited at the prospect of starting up a new campaign since the end of my irregular Dolmenwood campaign. Simultaneously I've also been playing through the classic installments of Baldur's Gate and getting really into the AD&D rendition of the forgotten realms. Throw Campaign 26 into the mix (whose deadline I've already blown past due to only finding out about it last week) and my decision to start a new classic fantasy game this year seems like a clear choice. A personal renewed interest and recent studies of medieval history is just an added bonus. 

Another goal of the campaign will be to play through some of the adventures i've picked up recently, chiefly the necrotic gnome adventure anthologies as well as the adventures found inside the vacant ritual assembly zines. These were some of the first gaming supplements I ever got my hands on yet I've never had the chance to play through them. I've pondered running some sort of mega-dungeon campaign yet I'm thinking it might be a bit too much to throw people who are very new to the OSR playstyle into something so daunting. 

I'm hoping to have the campaign running by the start of march. We'll see wether I can stick to that promise or if the old end-boss of scheduling conflicts and finding somewhere to play rears its twin heads again. I suppose the only way of doing is by first trying. 

A battle of brother against brother in a war for the throne

The System

I shall once again look to the excellent Old School Essentials provide the mechanical structure for the campaign, albeit with several caveats. 

For one I will be using my own version of the split ancestry and class system, giving some more interesting abilities to both demi-humans and humans alike. Choice of ancestry and class will initially be limited: dwarves, elves, halflings and humans are the available ancestries and clerics, fighters, magicians, and thieves are the only initial class choices. The idea is to make other more "advanced" ancestries and classes available as the campaign progresses and the players encounter them in-game. 

Many of the changes to the base version of B/X made in the Dolmenwood game system will also be ported into the campaign. I particularly like the d6 skill- and ability check system as well as the many procedures for camping, foraging, and smoking pipe-leaf for instance. A lot of the changes to classes will also be brought along; thief customisable skills, fighter combat feats, cleric holy orders, and magician magic detection. 

Finally some minor additions like blackpowder weapons and a slew of new arcane spells will also be included. All-in-all I hope even the fairly simple mechanical basis of B/X will prove crunchy enough (at least initially) to my 5e-familiar players. 

A few urban islands in a sea of rural sprawl

The Setting

I plan on setting the campaign in what i shall call "Schrödingers campaign setting", in which most things will not be developed until they become relevant as the come up in the campaign. It can be assumed that most things follow the conventions of the standard "euro-fantasy" tropes. The only initial setting-information will be the campaign hex-map as well as the following very rote "campaign truths" (see below). This is all very inspired by this classic Hill Cantons post. 

The great kingdom is in disrepair with several claimants vying for the throne and the rule of law at an all-time low. The campaign is not initially set in the heart of these dynastic disputes but the ongoing conflicts create refugees and plot hooks, and attract mercenaries (new PCs and hirelings). In keeping with gaming tradition the kingdom itself is a pastiche of the medieval holy roman empire. 

High level characters are rare and often found at the fringes of society or leading it themselves. This fact makes the PCs special and may serve to give their actions more weight within the setting. There are no level 20 captains of the guard to forcibly keep the party in line, but there might be one or more local mid-level wizards which are open to taking on apprentices. 

Demi-humans are rare but not unheard of as they occasionally live alongside humans (a'la WFRP) although most prefer to keep to themselves in their own secluded enclaves. Humanity outnumbers all demi-humans put together 10-to-1 and most folk—human or demi-human—are superstitious of anyone significantly different to themselves. 

Monsters are encroaching on settled lands, threatening ordinary folk and claiming old ruins as their own strongholds. Since the kinghts and soldiers who would normally take care of such creatures are busy with killing each other it falls to the humble adventurer pick up both the proverbial and literal torch. 

Yuletide Adventures

When one of my old players asked me to run a one-shot over the holidays I couldn't help but say yes. Holiday gaming is not something i've done much of previously, but seeing this as golden opportunity to take a look back at the old Hill Cantons campaign I jumped at the chance. Due to scheduling we only met up after the actual holiday season, but it was a blast nonetheless. In addition, this post is coming along a couple weeks after the session itself, oh well! 

Typical pit-fighters

For the adventure itself the characters were contacted by the dwarves of Hoimatbuch, whom having sent help in the final battle against the eld now called on the party to repay the favour. The task therefore became to travel to the underground city of the duergar to take part in the annual gladiatorial games. Should the party make it through three rounds of battles they may be granted a wish to free many of the dwarves who suffer as slaves of the duergar.

The first battle is fought against an "A-team" of duergar and their allies (e.g. orcs, kuo-toa) as well as a ferocious owlbear. The second battle was much the same against two dragons (one copper and one bronze), one of whom was instantly defeated by a polymorph others cast by Pearl the Reckless. The other dragon was swiftly defeated once it landed and the now gauntlets of ogre power and girdle of giant strength wearing Natalie Bukowski. 

As the final and third battle is fought against a ferocious purple worm, the excitement of the crowd seems to reach a frenzy. Several onlookers jump into the arena, whilst fights break out in the stands. As the worm is slain by a now schnorkler-riding Huldovic Klyvballe. Through the chaos the party are able to free many of the enslaved dwarves, though not before escaping an encounter with the demon-lord Demogorgon whose presence seems to have been the trigger for the madness around them. The group return as heroes to the surface and then spend a merry yuletide getting shitfaced in dwarf-town. 

The adventure proved to be a success! I experimented with a sort of meta-currency dubbed "yuletide miracles" which could restore hit points or grant re-rolls. This was in an effort to be able to throw several fairly difficult encounters at the players without the risk of any character dying (since the campaign has ended after all). In addition, for each major opponent defeated, the person whose character dealt the killing blow was given a gift by your truly, which made for a fun twist (again very meta). All-in-all it was a lighthearted session and a great send-off to the characters and the old campaign as a whole, something I'd certainly do again. 

Dolmenwood - Winter's Daughter

A bit overdue, but here is the conclusion to my short-running dolmenwood campaign! Sadly due to scheduling conflicts it has no longer ongoing, but the ending was certainly a fun one. Below you'll find a session recap with some additional throughs at the end, enjoy! 

Characters

• Modestus Ursus - Level 3 Human Cleric
• Moggy "Mog" Cottonsocks - Level 2 Grimalkin Fighter
• Pansy Strongboned - Level 3 Human Fighter
• Dorcas Everbright - Level 1 Human Cleric

Followers

• Agnel Dregger - Level 1 Magician

Action Report

The party wake after an uneasy rest in the strange glade. Traveling further eastwards they eventually reach an area known as the whispering caves, where as the name suggests strange whispers can be heard echoing through the caverns. 

Meandering through the sandstone hills the group then arrive at the glade seen in the vision by Pansy. A stone circle stands at the centre of the glade with a stone altar in the middle. Behind the great dolmens looms a large and ancient barrow. Investigating the glade the group find the moss-covered skeleton of a stag lying upon the altar, as well as several strange metal owls with symbols carved into them. Some careful investigation lead the party to deduce that the symbols must be drunic. The dolmens and owls are ultimately deemed uninteresting and the party instead head towards the barrow. 

While inside the group encounter several seemingly haunted chambers; flying holy-objects, levitating dancing skeletons, and a mirror which paralyzes Pansy as she steps in front of it. Luckily Modestus is able to cure her, and the characters move a statue of a beautiful fey-looking woman in front of the mirror to block it. In the deepest chamber the group find a pair of huge stone doors, with equally huge stone hounds to either side of them. A carving on the door reads "call to the companions", making the group conclude that speaking the names of the hounds opens the doors. Searching through the barrow only one name is found. Mog and Pansy instead stumble down a set of stairs into what they initially think is just a lower level of the barrow, but what instead proves to be a gate into the frozen fairy-land of Frigia... 

The pair stand before a frozen lake with a tower in its centre. As a sled approaches the tower so do the characters and after some discussion with the goblin doorman the two are invited into the wedding feast that is apparently being held inside. Taking a seat alongside a selection of highborn frost-elves the pair thoughtlessly let slip that they traveled to the tower through a nearby gateway from Dolmenwood. A missive is sent to someone only referred to as "his majesty" and the characters are bid to wait for his arrival. 

As Modestus and Agnel consider their next plan of action back in the barrow, a stranger barges into the open entrance. Dorcas Everbright, another (unproven) cleric of the one true god pledges to help his superior, having been drawn to the barrow after hearing of it being a site for drunic rituals. Together they conclude that the stairs are a portal which can be traveled back through by taking a hidden pathway in Frigia. As they too reach the frozen lake they are forced to hide in the snow as what looks like a royal entourage approach the lake from the opposite side. 

As the party inside the tower is continuing Mog and Pansy are invited to the meed the bride herself; the so-called Snowfall-at-Dusk, princess of Frigia. Her likeness is recognized from the statue in the barrow and the elf lady explains that her love for the mortal Sir Chyde, the man who lies buried the great stone doors. The two were betrothed while Sir Chyde was alive and before the frost-elves were banished from Dolmenwood, their eternal love bringing the two worlds together and creating the portals to Frigia. If the group can bring the lady Sir Chyde's ring, the both of them will be together forever and the portal to Frigia will slowly close. The discussion is interrupted as the lady's father the Cold Prince arrives at the tower. Mog and Pansy are left no choice but to rappel out the window to escape the the fairy-lord's interrogation. 

Chaos ensues as Mog and Pansy are joined by Modestus, Dorcas, and Agnel who battle the few frost-knights left to guard the entourage's horses outside the tower. It is quickly realized that any prolonged battle will be futile and the party make a fighting retreat towards the hidden pathway back into the barrow. A fairy servant is summoned to spook the horses of the knights, Modestus blinds and silences, and Dorcas almost pays with his life as the group only barely escape Frigia just as the Cold Prince himself rushes out of the tower. 

While back in the barrow the group take a moment to breathe. The name of the second stone hound is discovered on a mould-covered tapestry and the doors to Sir Chyde's grave are opened. While inside the ghost of the Knight materializes and offers the party his grave-goods as payment for bringing his ring to lady Snowfall-at-Dusk. However before making another foray into fairy it is decided that the group will travel back to Castle Brackenwold to gather supplies. The trek back is uneventful and the party are able to put their feet up after a very cold and otherworldly adventure. 

A lake of ice in a land of endless winter

GM Thoughts

A great adventure all-in-all! In total the events described herein took place during three sessions of play. Winter's daughter has been lauded as a great starting adventure by others before, and I believe that also. What is nice about it is the lack of obvious combat encounters and focus instead on (diegetic) puzzles and social encounters, making for a very different playthrough than even the starting-adventure provided in the dolmenwood campaign book—the pipes on droomen knoll—which has several very hostile encounters. 

The exploration of the barrow seemed to me to be very engaging experience, with many things for the players to find and interact with. My previous musings on having higher level characters was again not an issue here, since the lack of combat encounters meant that they couldn't really bring many numerical advantages to bear. When this did become a factor (as in the battle with the knights), it was still a near-run thing as the knights were even more powerful and numerous than the party. Throwing the Cold Prince himself into the scenario was certainly fun and felt like a natural response to the characters mentioning having just come from the mortal world far too openly. 

As this is most likely the end of this mini-campaign, I'm left with several open-ended thread I could potentially use in a future campaign in Dolmenwood. The development of the portal in the barrow could prove to be the core of a mystery where the players are tasked with investigating several sightings of strange blue elves in the eaves of the forest. Although with my semi-recent Hill Cantons campaign ending with a big showdown with a bunch of cold-themed elves I'd perhaps choose some other part of the dolmenwood to focus on. 

Dolmenwood - Session 02

The adventures in Dolmenwood continues this week with the PCs making their first attempts at exploring the forest proper. As always below is a short recap of the events of the session with some of my thoughts at the end, enjoy!

Characters

• Modestus Ursus - Level 3 Human Cleric
• Moggy "Mog" Cottonsocks - Level 2 Grimalkin Fighter
• Pansy Strongboned - Level 2 Human Fighter

Followers

• Agnel Dregger - Level 1 Magician

Action Report

The party awake and realize that Mog had been imprisoned the previous night. As such party make the decision to sell off the magical chalice—a potion of accelerate time—they found at Droomen Knoll. Using the funds of the sale Mog's ransom is paid and the Grimalkin is released from prison. 

Preparations are made thereafter for an expedition to the standing stones seen in the vision from last session. One of the magicians of the Shadow House—a woman named Agnel—is assigned to guide them to and help explore the strange stones. The party also stock up on supplies and purchase a couple horses, a charger named Buster and a yellow-flank named Roxy. 

The party set out northwards hoping to avoid as much attention as possible by traveling through a less trodden part of the wood. As they reach the eaves of the forest they spot a couple of dark-clad figures searching through the nearby underbrush. The group conclude the two to be members of the secretive sect known as the Drune. The group also spot a familiar figure with white thistle-like hair and ice-blue skin hiding nearby—the elf Thinwhistle—that the party had encountered at Droomen Knoll. 

The party learn from the elf that the Drune are looking for him thinking that he is some sort of spy. Wowing to help the group the next they meet him, the party help Thinwhistle escape by distracting the Drune with conversation. Things nearly turn heated but the group are ultimately only left with a warning to tread carefully within the woods beyond. 

Heading into the boggy woods beyond, the party come upon a group of goblins playing a game of "toss the baby". Intervening the characters decide to pay off the goblins to return the infant to where they found it. A bit of haggling ensues but eventually the goblins take the characters back into the Tithelands where the child is returned in exchange for 70gp and a promise that the goblins won't kidnap any more children. Before they part ways pansy purchases some fairy fruits from the goblins. The fruit is delectable but leaves Pansy with a palpable longing to visit fairy and sample more of the wondrous fruits. 

As the day begins to come to a close the group reach a strange glen with an ominous aura about it. Mog and Agnel both feel a strange feeling as if the space about them is somehow broken. Nonetheless the glade is dry and as such the party decide to make camp. After pitching their tent and fetching whatever firewood they can find the party decide to take a rest for the night. 

Trudging through the boggy eaves of Dolmenwood

GM Thoughts

In a sense this session was perhaps more of an introduction to Dolmenwood than the first as this session the players interacted with more of the systems of play different from standard B/X. In practice i found the systems around camping a lot more lightweight than i expected them to be. 

Releasing Mog from prison was quite easy, as was expected. Since the party had plundered a lot of valuables last session I had no doubts they would have the funds required for the release. If the party had not been as rich I would probably not had sprung such a punitive consequence on them. 

Having a magician follower in the party now acts as both some extra firepower and a good reminder that the shadow house has a stake in this adventure. It also serves as a good way for me as a GM to provide contextual exposition should it be needed, with the added bonus of it being in character. 

Finally I would like to commend the encounter tables in the Dolmenwood Monster Book, both the encounters this session were suggestions from the book. The encounter with the Drune and Thinwhistle in particular was great as it provided the group with some continuation from their previous adventure. This is certainly not the last the party has seen of the elf. The Drune are also probably going to appear again soon, and if so they will probably not be as forgiving as they were this session... 

Dolmenwood - Session 01

A quick little report of the fist session of my new Dolmenwood campaign played online via discord and Roll20. The house rules for the campaign can be found here. Included below are a complete action report and some GM thoughts, happy reading!

Characters

• Modestus Ursus - Level 1 Human Cleric
• Moggy "Mog" Cottonsocks - Level 1 Grimalkin Fighter
• Pansy Strongboned - Level 1 Human Fighter

Action Report

Modestus Ursus, cleric of the one true god and general do-gooder; Moggy "Mog" Cottonsocks, grimalkin stuck in the mortal world; and Pansy Strongboned, disgraced noble turned outlaw; all meet on the road looking for work.  

Traveling on their way to the city of Castle Brackenwold the group are accosted by a family of farmers asking for assistance in helping locate their missing son Arda. The youth is tracked to a long abandoned keep known as Droomen Knoll, from which an enchanting melody can be heard. 

As the group approach, the sounds of revelry mix with the music as a group of wicked crookhorns make merry in the old courtyard. Taking out a sentry with a critical shot, the group surprise and nearly slaughter the crookhorns as only one of them manages to flee into the old dungeons below. 

Following the crookhorn the group take out a mutated rooster acting as a sentry. They then square off against the leader of the corrupted breggle. Even though he is a formidable opponent he is no match against three skilled warriors. 

Finding both treasure and the captive youth the group decide to keep exploring the dungeons. They find a strange imprisoned elf matching a mural in a nearby room. The elf introduces himself as Thinwistle, he is the one who has been playing the enchanting music that attracted Arda to the keep. The party take pity and release him as he runs laughing into the night. 

Clearing the dungeon the group pilfer the corpse of dead drune cottager and find a strange frozen pool through a secret door. Although Pansy takes some damage from the extreme cold, she manages to retrieve a chalice from the bottom of the pool. 

After returning Arda to his family the group are given shelter for the night, receiving a modest reward for their help in the morning. The day is uneventful as the group travel through the Tithelands, eventually arriving in the great city of Castle Brackenwold. 

The group make a stop at the magicians of the Shadow House who offer to identify the chalice for a fee. In addition group are offered the location of some standing stones seen in a vision—something which happened when the group touched a crystal carried by the dead drune—in return for the magicians receiving a cut of any magic items found there. 

As the identification will take a day, the group then spend some time selling off their other treasures and getting cured from any diseases contracted from the crookhorns. As Mog spends the night carousing she finds herself accidentally offending some noble, who then sees to it that the grimalkin is thrown in prison on trumped up charges. Mog is given a 1,000 gp debt to work off before she can be released. The rest of the group is left scratching their heads for how to best release their new acquaintance... 

A tower on a hill in a deep dark wood... 

GM Thoughts

If there's anything to be learned from this session it's that party composition matters! Having two fighters and a cleric combined with some really good rolls—Pansy rolled three whole critical hits this session—made the encounters nearly trivial for the PCs to overcome with violence. 

I did not realize how much treasure was actually in this supposed starter adventure. Since the party found pretty much all of it they all reached at least second level once they arrived in Castle Brackenwold. Ursus especially has an eighteen wisdom and so receives 20% extra experience! 

Combined with his bonus spells and praying at the cathedral of St. Signis (which also happens to be his new order of choice), Ursus will start the second session with access to three 1st rank and two 2nd rank spells. It should also be mentioned that Pansy has a mighty 20 hit points at second level due to rolling the maximum possible when leveling up. I take this all as a feature rather than a bug, as it just means I can throw scarier stuff at the party earlier.

All in all I'm really happy to take the dive into Dolmenwood. I've been a fan since the Wormskin days, and so finally getting to see it in play will certainly be a joy.