DIY 30 #5: Slaves of the Star Beasts

(This post was written several months ago concerning a development in my Greyhame Game in which Star Beasts were descending to terrorize the land; the trouble has since been dealt with, but I haven't written about my Greyhame Game here for a while because the number of games--two per week--got to be too many ... anyway, I'm posting it as DIY 30 to save a bit of time!)

My players ignored the descent of the Black Ships of the Star Monsters three times (session 30, 31, and 32 of the Greyhame Game, none of which really appear on this blog), other than to send hirelings off-screen to aid with the defense (and/or to die, killed by bizarre star-things). In a kind of Blackmoorian fit, they continued to delve into the dungeon, ignoring the crisis in the realm of men, and so a great number of the people of Brakeridge and its nearby towns have now been captured and carried away to the stars as slaves of inhuman monsters ... Well, such is player agency! I figured I'd post this, now that the Star Thing has generally been settled, and there's little chance of encountering them again for some time.

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The Star Beasts are re-worked Moon Beasts from Pathfinder and from Matt Finch's Swords & Wizardry version of them in the Cyclopean Deeps and its sequel. Likewise their associates, the Denizens of Leng ...

They dwell as parasites on the vast Star-Things that carry the Star Elves here and there across the cosmos, following Solar Winds and Star Seeds, and whatever else may be "Out There". In the way that humans and cats dwell one by another, neither quite subduing the other, never quite communicating, yet nevertheless associated, so the Star Beasts and the Star Elves dwell ... and which is which in the terrestrial analogy??

Regardless, where the Star Elves are content to travel and Sing among the Stars, the Star Beasts descend and take slaves wherever they may, and sell them on the next terrestrial or jovian world, OR across dimensions in some other Place unknown to the ken of those not well versed in the secrets of the universe ...

These Star Beasts descend in Black Ships, preceded by a silvery mist, upon which their black shape may be seen against the starry night; then their slave-contingents and their crew of Beasts and Leng-Denizens descend to round up the next batch of slaves ...

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Each Black Ship of the Star Beasts carries 1-3 contingents of slaves (d20 roll for each contingent):

1
18 P'wek, tripedal and three-armed creatures from a distant world. They each wield 2 spears with wickedly barbed blades (1-6 damage) and carry a shield; they advance with the shield in front and thrust over it with their spears.
AC 4 / HD 2+2 / THAC0 17 / MV 120' / ATK 1-6/1-6 / Save as Fighter 2 (SF2) / M 8

2
20 Tachii, reptillian creatures with finned heads and without tails. Once per day they can spit up to 10', and the target must save v. breath weapons or be blinded (-4 to attack, +4 to AC) for 1-3 rounds.
AC 6 / HD 1* / THAC0 19 / MV 180' / ATK 1-6 / S F1 / M 7

3
24 Klackons, insectoids with armored carapaces like plate armor and armed with spears. They need never check morale, as they are united in purpose by shared pheromones and consider any individual's life worth only what it offers to the greater good.
AC 3 / HD 1 / THAC0 19 / MV 120' / ATK 1-6 / S F1 / M 12
(source: Master of Orion and Master of Magic games)

4
24 Humans, from another world, pallid and miserable. They speak no known tongue. Four of them are armed with laser wands, which when directed against someone, force the target to save v. death rays or take 2-12 damage, half of which is radiation damage.
AC 7 / HD 1-6 hp / THAC0 20 / MV 120' / ATK 1-6 / S Normal Man / M 6 (8 with leader)

5
24 Sectoids, small humanoids with grey skin, bulbous heads, no nose, and large black eyes. They are armed with light crossbows (1-6 damage); 2 are psionic, and 1/day may mind control (as charm person) or cause panic (as cause fear), and may use ESP within 60' at will.
AC 8 / HD 1-1 / THAC0 20 / MV 120' / ATK 1-6 or psionics / S NM / M 6 (8 with leader)
(source: X-Com games)

6
18 Mutant Humans, taken from a Tomb World from across the stars. 6 have useful mutations (d12): (1) spit acid 20', 2-12 damage (save v. breath for half); (2) third arm, gain second attack; (3) acid blood, causes 1-3 damage to opponent when struck in melee; (4) immune to fire, even fireball-type sells; (5) poisonous bite, 1-3 damage and save v. poison or die in 1 turn; (6) horned skin, AC 5; (7) defensive vomit 1/day, all within melee save v. poison or at -2 to attack for the rest of the melee; (8) psionic, may use ESP 30' at will; (9) third eye, able to see invisible; (10) redundant organs, take only half damage from all attacks; (11) stinking sweat, all in melee save v. poison or nauseated and at -2 to hit and damage; (12) super-chameleonic skin, able to become invisible at will
AC 7 / HD 1 / THAC0 19 / MV 120' / ATK 1-6 / S F1 / M 8

7
8 Kzinti, ferocious bipedal cat-men with naked rat-tails, ears like naked bat-wings, and who only speak the Heroes' Tongue. Each is armed with a wtsai short sword with which he can deal 3-8 damage, in addition to a claw and a bite attack.
AC 6 / HD 3+3 / THAC0 16 / MV 210' / ATK 3-8(wtsai)/2-5(claw)/2-7(bite) / S F4 / M 10
(source: Larry Niven's Known Space stories)

8
24 Alkari, bird/pterasaur men from a low-gravity world. Because of their keen eyesight, they are at +2 to hit with their light crossbows (1-6 damage). They cannot fly in normal gravity.
AC 7 / HD 1-1 / THAC0 18 (ranged) / MV 180' / ATK 1-6 / S NM / M 8
(source: Master of Orion games)

9
12 Synths, synthetic humanoids that are immune to charm person, sleep, illusions, poison, or cold (and maybe some other effects, appropriate to androids). They strike with their fists, each dealing 1-6 damage.
AC 5 / HD 2+2 / THAC0 17 / MV 180' / ATK 1-6/1-6 / S F3 / M 10

10
18 Kuo-Toa, amphibious fish-men ancient enough to evolve in parallel on other worlds. They suffer a -1 "to hit" in direct sunlight, but due to their slippery skin, they are only grappled or affected by a web 25% of the time.
AC 4 / HD 2 / THAC0 18 / MV 90' / ATK 1-6 / S F2 / M 9

11
18 Slug Men, disgusting and slimy slugs with arms that leave trails of slime wherever they go. They have a decent armor class because of the secretions from their skin, and take only half damage from blunt or piercing weapons because of their rubbery make-up.
AC 5 / HD 2 / THAC0 18 / MV 90' / ATK 1-6 / S F2 / M 8

12
8 Green Men of Mars, genetically modified for normal gravity--so, 10' tall and with four arms. They disdain shields, but may fight with up to 4 weapons or 2 two-handed weapons (or 2 normal and 1 two-handed).
AC 7 / HD 3+3 / THAC0 16 / MV 120' / ATK (by weapon) 1-6/1-6/1-6/1-6 / S F3 / M 9
(source: Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom stories)

13
18 Hlaka, grey-furred creatures with 2 leathery wings and 3 eyes on their flattish face. They have a tail with a poison sting (save v. poison or die in 1 turn), and may attack with it (2-in-6 chance) or their weapons (4-in-6).
AC 5 / HD 2 / THAC0 18 / MV 150'/fly 300' / ATK 1-6 or 1-4 plus poison / S F2 / M 6
(source: MAR Barker's Empire of the Petal Throne RPG; same for entries 14, 15, and 16)

14
12 Hlyss, vaguely insectoid creatures with 4 segmented legs, 2 arms, and a chitinous exoskeleton. They have a tail that stings (save v. paralysis or paralyzed for 1 turn). They may attack with both their weapon and sting in the same round.
AC 4 / HD 2 / THAC0 18 / MV 90' / ATK 1-6/paralysis / S F2 / M 9

15
18 Pe Choi, creatures vaguely like man-sized walking sticks with black chitin that provides an armor class like plate+shield. Their broad senses of hearing and vision (which extends beyond the spectrum humans can sense) allows them to see invisible within 200' with a 60% success rate. Furthermore, they are surprised only on a 1 in 10 chance because of their natural ESP.
AC 2 / HD 1+3* / THAC0 18 / MV 120' / ATK 1-6 / S MU2 / M 8

16
12 Shen, black-scaled, dragon-like humanoids with beak-like snouts and glittering crests along their skulls. Their tails have a knobbed, bony appendage with which they strike on a 2-in-6 chance, while they have a 4-in-6 chance of striking with their weapon.
AC 2 / HD 3 / THAC0 17 / MV 90' / ATK 1-6 weapon or 1-4 tail / S F3 / M 9

17
8 Mutons, buff humanoids skinned with green cybernetic and nano-reactive armor. Their muscles are similarly enhanced, and their organs are doubled in order to be redundant, and they take only half damage from any physical attack (even magic weapons). But for all that, they have no mind to themselves and are extra susceptible to mind-influencing effects, saving at -4 vs. charm person, suggestion, illusions, etc.
AC 3 / HD 4+1* / THAC0 15 / MV 210' / ATK 2-7 / S F5 / M 11
(X-Com)

18
12 Silicoids, creatures whose structure is silicon-based. They are essentially rock-men; their outer hides are tougher than plate armor, they are immune to poisons, and any type of fire-damage heals them for a number of hit points equal to the damage that would have been dealt (by a fireball, for instance). And yet, their silicon nature makes them slow so that they automatically lose initiative ...
AC 1 / HD 3+3 / THAC0 16 / MV 30' / ATK 1-8 / S Dwarf 5 / M 9
(Master of Orion games)

19
8 Tentaculats, otherworldly things which resemble nothing so much as brains with a single beak, held up by a fringe of a dozen tentacles. They float through the air rather than supporting themselves upright, and may attack with 4 tentacles, each of which forces a save against paralysis or the target is paralyzed 1-4 rounds, plus 1 bite attack for 1-8 damage.
AC 7 / HD 3 / THAC0 17 / MV 120' / ATK x4 paralysis/bite 1-8 / S MU3 / M 8
(X-Com 2: Terror from the Deep)

20
18 Taxxons, ever-hungry, sapient, centipede-beings. Their soft flesh is easy to cut, but their voracious mouths deal 1-4 damage and may bite twice, and if they strike with both bites, they may seize a character to deal 3-12 damage per round automatically until thrown off some how; moreover, given their hunger, their morale is almost unbreakable as they seek to devour the next creature (unless strongly commanded not to by their masters).
AC 8 / HD 2+2 / THAC0 17 / MV 180' / ATK 1-4/1-4 plus seize 3-12 / S F3 / M 11
(K. A. Applegate's Animorphs series)

Travelling in the Wilderness: 20 Wilderness Traps

There's no text to quote concerning this topic that I know off the top of my head.

I'm chewing on another means of running wilderness exploration than the venerable hexcrawl. Not like there couldn't be tricks and traps in a hex or in a traditional hexcrawl, but I've been thinking of "dungeonizing" the wilderness, if I can. We'll see what happens.

But I'm stumbling. The utter freedom of the wilderness is too much, and populating any area in my map is like, "Is this a grove of trees? A boulder field? A ridgeline? A cliff-face? An area with knucker-holes? etc. etc." So I'm paralyzed by possibility, and I wanted to try to focus myself with a table of discreet ideas. Ideas for traps at the moment. So here goes.

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20 Wilderness Traps (these are a little "conservative" in scope, but they're just the beginning of what could be out there ...)

1) Tree fall -- 1 in 6 chance that a dead tree falls on 1-3 randomly selected characters. They may save v. paralysis (or using DEX) or take 4-24 damage

2) Poison ivy -- or other rash-causing plant; characters moving through the area are automatically affected by an itching rash that incurs a penalty of -1 on "to hit", damage, and saving rolls because of discomfort for 2-7 days. Characters looking out for the plants are only affected on a 2 in 6 chance.

3) Stonefish -- or other venomous animal, e.g. vipers or scorpions; characters moving through the area have a 2 in 6 chance of being stung. Those stung must make a save v. death/poison (or CON) or die in 1-3 days.

4) Rock fall -- like a tree fall, except it happens where boulder are and causes 5-30 damage. Sorry for the overlap

5) Glue-resin -- characters moving through the area have a 3 in 6 chance of contacting glue-like resin and being thus bound to the resin-tree. The resin binds quickly, but may be loosed by liberal application of alcohol ... otherwise, the character remains bound to the resin for 1-3 days and wandering monster checks ensue ... (strength based options to remove them are of course optional)

6) Strangle-bracken -- the bracken in the area reacts to movement through it by tightening; characters moving through the area must make a save v. paralysis or be stuck. One day without movement is required before the bracken "relaxes" enough to allow a character to struggle back out the way they entered (or to the nearest clearing).

7) Loose scree -- characters in leather or lighter armor may move nimbly enough not to fall, but those in metal armor (scale, mail, splint, banded, or plate) who move over scree have a 2 in 6 chance of falling 20 to 120 feet (1-6 damage per 10 feet fallen).

8) Razorgrass -- characters moving through the area without any armor take 1-6 damage per mile traveled. Those in armor are allowed a save against paralysis, +0 for leather, +1 for mail, +3 for plate armor, those who fail take damage as if unarmored, those who succeed take no damage.

9) Sandflies (diseased) -- the biting insects in the area carry a disease. Unless some means of repellent is used, characters passing through must save v. poison or contract a disease. If no other specific disease is used, it will cause -1 CON and 1-6 fewer hit points until cured.

10) Tick-nest -- the foliage in this area is thick with ticks. Characters who pass through have a 2 in 6 chance of getting bitten by ticks, which causes -1 CON and 1-4 fewer hit points until dealt with. Furthermore, 1 in 20 ticks are diseased and the character must save v. poison or contract a disease that will be fatal in 1-6 weeks.

11) Geyserhole -- entering the superheated water causes 4-32 damage, but who would do that? More importantly, there is a 1 in 6 chance that the geyser "goes off" and causes 2-16 damage to all those nearby.

12) Sleep-river -- like the stream in Mirkwood, the water of this river causes a magical sleep to all who touch it

13) Black-water -- worse than the stream in Mirkwood, the water of this river is rife with negative energy; all who touch it are drained of one life-energy level per round of contact with the water. Those who are reduced to 0 levels are killed and rise as hostile wraiths in 1-4 rounds thereafter. Such wraiths must remain within 1 mile of the body whence they sprang, so if borne downriver, downriver the wraith must go ...

14) Labyrinth-root -- a particularly pernicious kind of tree with excessive root-systems that magicall compel people who come across them to trace them like a labyrinth, save v. spell to resist; the labyrinth will take 1-3 days to complete, incurring wandering monster checks as usual (though non-flyers might also become caught in the magical labyrinth?)

15) Drawstone -- a kind of super-powerful magnetic rock formation; metal-armored characters that pass too close (1 chance in 6 when passing through its area) cannot move farther away; those who fail a save v. paralysis must move closer. Shedding armor takes enough time to allow a wandering monster check

16) Corpseflower -- flowers that smell like rotting flesh and always draw the attention of monsters that would eat such. Passing through the area incurs an extra wandering monster check; coming into contact with the flowers (3 in 6 chance unless explicitly avoiding them) continues to draw one extra monster check per day for 1-4 days

17) Hotspring slime -- it's a green or grey slime, but bigger; OR a brown mold colony that makes the hot spring just a spring, but touching the mold causes the normal 4-32 cold damage

18) Social insect colony -- stepping into an underground wasp colony is a nightmare of mine, and the characters just did it! Save v. poison or take 3-18 damage from the stinging insects, save at +1 in leather armor, +2 in mail, or +4 in plate. There are 1-3 swarms; they might pursue for a bit if the reaction roll is particularly bad, but only do 1-6 damage after that first round

19) Yellow mold (always a favorite) -- it's a wild yellow mold colony; 50% chance that the characters nearest it save v. death or die in 6 rounds as they choke to death on the spores. Outdoors, these colonies could get huge

20) Wormrose -- wildflowers with a magical worm that dwells within them; 3 in 6 chance that a character comes into contact with one if wormrose is in the area, and such a character must save v. breath weapon or fall into a coma for 1-4 days and be a hassle for their party to haul around unconscious ... it's difficult to harvest wormrose, but many magic-users, sages, etc. will pay a good price for intact flowers with the worms inside if they can be brought back safely ...

Jungles of Chult -- Around the Head of the River Tiryki

In the first session of Tomb of Annihilation, the players decided that they would journey up the River Tiryki, which they can see entire on their copy of the hex map (much of central Chult are just blank hexes to be explored, but the Tiryki is "known territory"). They made this decision in large part because they hired two Tabaxi, River Mist and Flask of Wine, as their jungle guides, and the two mentioned that they knew directly of at least two sites near the head of the Tiryki--Firefinger and Dungrunglung. (the characters had otherwise been interested in seeking Camp Righteous and Camp Vengeance, up the River Soshenstar)

The Tiryki is the central of the three northern rivers

As a couple other reviews of ToA (at Dungeon of Signs and Against the Wicked City) make clear, the hex map of Chult is actually a kind of howling emptiness of hundreds of miles (dozens of days) of random encounters, interspersed with a sprinkling of interesting adventure locations. My intent is to create content for all those empty hexes--and because my players are headed up the Tiryki, I'll start with locations around its head.

The information is that which is known well enough locally in Nyzanzaru that rumors could be picked up just by mentioning the Tiryki, or is information directly from River Mist and Flask of Wine.

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the Pilgrims' Guide
There is a statue on the bank of the river, a great idol like a stern king, River Wind says. That is when we know we are halfway up the River Tiryki. He is a stern king, but he points to the east directing pilgrims on their way to the City of Mists. Sometimes they leave offerings at his altar, but I do not touch them because he is a god.

There are other altars too, Flask of Wine adds. There are too many gods in these jungles.


Sailback Hill
There is an outcropping in a swamp shaped like a sailback, according to River Wind. We only saw it from afar, because it stands in a swamp, and we did not wish to wade there. But I think I saw a face at the hill's base, a gaping jaw with big fangs. There were many storks in that swamp, and I did not like the way their eyes looked at us.

The mouth is a cave, Flask of Wine says, but says no more.

A sailback, i.e. dimetrodon

Firefinger
It is a pinnacle topped with fire! River Wind explains. It lies on the right bank of the Tiryki--a finger pointed at the sky, with a pyre burning brightly, day and night, at its top. The dead lie thick around it--all those taken up by the pterafolk, and then thrown down from the top. We have climbed, Flask and I, and found a cave inside the finger--but we have gone no higher. Just the two of us, what would we do against the many pterafolk that nest at its top?

Flask of Wine only nods agreement.


Ataaz Ahiya ("the Weeping Gorge")
The head of the River Tiryki is in a gorge (other gorges are also named with "Ataaz" in Chult, so I assume that's what it means), approximately 25 miles long north to south, and ten miles wide east to west. Smaller tributaries to the Tiryki pour in around the gorge, either as high waterfalls cascading down cliff faces, or as narrower streams that have cut their way down through the surrounding highland. Many tribes of pterafolk roost in the heights of the cliffs around the gorge, ruled by an ogiso or king.

The face of Olokuna is said to have been carved into the southern cliff-face, with waterfalls pouring from its eyes, and a mouth that opens into a deep cavern and shrine. Olokuna is an androgynous water god, possessed of both male and female features, and idols to it often include both an erect phallus and a maze-like vulva.

Yes, yes, River Wind says, we have seen the face of the goddess. She weeps because she is forgotten by all but the monkeys who dwell in her mouth. I too would weep if stinking apes were in my mouth. Her servants, the lobster-men, peer with cold eyes from the waters beneath her shrine.

He weeps because he has waterfall eyes, Flask of Wine adds. There is gold and gems in his mouth, but the baboons are too many.


Dungrunglung
Dungrunglung is the greatest shrine of the grungs--the frog men, you know, River Wind says. We have looked on it only from afar, because it lies in the midst of a wide swamp, and it is closely surrounded by a hedge of thorns. The head of the shrine towers over the hedge like an evil frog, grinning at the swamp, and all the while the croaking of the frogs and the frog-men is sounding around you. It is southwest of the Weeping Gorge perhaps twenty miles--who knows? It is difficult to judge distance in the jungle.

And it is filled with treasures, I am sure of it, Flask of Wine mutters, almost to himself. Riches to make a man wealthy.

I might end up calling them grippli or bullywugs,
we'll see ...

City of the Faceless Men
Somewhere in the jungles south of the Ataaz Ahiya lies an ancient and ruined city, its name forgotten and only its curse remembered in tales and old epics. It was a city of the Eshowe, perhaps, before their slaughter; or a city of Omuans, cursed by God for the pride of their ways. Regardless of the origin a curse lies over the city--all those who enter are damned to contract a horrifying disease that slowly eats the flesh of the face until only a gaping hole remains where once were mouth, nose, and eyes. The legends vary about what lies within its cursed grounds--treasures untold, or only old broken stones? But one thing that is certain is that a tribe of cursed men live among the ruins (or eke out an undead existence)--the Faceless Men, the Mask-Wearers ... in every tale, they are said to haunt the ruins, perhaps as cannibals, perhaps as undead horrors, but always wearing masks to cover the horror of their hollow faces.

It is there, River Wind says, and her ears lower, and her eyes narrow. It is an evil place. I have forgotten the way, but I have seen the obelisks that mark its boundaries. They tell its curse, because the men there have no mouths behind their masks. I will not go back. She shakes her head after saying this, going to bathe in the river, and will not talk about the City any more after that.

I remember the way, Flask of Wine murmurs. There must be something there.

Encounters in Chult -- Non-Monster Encounters

In Tomb of Annihilation, "While characters are exploring or camping in the wilderness, roll a d20 three times per day of game time, checking for encounters each morning, afternoon, and evening or night. An encounter occurs on a roll of 16 or higher." (Tomb of Annihilation, pg. 193)

On the result of an encounter (16-20), one is then directed to roll percentile dice on the "Wilderness Encounters" table on the next pages (194-5), which includes columns for different terrain types, including Beach, several types of Jungle, Mountains, Rivers, Ruins, Swamp, and Wasteland. These different terrains have different values for the various creatures that haunt Chult and its environs--but almost every entry is a creature of some kind, implying combat (6 out of 90 entries are with non-creatures, while at least half a dozen more are with neutral or friendly NPCs).

There follows a description of each encounter in pages 196-203, of the number of creatures or the nature of the non-creature thing found. These are generally good entries, though I find it irritating how many of them coyly resolve into non-encounters if the players don't provoke the creatures, e.g. of the dinosaurs, the Ankylosaurus, Brontosaurus, Hadrosaurus, Pteranodon, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops all ignore the characters unless attacked, touched, or bothered. And these aren't the only entries like that. Which is to say, if I roll an 18 on my d20 and then a triceratops encounter, inform the players, and then they walk away, nothing happens ... over the course of hundreds of hexes of travel this will become dozens of dice rolls to nothing, sapping my time and my players' interest.

All of which is a longwinded way of saying, these wilderness encounters need sprucing up!

First, because it seems to me that travel should involve a variety of mishaps/encounters not necessarily all of which involve creatures, I'd like to rewrite a table of non-monster wilderness occurrences that I use for wilderness travel in my homebrew game. (other blog-entries may include creating more specific wilderness terrains and resulting encounter tables, and/or nesting the results on the ToA tables with greater random variety)

"I hope we don't run into any mouth dragons out here ..."

So, per the rules, per day that the characters spend in the wilderness, roll three d20s. A result of a 16-20 indicates an encounter; the first and last such rolls indicate an encounter on the "Wilderness Encounters" table from the book, but the second/middle roll indicates a further roll on this table:

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Non-Monster Wilderness Encounters

1-3 -- Bad weather -- half movement for the next 1-6 days

4-5 -- Lamed mule/Sprained ankle -- cannot move forward until the injury is healed, either by magic or by 1-3 days of rest

6-7 -- Spoiled rations -- 1-2 weeks of rations are spoiled by mold, maggots, etc.

8 -- Lost supplies -- the party loses ... 1) 50' rope, 2) 100-600 gp, 3) 1 week of rations,
4) tinderbox, 5) lantern and 1-4 flasks of oil OR 2-12 torches, 6) 50' rope and roll again ((or one useful item at random))

9-10 -- Heatstroke -- a character at random is incapacitated and cannot act until they take a full day of rest

11-12 -- Wrong turn -- not lost per se, but no movement for the day as all "progress" must be retraced back in the proper direction

13 -- Venomous bite -- a character at random must save against poison or using CON, or die; neutralize poison or other such spells would naturally be handy in such a situation

14 -- Diseased bite -- a character at random must save against poison or using CON, or become infected with a debilitating disease; the character loses 1 STR per day of travel, and a week of full rest is required to overcome the disease; during the "crisis" another save v. poison or with CON is required, and failure indicates that 1 point of CON is permanently lost

15-16 -- Good foraging/hunting -- no rations are needed for the day due to plentiful game/forage

17-18 -- Bad water -- 1-3 characters must save against poison or using CON, or contract a debilitating disease per (14)

19-20 -- Physical Barrier -- the party has hiked into a box canyon, cul de sac, bog, mire, etc. etc., and must backtrack; no movement unless a thief with ropes climbs a way through, or a druid demonstrates a path, or some other rule or narrative is invoked by the player characters to pass through

Jungles of Chult Session 1

I started a new in-person game of 5e D&D with my friends this last Saturday, 13 January, in which I will run WotC's Tomb of Annihilation (2017) approximately every other Saturday, while my friend continues running his dungeon on the "off" weekends. So why not title this post "Tomb of Annihilation"? Because I decided to de-emphasize the Tomb's centrality to the game, and focus rather on the jungle hexcrawl--because that part of the book hooked my interest, while not so much the eponymous tomb.

Because there are only three players, I allowed each to create two characters, and further requested that half the characters be rolled according to +Anders H's "Into the Unknown" a B/X hack of 5e so that we can help playtest the rules (and also because I'm probably just going to run the game like B/X anyway, so it's nice to have a ruleset that backs me up on it). I'd already informed everyone that I'd be changing the XP tables, so they were down with "Into the Unknown" characters too ...


so, our intrepid adventurers:
Sound of Distant Rain (cat-man rogue)
Terahn Atzi (human priest)
Nigiri (lizardman monk)
Takashi Akaga (human magic-user and gourmand)
Nebin (halfling barbarian)
Chiratidzo (human druid)


We started in Port Nyzanzaru somewhat "fresh off the boat" (Chira and Terahn are both Chultan natives, but not well-traveled), and I dropped an info dump on everyone to introduce the game: Chult is a land where death is permanent, regardless of magic--not even a wish spell can revive a slain character within the bounds of Chult. This has been the case for several generations now, and those who were rich enough and unwilling to live in a land where death was permanent left for other shores when the "death curse" first fell upon the land, but people have been living their lives normally since. No one knows whence this curse has come, but it has lain over the land for some time. (those who are familiar with the adventure will note that I significantly altered the facts here, to de-emphasize the curse as a worldwide "time bomb" and allow more emphasis on hexcrawling)

I also outlined the history of Chult and the war between the city of Mezro and the Eshowe, the rise of Ras Nsi as a lord of undead, and the fact that a dragon turtle called Aremag extorts treasure from ships passing in and out of the Bay of Chult.

And so what were our characters interested in doing? They looked over the hex map I gave them, wondering at all the empty hexes they could explore--but their chief priority was, as players of D&D, to secure some quick money before committing to anything major.

Using his "highborn" background, Terahn secured an audience with one of the local merchant-lords, one Jessamine, who was rumored to be interested in buying certain flora from the jungle. Jessamine appeared in the courtyard of her villa silently in the midst of the characters, and then proceeded to answer their questions about valuable flora by pointing out that senda berries and wildroot are both particularly valuable to her, and there are a few other rare plants that she would pay for.

The party was glad to know this ... hearing that another merchant-lord, one Jobal, was an outfitter maintaining a stable of jungle guides, they next sought him out and managed to secure an audience with him as well. His villa was filled with trophies of the animals he had hunted and killed, and he immediately hit it off with Chira, not only because Chira was guzzling the proffered palm wine, but also because Chira is a druid and a man of the wilderness. After a few stories about the animals killed (including a "mouth dragon"), Jobal turned to business and counted off a number of guides whose services he could recommend (including a tabaxi pair he is not supposed to recommend--typo number one!--I corrected it later)--but when the party revealed that they did not have the requisite funds for 5 gp/day, 30 day upfront payment (150 gp), the wine stopped flowing. "Come back when you have some coin!" Jobal told them as he sent them out (though not unkindly).

A mouth-dragon pursuing a shield-head

Now especially in need of funds, the party asked around for quick money and heard that the Flaming Fist regularly supplies Fort Beluarian, a Flaming Fist encampment on the peninsula northwest of Nyanzaru. Rowed galleys carry the supplies across the Bay of Chult to the Fort, and then carry ingots from the mines above the Fort back to Nyanzaru, and the galleys require both rowers and guards/porters out and back. Odo, quartermaster of the Flaming Fist in Nyanzaru, was approached by Sound of Distant Rain, and offered him and his associates 3 gp/day to act as guards and porters on the next galley.

The galley set out the next dawn; because it wasn't leaving/entering the Bay, it would not be subject to the extortions of Aremag. The first leg of the trip was a short jaunt to a camp on a peninsula halfway between Nyanzaru and the beachhead below Beluarian; on the second day the galley arrived at the beachhead and the supplies were offloaded from the ship; on the third day, the supplies were ported up a path to the Fort itself. The fourth day was slated as a day of rest, and then the last three days of the trip would mirror the first three.

The only encounter seen by the characters on the way out was a flock of scintillating snakes flying through the trees near the beach on the first day.

At Fort Beluarian, after all the porting was done, the characters could rest; Sound elected to gamble with the soldiers of the Flaming Fist (against regulations, but under the noses of their superiors) and won 20 gp after staking a mere 10 gp to start. Nigiri, meanwhile (the lizardman) went forth from the fort and hunted down some local iguanas, herbs, etc., and in-fort cooked up a mouthwatering meal that gathered a number of Flaming Fist soldiers to ask for a portion (they had to jockey with Takasha, the gourmand magic-user who follows Nigiri specifically for his lizardman-cooking).

Grilled iguanas ... yum!

The Flaming Fist soldiers then laid out chests of iron and copper ingots stamped with the seal of the Fist, all of which were ported back down to the beachhead and loaded onto the ship; and then the galley set out back for Nyanzaru the next dawn.

On the first day to the halfway peninsula, the ship was buzzed by a flock of pteranodons which ultimately left the galley alone; then later in the day, a band of aarakocra (bird-men) appeared over the galley. These aarakocra were invited down by the characters, and relayed to the party that an injured comrade of theirs was on a beach nearby, having been wounded in a scuffle with lizardmen. The characters arranged for the aarakocra to carry their companion to the ship, there to be healed by a use of cure light wounds; and when this aarakocra was healed by Terahn, she told the players that her name was Skir of the Kaaraa Eyrie, and she presented Terahn with her javelin and one of her pinion feathers as tokens of friendship.

Then, on the third day, early in the morning on the beach, the characters were awakened by one of the ship's rowers, one Osuware. "Quickly!" he whispered, pointing to the treeline and to a flock of iridescent snakes basking in the morning sun in the trees. "Let us take the serpents, and we can sell them back in Nyanzaru!" Most of the party followed; they watched Osuware stuff a serpent into a sack, and then Takasha cast sleep over the rest of the nine snakes; he then demanded that he receive two of the snakes for Nigiri to cook up for him, while the other eight can be sold, and the party reluctantly agreed.

So, back in town, Osuware guided the party to the villa of Ifan Tal'Roa, another merchant lord. This Ifan is a great seller of animals, beasts, etc. both as beasts of burden and as creatures bound for gladiatorial games, and he was glad to receive a party attempting to sell him flying snakes. He first offered 25 gp per snake, which Osuware was over-eager to take, and so Sound talked Ifan up to 30 gp per snake. Osuware was glad for it, and, being bad at math, agreed to take 40 gp while the party split the other 200. Ifan advised the party to look out for other beasts in the jungles that he would be glad to buy.

The party then returned to Jobal to get his take on jungle guides; and despite his excessive friendliness now that they were in some money, and despite his protestations not to seek out his former employees River Mist and Flask of Wine, a couple of tabaxi (cat-man) guides who had just broken with him, the party of course, sought out River and Flask. These two agreed to guide the party for a lesser sum of 4 gp/day, with no upfront payment (but they would be glad for a cut of treasure after the fact!). Moreover, they are familiar with the jungle around the River Tiryki, and with two landmarks, one Firefinger (a spire with a ptera-folk tribe) and the other Dungrunglung (a shrine-city of grung frog-men).

River Mist has the eyepatch; her brother is Flask of Wine

The party then needed to actually plan their first expedition into the jungles, and ultimately decided to abandon their first plan to seek Camp Righteous and Camp Vengeance on the River Soshenstar, and to follow their guides up the Tiryki River. They bought a rowboat (50 gp) and several weeks of rations, but were confident in their own ability to forage in the jungle for food (and they agreed beforehand to boil their water). Round trip, this expedition is expected to last something like 70 days, most of it the trip there and back, but with a week at the head of the river for in-depth exploration.

We got four days into this seventy day expedition before it was 1:20 am and we needed to break for the night. Each hex on the map is 10 miles across; the travel rules in Tomb of Annihilation indicate that a party can travel 10 miles in one day, but I find that completely ridiculous for jungle travel; being generous, I cut that in half to 5 miles per day (I would have cut it further, following accounts I've read of jungle travel, but I still want this to be a game ...). I was many beers in at this point, and so didn't roll for the party getting lost, but I did roll all of the encounters for each day--and as a further modification to the rules, I'm going to devise another table of my own for non-creature "encounters" to roll on once each day, following other tables I've written for other hexcrawls I've run.

Nothing happened on the first day ... on the second day, the party was ambushed by a party of Batiri (jungle-goblins) as they traveled along the banks of the Tiryki. The goblins charged from the bush, but were repulsed by a concerted effort, and when the "boss" was slain, the Batiri rolled poorly on morale, panicked, and ran back into the jungle. From the corpse of the "boss", the party took up a painted mask they think could be worth something back in town, and then they continued on their way south.

On the third day, the party came across a shield-head (or "ytepka" or "three-horns") grazing alone in a meadow not far from the banks of the river. River and Flask were enamored of it, trying to get the party to attack and subdue it so that they could lead it back to town to sell to Ifan Tal'Roa--then they could sell the beast to him for a tidy profit (and only a few days out!) and then restart their expedition with even higher funds. Alas, the party balked at attacking such a large creature, and merely walked around it. Later that day, they provoked a troop of baboons, which attacked them, but were easily driven off with another poor morale roll for the creatures ...

One ornate species of shield-head

And on the fourth day, the party encountered a pair of giant spiders, easily dispatched without even the need for a morale roll--and this is where we quit for the night, as it was nigh 2 am and we were semi-incoherent.

So like I said, these encounters need to be spiced up with some non-monster "wilderness encounters" that will vary things beyond mere roleplaying/combat encounters (also, need some roleplaying encounters anyway). The book recommends rolling three times per day; I was thinking of rolling twice on the book's encounter table, and once on my own table each day. Ultimately, this would alter the checks from 3 encounter checks per 10 miles to 4 monster encounter checks and 2 non-monster encounter checks per 10 miles, so I don't feel like it's too much.


The next Chult game will probably be in about two weeks; I'll be sprucing up the hexmap in the meantime and probably sharing ideas and additions here--I admit, I just can't run an adventure/module without tinkering with a fair amount.

Wilderness Encounters as Attrition 2

I received a comment on a recent post inquiring if I had fiddled with my rules for "wilderness attrition" at all, and whether I had anything further to write about them. The short answer heretofore was "no" because I have been using the rules as I wrote them for the last few sessions (and they've been pretty simple and effective so far, and people are starting to carry back-up items, which is one thing I envisioned for these rules ... thus necessitating a mule and porters ... mwahaha!)

The longer answer is, I do actually have an idea for making "wilderness attrition" a little better, I hope--"concreteness".

As written so far, and as used so far, I roll the encounter chance, elucidate the results and the number of damage dice for the party, and then come up with a lame reason for it afterward (especially when prompted by the player of Rendorsheeg the Elf). This is abstract; abstraction, of course, was the main purpose for creating these rules; yet nevertheless, D&D is so often about concreteness that it pains me to just kind of handwave why a week of rations, 12 arrows, a spear, and a shield were all lost. Generally I've been calling it skirmishes with goblins or orcs ... but what if I had said it was wolves, and a druid, say, replied by saying, "I want to cast speak with animals and talk them out of attacking us"?

Moreover, of the three dice I roll for every encounter/wandering monster check, on of them is not pulling much weight in these "attrition" rules, and I think "concreteness" could be a better use of its pips on the table.

Therefore:

When I roll for encounters, I roll 3d6, one black, one white, one red:
black -- encounter chance
white -- party surprise chance
red -- monster surprise chance

I ignore the red and white dice if black comes up nothing.

For attrition in the wilderness, rather than rolling up a full encounter on a positive result from the black die, I look to the other dice:
The white die determines "attrition dice" inversely to the number rolled on the die, e.g. 1 is 6d6, 2 is 5d6, 3 is 4d6, 4 is 3d6, etc.
Instead of an extra chance to "ignore" the encounter as I originally wrote, the red die can be used to determine "concretely" just what happened, thus:

1 - animal encounter -- a bear, a pack of wolves, a rutting moose, a baboon troupe, etc.

2 - men encounter -- a group of hunters, some brigands, some local ruffians

3 - humanoid encounter -- a skirmish with orcs, goblins, ogres, etc. per what I've generally said

4 - fey/unusual encounter -- undead perhaps, or faerie trees/briars that grasp at characters, etc.

5-6 - non-creature encounter -- a freak storm, a patch of poison ivy, a nest of young ticks, etc.

These are vague, and I think necessarily. As I said above, abstractness is the reason for these rules of attrition--what I get out of them is focusing on the dungeon while retaining some of the danger of the wilderness and travel through it. Attrition is a quick way to move through the consequences of the wilderness than having to describe an entire encounter with a band of orcs transporting prisoners, etc.

And yet, having a sense of what concretely the characters have encountered allows the players to respond to it with their skills, spells, etc in somewhat of the way that they would if presented with a full encounter. The best example I have is that if the referee rolls an "animal" encounter of six attrition dice, and the party includes a druid who responds by casting the spell speak with animals, the referee could allow the druid to just talk to the animals and avoid the encounter altogether, OR allow that spellcasting to replace one (or so) of the "usual" means of eliminating attrition dice (including the otherwise invulnerable sixth die, perhaps!).

Perhaps the party encounters "animals"--the referee declares them spiders
... and the halfling of the party uses his halfling abilities to sneak around
distracting the spiders with anti-arachnid slurs like, "Hey, atter-cop!"

Maybe an "unusual encounter" is undead, and the cleric can turn undead to eliminate an attrition die; or perhaps a group of men can be charmed or slept by a magic user to eliminate dice ... etc.

And of course, if the players just blithely accept the dice that you put forth, break their items, and move on, it's no skin off the referee's back. I just felt a strong need to have a way to clearly allow more player agency in response to the "attrition".

the Nightstalker

Before I publish the next Greyhame Dungeon play report, here's a monster recreated from one of my favorite games: the Nightstalker

Summoning a Nightstalker

A significant amount of my mental landscape when it comes to fantasy was laid by the old Microprose game Master of Magic (1994). Back in elementary school before I had any actual D&D rulebooks, I made up monsters according to their stats in Master of Magic; and though I may have ultimately switched rather completely to 3E in highschool, and now to B/X in 2012 onward, still Master of Magic stands as an ur-source, like The Lord of the Rings, or the Timelife Books: The Enchanted World series, or The Flight of Dragons cartoon.

The Nightstalker is a summoned creature from Master of Magic, which is in hindsight clearly a rip-off of the invisible stalker in D&D; and yet, the Nightstalker is undead, only able to be conjured with a wizard with Death spellbooks; moreover, the Nightstalker has a formidable death gaze attack, which the invisible stalker clearly lacks.

Here's the Nightstalker's abilities per Master of Magic (drawn from a PDF download of the manual):
Nightstalker -- Magic (Death) -- Upkeep (1 Mana) -- Melee (7) -- Defense (3) -- Resistance (8) -- Hits (10) -- Movement (2) -- Special (Death Gaze -2 save; Invisible)

From which I will draw this (soft) D&D version:

the Nightstalker
AC 0 (4 if one can see invisible)
HD 5
THAC0 15
damage 2-12 + death gaze
death gaze -- all characters in melee with the Nightstalker save against death or die (+2 on save, -2 "to hit" if characters look sideways; +4 to save, -4 "to hit" if characters fight with eyes closed/face averted/etc.)
save as a Fighter 6
180' movement
morale 11
immune to charm, sleep, cold
turned as an undead of HD+2 (i.e. 7 for this write-up)

------

Such a monster is, of course, terrible to use against a party that has no way to detect invisible ... and nevertheless, I wrote a small dungeon that included something along these lines as a possible wandering monster within (though that version was for 5E, rather than B/X D&D)

Naturally, I rolled its appearance a couple times, and whenever it showed up, the party was in a high dudgeon of terror given the fact that it's naturally invisible and can strike when it pleases--and with a death gaze to boot! Two lower level compatriots died under the horror of its death-gaze; and ultimately, the party looted what they wanted without ever killing the invisible monster stalking the dungeon below ...

The stats don't necessitate any particular HD, AC, or anything, I'm just spitballing according to what I know of the Master of Magic wargame system, and still downplaying the monster a bit. The Nightstalker could easily be scaled up or down depending on what you want to do with it--maybe it's semi-visible for low level parties (note that it doesn't have immunity to normal weapons, and may be struck by any old sword!); maybe it has HD 10 for a high level group that may or may not have see invisible.

the Grey Pilgrims

'... "These are High-Elves! They spoke the name of Elbereth!" said Frodo in amazement. Few of that fairest folk are ever seen in the Shire. Not many now remain in Middle-Earth, east of the Great Sea. This is indeed a strange chance!"

'The hobbits sat in shadow by the wayside. Before long the Elves came down the lane towards the valley. They passed slowly, and the hobbits could see the starlight glimmering on their hair and in their eyes. They bore no lights, yet as they walked a shimmer, like the light of the moon above the rim of the hills before it rises, seemed to fall about their feet. They were now silent [having ceased their song of Elbereth], and as the last Elf passed he turned and looked toward the hobbits and laughed.

'"Hail, Frodo!" he cried. "You are abroad late. Or are you perhaps lost?" Then he called to the others, and all the company stopped and gathered round. ...'

(J.R.R. Tolkien, "Three is Company," The Fellowship of the Ring, 1955, pg 109, Ballantine Books)

This Elf turns out to be Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod, and he and his companions are members of a Wandering Company, those who sometimes come into the Shire during spring or autumn, but "'For tonight we go to the woods on the hills above Woodhall. ...'" (p. 110)

(It is curious to me to know that Gildor, being of the House of Finrod, is in fact a Grey Elf, one of the Noldor who went to see the light of the trees in Valinor, yet who returned to Middle-Earth in company of Feanor, their chief, to seek the Silmarils--and who slaughtered the Sea-Elves to take their ships in order to return! As Gildor later says to Frodo, the Elves do indeed carry their own burdens and sorrows separate from the other races of Middle-Earth)

------

In my Encounters on the Road table, one of the entries is that of Elf-Pilgrims, with whom characters may carouse (spending money and gaining experience per carousing), like Frodo and the hobbits do at Woodhall, but with the possible consequence that they pass on with the Elves, forgetting their place in the mortal world for a time in preference for the wonders of the Elves.

Two weeks ago, as the players in my regular (non-Greyhame) game traveled from their home city to the halfling land of Hopshire, they twice encountered Elf-Pilgrims (due to the vagaries of the dice). The first encounter went off without any consequences, but during the second, one of the characters failed and nearly joined the Elf-Pilgrims on their way to the Glimmervaults to look at the Stars that gleam within those caverns (hence the name)--Ronald the magic-user was so entranced by their verses in praise of the ancient Stars, the Stars that gleamed above when the Elves first stepped forth in the morning of the world, before even the Sun and the Moon were set into the heavens, that he intended to join the Elves making their way there.

Alas (?) his friends got wind of his plan and got him so stinking drunk that he was too hung over to join the Elves on the next leg of their journey, and he got over their charm as he nursed his hangover.

Obviously, these pilgrims will figure in the Greyhame game before long, as the destination of their pilgrimage is the caverns of the Glimmervaults.

In this case, a troupe of four Elfin queens and their guard have happened upon a sleeping adventurer
(William Frank Calderon, How Four Queens Found Lancelot Sleeping, 1908)

All of which is to say in a longwinded way, I was thinking of developing a table for encounters with Elf-Pilgrims or Wandering Companies, so here it is:

Where are they headed?
1) to the Glimmervaults (or some other place where the Elves can gaze upon the ancient Stars down from whence they stepped in the morning of the world); a character who carouses with them and fails his save against drunkenness will be enchanted by their vision of the Stars and accompany them, a journey which will take from 3 to 18 months before he returns to play

2) to the Grey Havens and the ships that sail away across the star-strewn Sea, out of the mortal world to halls of everlasting ease; a character may save at +2 against poison to avoid the consequences of carousing with these Elves, but a failure means that she will travel with them to the nearest ocean port and thence pass out of the world forever--once gone across the Sea, only a wish could bring her back

3) to nowhere in particular--the Elves are a Wandering Company who wend through wood and dale, carousing in the hidden vales beneath the starlight; characters who carouse with them gain the effects of carousing, but are also healed as if they had rested for 2-12 days--as indeed they have! for the Elfin feast, though it seemed to last but a night, has lasted nigh a fortnight (and advance the calendar accordingly). The Elves have all vanished and continued on to the next valley by the time the characters waken, leaving memories of starlit draughts and the apples of Avalon

4) to the Isle of Avalon (or somewhere likewise suitable), bearing the bier of a mortal warrior of such renown (or so beloved by a King or Queen of Elves) that he is to be brought back to the Sunny Isle to wait in deathly sleep for the day of his awakening. Carousing with those among this company, one hears epics of both the hero himself, and of elder days and ancient heroes, and such stirring deed-songs fill the heart with courage such that one receives experience equal to 100 times one's level above the normal carousing benefit

5) not a pilgrimage per se, but a company of Wood-Elves, wary of strangers--an Elf-banquet of the sort that got the dwarves into trouble in the Mirkwood (in The Hobbit). Attempting to carouse with these Elves, a character will wander away from the party and get lost--as an individual, they will suffer 1-6 attrition dice, and if any dice remain that would cause damage, the character is instead imprisoned by the Prince of the Wood-Elves in his secret palace-dungeon until such time as she is rescued or ransomed (1000 gp/level for a ransom as a baseline)--(that, or they're just imprisoned on failing a save against paralysis)

6) to the dressing of the idols of Astora and Anglamorath at a clear lake deep in the forests of the Dwimmerholt (Anglamorath-Astora is a dual goddess of Chaos worshiped primarily by the Elves; Astora is the Elf-Queen of Stars, the First Elf, and she is joined in worship to Anglamorath the Black Dragon, the Dark Behind the Stars, Whose Wings are the Night); carousing with these Elves one must save rather against spells as they attempt to charm and enslave the characters for a year and a day, after which they will be free to return to the mortal world


Who is among the Company?
1) Adrasteia, a Lamia (not the weird lion-type, a real Lamia who is a serpent wearing the guise of a maiden); she is accompanied by two charmed slaves, Archidamus (Fighter 3ish with a shield, spear, mail armor, and a lion cloak of courage, +1 AC, +1 morale to hirelings) and Musa (Fighter 3ish with a shield, scepter/mace +2, and mail armor)

2) Ponderous, a hugely tall pine Treant (+2 HD); unlike most Treants, he is not vulnerable to fire due to the flaky scales of his bark and the great height of his limbs--but at the same time, he receives only one attack because of his great height, and is treated as a "giant" for attacks against dwarves and halflings

3) the Elf-woman Thranduila and her halfling companion Otho Skopper (they seem a rather Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser pair); Thranduila is laconic and interested in wine and handsome fighting-men, while Otho is exuberant, often derisive, and interested in wine and pipeweed. Their motives are mercenary, such that they might be enticed away with promise of loot or gold to do some other deed, rather than continue on with the pilgrimage--maybe

4) the Goblin Blinx, chief slave (2 HD, one first level spell) over 3-18 other (normal) goblins; Blinx himself harbors a slow simmering hatred for his Elfin masters (simmered over several centuries), and is subtly eager to seek aid from mortals for his own manumission, whether that involves an exchange of coin or bloodshed; he would even be happy to instigate a goblin rebellion if he could get support outside the few goblin-slaves among the party

5) Morla of the Mists, a high level magic-user, presumably female; she is always somewhat obscured by a mist that seems to billow up from the hems of her dark, heavy cloak. Her perambulations with the Elves never takes her too far away from her dwelling in the Myrkr Fen. Why she travels with the Elves is obscure, but being a high level magic-user and some-time sage, she can answer sage-type questions for a significant offering of gp, including the identification of magic items

6) Ceor (or Ceora if female?) a mortal overcome by the burden of his or her deeds while adventuring; perhaps he cared too deeply about the plight of some orc children, only to have his spirit crushed by his comrades' murderous intent; perhaps she carried the burden of a supremely evil artefact to the pits of Hell to see it destroyed, and the toll has crushed all joy in her mortal life; either way, he or she accompanies the Elves in hopes of a finding a way out of the mortal realm and all its suffering ...


The Elves carry with them a thing of Interest ... what is it?
1) a Hunting Horn that once per week can summon 1-3 Fey Hounds (3 HD, AC 6, THAC0 17, d2-12, gaze of fear all in melee save against paralysis or unable to act for the round, 2 consecutive saves immune; look aside, +2 to save, -2 "to hit"; close eyes/look away, no need to save, but -4 "to hit"); possessed by the leader of the pilgrimage, who will not part with it lightly (but will entertain reasonable offers of gold or deeds)

2) a Ring of the Elf-Friend (protection +1, and +2 on saves against charm and sleep), granted to any one character who acts the most graciously with the Elves (speaking Elvish with them, sharing poetry, naming constellations, etc.). Naturally, the +2 bonus applies on the carousing save as well

3) the Mead of Poetry (one character determined at random during carousing gains +1 CHA, has a knack for poetry, regardless of player ability; and they may further, once per year, utter a doom which may be a geas or quest spell, or any kind of curse, quest, doom, etc. that a bard might utter in literature--think of the Icelandic skalds in particular, e.g. Egil Skallagrimsson)

4) a Philtre--on a failed save against carousing, one character determined at random is in love with one of the Elves on the pilgrimage (this does not necessitate joining the pilgrimage, but does entail other effects ...); on a successful save against carousing, the same character has instead filched the Philtre, and may use it as a love potion as they will ...

5) an Idol, either a Lawful, Clannish, or Good Idol taken in a raid; OR a Chaotic, Natural, or Arcane Idol representing the Elves' cult. Returning the former to the proper cult would provide a large experience reward, while seizing the latter would surely result in a statue worth 600 to 3600 gold (3d6 times 20) and commensurate experience

6) an Elfin Lap-Dog, a creature bred for companionship rather than war or hunting (HD 1, AC 6, THAC0 19, d1-6); and it wears a collar with soothing bells forged in Avalon (+1 to all saves for those within 30' of it, if the dog is adventuring for some reason); spending a week in its presence "back home" grants such ease of mind that one curse is removed, OR a painful love/memory/etc. may be forgotten for that week, OR all wounds and diseases are cured, even if the HP total is more than can be healed in such a time (not all at once, choose out of the three!). Removing the collar destroys the magic, alas (why would you do that Isolde??), but the dog will live for 2-20 years, being somewhat Elfin in nature

Golden Bones and the Chained Guard: two new Skeletons

I told myself not to publish too many "play reports" in quick succession, so I'm posting these couple of monster-write-ups today, and I'll post the Greyhame Mountain Dungeon Expedition 7 tomorrow. So, without further ado, a couple of variant skeletons for use in any dungeon:

A particularly well-dressed skeleton

The Red Priests, a Chaotic sect of clerics and magic-users who more than dabbled in necromantic magics, created undead servants for themselves that were more than mere skeletons. Some were formed from the corpses of favored slaves; some from the bodies of guardians, sacrificed in tandem to create yet more effective guardians; and others were bodyguards duped by gifts of magic items that did more than promised upon the wielder's death (in the best tradition of Sauron granting the Nine Rings to the Ringwraiths!)

------

Firstly, the Gilded Slaves (or Golden Bones):

No. appearing 1-6 && 2-20 regular skeletons
HD 2
AC 5
THAC0 18
Damage by weapon (1-4 usually, sometimes 1-6, rarely 1-8) (on a d6, results 1-3/4-5/6)
Morale -- (they're skeletons)

Turned as zombies (i.e. as HD 2 undead)

Gilded with decorations to please the Red Priests who created them. Each skeleton comes decorated with (roll a single d6 to determine):

1) 2 gems for eyes (roll once for both gems)

2) silvered bones worth 10-60 gp

3) gilt bones worth 100-600 gp

4) one piece of jewelry worth 200-1200 gp set into the sternum

5) silver death mask  worth 20-80 gp

6) scrimshaw imagery on major bones (sternum, skull, femurs, etc.) worth 50 gp, OR 300-1800 to the right buyer

------

the Chained Guard

No. appearing 4-9 (d6+3)
HD 1
AC 7
THAC0 19, +1 per skeleton killed (well, -1 ... bonus +1 "to hit" per skeleton killed)
Damage 1-6, +1 per skeleton killed
Morale -- (again, they're skeletons--undead servitors have no morale)

Turned together as a single undead creature equal to the number of hit dice that remain in the group (i.e. 7 skeletons encountered on the first round are turned as a 7 HD monster; if after 3 rounds the skeletons are reduced to 4 and then turned, count the group as a 4 HD monster)

the Chain -- the entire group of skeletons is chained together at the ankles by either a silver chain (worth 10 gp/individual) or a gold chain (worth 50 gp/individual); moreover, this chain magically links the members of the group (4 to 9 skeletons) together, so that the death of any one skeleton in the group increases the "to hit" and damage rolls of each other member by +1.

That is, assuming a group of 5 skeletons, each rolls to hit with a THAC0 19 and 1-6 damage on the first round. If one is killed on the second round, the remaining 4 skeletons attack at THAC0 18 and with 2-7 damage. On the next round, if 2 more are killed, the remaining 2 skeletons attack at THAC0 16 and with 4-9 damage.

I've never bothered with the "dimensions/length" of the chain, but I'm a mean/lazy referee who wants to attack with all the skeletons regardless. If you want, you could come up with the actual line of the chain and let the Chained Guard get tangled up in their own fetters if too ambitious ...

Think these guys, except they're chain-ganged at the ankles
--and they'll hit you harder for every one that's re-killed!

Credit for this idea goes to Lloyd Alexander of The Chronicles of Prydain, in which the (living) Huntsmen of Arawn are linked together by evil magic, and all grow stronger for each one of their comrades who is slain. I've always loved that idea, and plagiarized it for several games; this is my favorite version of my own plagiarisms.

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As for a third type, the Bodyguard of the Ring, I'll let imagination stew for a time. I've used them in one dungeon yet, and to good effect! It's true that there are no rumors of any of these particular skeleton-creations lurking in the Greyhame Mountain Dungeon--but then again, one never really knows what lies in store for oneself in the deep places of the world ...

On the Road Again ... Encounters

In my regular (non-Greyhame Dungeon game), I've had the party move areas a couple times, first relocating them down south for the winter to deal with the return of Sakatha the Lizard-King (module I2), and then of course moving them back north to the original town of Calpurnia where they started. I've now also got half the party continuing even farther north to go help the halflings of Hopshire.

For these travels, I came up with a d20 table of Encounters on the Road from which I roll one item for every week of travel, rather than rolling on the wilderness encounter table day by day by day. This speeds long distance travel up significantly, without necessarily just "jump-cutting", so that the travel itself retains some interest and impact; and it is to my mind justified, because the particular journeys being made by my group are not wilderness exploration, but rather along major thoroughfares within civilization, so rolling constantly on the wilderness encounter tables just doesn't make much sense.

There's no great need for me to keep this secret from my players--I'll roll what I roll, and they can deal with it!--I thought I'd present it here:

Encounters on the Road -- roll 1d20 per week, roll a random day if you want

1 - Dragon, on a d6 (1-2) basking, (3-4) hunting, (5-6) patrolling. Will accept mere flattery sometimes, demand food if hunting, or demand tribute if patrolling. I either roll up a new dragon and place it in the world near where it was encountered, or have a dragon already placed nearby who can stand in for the enounter

"Why yes, I am quite magnificent. Do go on, mortal,
and I might let you pass without eating your mule."

2 - Zauldron the Sage and Clara Clairvoyant -- for 2000 gp, they can do in 2-5 days what takes a normal sage 1 month (because of the synergy from his encyclopedic memory and her clairvoyance!); OR, Clara can commune with a higher power for the characters (also costs 2000 gp)

3 - Caravan/Free Market -- opportunity to buy/sell/resupply, plus the possibility to get in on some arbitrage/speculative trading of goods

4 - Magic Item Peddler -- buys magic items (500 gp/+ bonus, OR per offer); has 2-7 potions from the list for sale, as well as 1 item from my magic item for sale table; and don't try to rob him, he's got a competent guard of many well-armored fellows, plus a leveled fighting-man, magic-user, or whatever

5 - Storms and/or Bad Weather -- add 2-9 days of to travel time to the party's destination

6 - Castle -- per the rules in the Expert Book, OR just assess some kind of toll on the party, demanded by a party of armored knights on their lord's behalf

7 - Fey Encounter -- the party comes upon a Faerie-knight, a nymph-grotto, a dryad-grove, a nixie/naiad-pool, an oread's mountain, dwarvish underkingdom, etc. etc. Make it weirder than just a combat encounter with a dryad

8 - Wild Animal Peddler -- sells animals per my table of Animals For Sale; like the peddler of magic items, he is well guarded by a party of armed men

9 - Haunted Keep/Shrine -- either some kind of combat encounter with undead, esp if the party comes nigh around dusk; OR come up with a unique way to use turn undead or bless ... I haven't rolled this yet, so I haven't fleshed it out like I wanted to

10 - a Hermit -- on a d6 (1-2) Good saint, (3) Lawful anchorite, (4) Chaotic outlaw, (5-6) Arcane hedge wizard/witch. The saint offers succor and healing; the anchorite can offer sage advice; the outlaw might have a band with him, likely has a bounty on his/her head (200-1200 gp?), but can offer pathfinding, etc., to those who won't snitch; the hedge wizard has 2-5 potions and 1-2 scrolls possibly for sale

You see this fellow hunched under an oak by the tree; being
St. Anthony, he can help you resist the temptations of demons

11 - Fellow Travelers -- 1) arrogant aristocrat and entourage, 2) party of pilgrims, 3) dust-weary villeins, 4) adventurers-errant, 5) muddy-booted men-at-arms, or 6) roll on the MEN wandering monster table

12-13 Wandering Monster per that table

14 - Peasants seeking aid -- when I rolled this, I had peasants seeking aid after some natural disaster, and the group decided to give them I think several hundred gold pieces--naturally, the peasants used some of that wealth to raise a shrine dedicated to the party cleric's goddess/saint in gratitude

15 - roll on the FLYERS wandering monster table

16 - Elf-Pilgrims -- you may carouse with them for the night, according to the carousing rules, but if you fail your save you might just join them and return to the mortal realm some time much later

17 - Ankhegs (I just like ankhegs; obviously, replace this with whatever particular monster you want)

18 - Greater Werewolf and his pack, obviously in the guise of fellow pilgrims/travelers; it's probable that they'll try to eat the party at some inopportune time (these fellows are currently rising in power as Chaos is on the rise in my world; given other circumstances, I would alter the particular creature)

19 - Diseased Inn or Plague Victims -- save v. poison or random members of the party are infected

20 - Doomsaying Prophet or Itinerant Preacher -- maybe he's just a madman mumbling nonsense, maybe he's a man inspired by God or the gods to bring a warning the world, a local city, or even the king; he could even just be a wandering holy man, offering healing to the injured and sick, blessings, and words of advice to those in need

Wilderness Encounters as Attrition

Earlier this month, as I was contemplating running a public game focused on the dungeon, I was wondering how best to deal with the wilderness. For myself, though I'm glad to play in them, I have a tough time wanting to run a game in which the dungeon is right there in town (like Jeff Rients' Vyzor; or my own local friend's dungeon, the entrance to which is in the inn's basement). I have my own idiom, into which I've fallen every time I've started a new group--a long north-south corridor, bounded to west and east by mountains, with wilderness over the eastern mountains, and civilization back over the western mountains. The dungeon is near--not more than a week away--but still must lie somewhere in the eastern mountains, on the border between civilization's final frontier, and the beginning of the true wilderlands.

(and the drive in Idaho, between the poles of Boise and Moscow, definitely exerts a kind of of influence over this vision)

It's surprisingly hard to find Google images of the mountains rising on
either side, which is much of what one sees on the north-south drive
through Idaho; my D&D games have wider valleys, but a similar bifurcation

I use this both as a means of separation (the characters still must travel away from civilization to find adventure), and as a means to make sure time passes in-game (the local game run by my friend has maybe progressed a couple weeks, and we've been playing for months; for me, if I were refereeing, that would feel stultifying, in that I like a session to be a week at minimum, but his game is his game).

But if the game is dungeon-focused, wilderness encounters will draw attention away from that dungeon. Case-in-point, during the last session of the Greyhame Mountain Dungeon that I ran, perhaps a quarter of the session was spent just dealing with an orc warband encountered on the way to the dungeon. It wasn't a bad encounter (actually, the players took it quite in stride and shone in it); nevertheless, it took a lot of time that might have been differently spent inside the dungeon.

(and just for the record, that encounter occurred because I couldn't remember these very "attrition" rules I'd tried to formulate, and it was easier to just do a monster encounter; and yet for the dungeon-game, it could have been quicker into the dungeon if I'd had my "attrition" notes before me).


So:
When I roll for encounters, I roll 3d6, one black, one white, one red:
black -- encounter chance
white -- party surprise chance
red -- monster surprise chance

I ignore the red and white dice if black comes up nothing.

For attrition in the wilderness, rather than rolling up a full encounter on a positive result from the black die, I look to the other dice:
If the red die comes up 1 or 2, there is still no encounter/attrition, because the "monster/encounter" was "surprised" by the party, and they can avoid it.
But the white die determines "attrition dice" inversely to the number rolled on the die, e.g. 1 is 6d6, 2 is 5d6, 3 is 4d6, 4 is 3d6, etc.

An "attrition die" is 1d6 of damage allocated to one party member, by lot or by choice. In any singular "encounter", an "attrition die" may be negated by breaking 1 shield, 1 suit of armor, 1 weapon, by losing 1 week of rations, or by expending 1 dozen ammunition (arrows, bolts, bullets, etc. via the commensurate missile weapon, e.g. bow, crossbow, sling), but no negation may be duplicated (i.e. once a shield is broken, no other shields may be used to negate "attrition dice" in a given "encounter").

You may note that a roll of 1 on the white die (6d6 "attrition") creates an absolute necessity of 1d6 damage somewhere in the party, volunteered or by lot (because a maximum of 5d6 "attrition" can be negated in any one "encounter"). I could further add that this damage may not be cured by clerics during the course of an adventure, representing instead of wounds, fatigue, starvation, mild disease, or what have you--or perhaps not, if I don't feel inclined.

I envision this option as a means to resolve wilderness encounters quickly, yet without simply bypassing the fact that the D&D wilderness can be dangerous. Stakes remain, even up to damage to characters or the possible destruction of equipment. And yet, the game will be allowed to move quickly to the dungeon that is its real focus without dwelling overlong on the wilderness chance encounter.

Given the abstraction, I wouldn't use rules like this at a "regular" game, where I would much rather just run a wilderness encounter as-is, and let the consequences be what they may. But games like that imply a continuity that extends beyond the dungeon; whereas if your pick-up game relies on getting to the dungeon--but wants to touch on the danger of the wilderness--"attrition" could be a fast way to convey that.

All said, you could just start the game "at the dungeon". I just ... still want the travel time, and the possibility of some minor disaster. And this is my rough draft for an "in-between" version.