Subsequent Adventure Hooks for The Broken Lands Session 5

Having accepted the sorceress Alcastra's Geas:

Presenting the letter you received from the sorceress you are able to obtain an audience with Lassering Thay, the High Priest at the Temple of Hades:

   “Alcastra was correct when she wrote that she feared there was little I could do for you. The location of Elegrain’s tower was a well kept secret while he was alive, and those servitors with him prior to his death never revealed its location. The only person who could possibly tell you is Elegrain himself. While I am not able to tell you where the tower is located, I may be able to help you in this matter in other ways…”

He will give you a map to the Tomb of Elegrain and a clerical scroll with a version of Speak with Dead. However, before he gives you these items he wants either:

A. “Carved into the Cliffs of Leng is an entrance to an ancient shrine. I would like you to enter the shrine and kill the god Akron. Bring me proof of the god’s death and I will give you the map and scroll” or

B. “In the Broken Lands is a narrow entrance to a box canyon. In that canyon is a ruined abbey. In the darkness below that abbey is a pool where the dread Black Lotus blooms. I will give you a silver knife to harvest the Black Lotus blossoms. Bring me three blossoms and I will give you the map and scroll. However, do not touch the blossoms for their touch is death.”

The Broken Lands - Players

There might be room for one or two additional players in our online B/X game - The Broken Lands.

I'm finding the current four players is a good number for an online game, however, it might be nice to have a one or two more to draw on.

It is a very low tech game - we just use Google Hangouts. Every once in a while I might share my screen showing either Google Canvas or a picture. Usually, I just hold something up in front of the camera. Sometimes I point the camera at my dice.

We've been playing at 6:30pm MT on Monday evenings, usually for a couple hours.

If you are interested email me at ode2blackdougal [at] g m a i l [dot] com.

Note that this isn't a sure thing - just something we're considering.

Also a warning, I'm still knocking some of the rust off my DMing and online gaming is making that process take longer. The game is choppy in a few places largely due to me.

Adventure Hooks for The Broken Lands Session 5

Available Adventure Hooks:

1. Continue exploring the cellars under the ruined wizard tower. What the hell are those guys with the cages on their heads? Can you get into the wizard’s tower? There are still a few unexplored passageways to the south.
2. You have met the powerful sorceress Alcastra the Fairspoken: “It has come to my attention that the wizard, Elegrain, who died many years ago possessed a book, the contents of which are beyond your comprehension. The fate of his book is unknown. Given that knowledge of the contents of such a tome would be difficult to keep secret, I assume that it remains hidden in his tower, the exact location of which remains a mystery. I offer 2,000 gp for the delivery of the book. For those willing to accept a Geas to bring this book to me I offer half of the reward upfront as well as the following aid: a weapon of the ancients (a laser pistol: +1 to-hit, 1d12 damage on a 12 the target has to save vs Death Ray or die, range 60-ft, 4 charges), the Wand of Thieves (detect traps and secret doors, 6 charges), a holy scroll (Detect Evil and Resist Fire), an elixir of giant strength (for one round after imbibing you are wracked with horrific pain during which you can’t do anything. After that it acts as a typical potion), and finally a mystical scroll (Annorax’s Black Noxious Cloud - new spell - like cloudkill but has range 60-ft). I have but two suggestions to offer to begin your search. First, the Temple of Hades is where Elegrain’s funeral rites were performed. I have dealt with the High Priest in the past. A letter of introduction from me should enable you to receive an audience and gain whatever information he may possess about the location of the tower. Second, trust no one.”
3. Heralds of the Immortal Omnithrox have made it known throughout the city that the ruler of the Ruby Throne desires adventurers to explore and clear the cellars of a ruined fort in the Broken Lands. This fort once protected the lower reaches of the Tartarus Road but was destroyed during some forgotten battle many generations ago.
4. You have acquired a treasure map. It shows a hidden valley to the east of an ancient stupa on the Tartarus Road. In the hidden valley lies a forgotten ruin. Rumour says this ruin was a stronghold of an ancient vulture cult, but is now inhabited by a degenerate, dark-skinned pygmy race. Who knows what ancient mysteries and treasures await discovery?
5. You’ve overheard a group of adventurers planning a foray into the Broken Lands. They were trying to be circumspect in their talking, however, it sounded like they were going to investigate the Hive. The Hive is west of the Dragon’s Teeth which can be seen from the Tartarus Road.

Other News/Rumours/Things to Think About:

• What were those creepy dudes with the cages on their heads?
• A group of about a dozen silent, red-robed monks passed through the Black Gate and down the Tartarus Road a few days ago.
• What exactly is the Blood Egg?

Draft Adventure - Crypt of Llatai

Draft - Crypt of Llatai

I have stolen ideas from a few places for this short adventure.

• Original name, concept and introduction from Scott Driver's World of Thool play-by-post Tunnels  & Trolls game;
• Most of the map and a few ideas in the adventure from Dyson Logos; and
• I'm sure a few other things I'm forgetting right now.

It is still draft. I still want to add the Rival Adventuring Party, but that might not happen until I have a chance to run it. Also, it is unplaytested.

Let me know any thoughts, play reports, typos caught, formatting issues, problems with the link, etc. It's the first time I've done this. It was fun.

The Broken Lands Session 4

To kill a spider.

The Party:
Comtruise the Auditor (Cleric 1)
Elu (Elf 1 - Protection from Evil)
Steefe (Halfling 1)
Jakar (Fighter 1)
Plus retainers:
Father Mug (Cleric 2)
Konill the Medium (Magic-user 1 - Light)
Dyban the Veteran (Fighter 1)
Rufus the Black (NM)
Gangagor the Portly Porter (NM)

The Adventure (aka there will be spoilers below; aaka if you’re one of my players don't read these):

• Continuation of a slightly modified Tower of Zenopus.
• The Vault of the Whisperer (from Black Pudding #2) as a sub-level accessed at the end of the passage going north in the north-west part of the map. Note I excised the rat tunnels.

What Happened:

• With the larger roster of characters, the party sets off through Jekarra on their way back to the cellars and catacombs below the ruined wizard tower. On the way they encounter a merchant whose slaves are rolling barrels full of torch oil. One of the barrels got away from a slave but they were able to get it back under control before any disaster but not before earning a beating.
• With all haste, the party makes a beeline for the room with the Giant Spider. However, being a bit loose of tongue in their tactical planning and taking a bit too much liberty in their expectations of their porters’ duties Gangagor the Portly Porter fails a morale check and flees. Steefe the halfling grabs the Portly Porter's arm but then gets pulled down the hallway like water skiing behind a boat.
• Having developed their plan of attack, the party kicks open the door. Elu the Elf then abandons the plan and goes running into the room. However, the timely use of Konill’s Light spell on the Spider’s many eyes and missile attacks leads to quick victory! Searching the room they find a dagger.
• Having dealt with the spider, the party decides to investigate the passageway to the north seeing it leads to the “monster with many teeth” mentioned by Grith the Sorcerer.
• They come to a large locked stone door on which is scrawled “It whispers within”. Next to the door is a barrel. Removing the lid, the party is attacked by a Barrel Snail! Deploying many flasks of oil reduces the barrel and the creature within to a burnt heap. They find a key in the burnt wreckage.
• Passing the locked door, they find a room with two statues and a door on the opposite wall. Thoroughly searching the statues and lots of trial and error allows the party to find a secret door on the west wall.
• Proceeding down the secret passageway, the party finds a small shrine with a faded mural of a sad girl. Messing with the painting eventually leads to Father Mug being strangled to death by a pair of invisible hands.
• At the end of the secret passage, the party discovers that the dead-end wall sounds hollow. Breaking through the wall they release a poison gas which (rolling on the Death & Dismemberment table) leads to Elu being knocked unconscious for a while. In the wreckage of the wall they find a strange sword. On the other side of the newly created hole in the wall the party sees a wrecked room that makes them decide this place is just too creepy.
• Retreating back to the room with the two statues, the party decides to check out one more room (famous last words). Opening the door on the north wall, the party is attacked by five humanoids with weird cages on their heads. Deciding “one more room” was stupid, the party quickly flees the Vault of the Whisperer.

The Tally:

• Father Mug and his cure light wounds spell
• Killed a Giant Spider
• Found a weird magic sword dripping with acidic ooze and a magic dagger.

What Worked Well/What Didn’t Work Well:

• First use of a random encounter in the city. I used Matt Finch’s City Encounters and ad libbed a bit. I really thought the party would try to steal a barrel of oil.
• Given how the players were talking I did NOT expect them to head to the Vault of the Whisperer so I was caught a bit unprepared.
• The use of more retainers paid off in terms of survivability.
• The Vault of the Whisperer really creeped the players out.
• The party has asked for me to refresh some of the adventure hooks for next time.
• That’s two sessions with very little treasure.

Adventure Hooks for The Broken Lands Session #4

Available Adventure Hooks:

1. Continue exploring the cellars under the ruined wizard tower.
• Grith the Sorcerer mentioned a locked door and a monster with many teeth to the northwest. If he would pay for a tooth surely other wizards would as well.
• What is beyond the Giant Spider?
• Can you get into the wizard’s tower?
• There are still a few unexplored passageways.
2. Emmiss Sladentail has again left word that his patron, the powerful sorceress Alcastra the Fairspoken, is interested in hiring your party to recover an item from the Broken Lands. Emmiss can be found at the Scarlet Moon Inn.
3. Gallagorgon the Man-Bull, ancient and mighty progeny of the Immortal Omnithrox, desires that there be brought unto him an intact Penanggalan, a ghoul-maid of beauteous aspect and unspeakable thirsts. Those who bring the Man-Bull his prize will be granted an incredible boon -- a full day and night, dawn to next dawn, of unthinkable debauchery within his Pleasure Ziggurat. It is said that a Penanggalan, as well as other unwholesome things, haunt the Crypt of Llatai, though it goes without saying that such details are the sole concern of the boon-seeker. The Man-Bull cares not.
4. A young bravo has been asking about you, and isn’t afraid to spend a few coins to track you down. His name is Hriseit. He is affiliated with one of the Maze’s street gangs, the Knife Twisters, an ambitious young band of alleybashers and freelance thieves. The Knives are looking to expand their ranks, and will pay hard gold for talented bravos and wizardlings. The gang is led by the self-styled King Korvul.

Other News/Rumours/Things to Think About:

• A mortally wounded retainer of an adventuring party called the Company Phangasmic, was found at the foot of the Tartarus Road. He was babbling about the Company being slaughtered by a group of bandits wearing gold armour. with his final breath, the retainer told one of the guards of the Black Towers that the Company was waylaid while on their way to investigate the Hive which is to the west of the Dragon’s Teeth in the Broken Lands.
• An adventuring party was overheard at the Drunken Cockatrice bragging about overcoming a number of grey goblins and claiming vast treasures at the Monastery of the Iron God. They were drunken braggarts so the claims of seeing a massive tentacled brain in a container of glass should not be believed.
• What exactly is the Blood Egg?

The Broken Lands Session 3

Return to the cellars and crypts below a ruined wizard tower along the Road of Tombs.

The Party:

• Vanuatu the Vegan (Magic-User 2 - now with Sleep and Charm Person)
• Elu (Elf 1)
• Steefe (Halfling 1)
• Plus an NPC retainer - Father Mug (Cleric 2 - from Black Pudding #1)
• Comtruise the Auditor (Cleric 1) is added for the second trip (replacement PC)
• For the second trip into the dungeon, the party hired a decrepit porter with a pronounced limp named Ire. The party deemed him perfect for the job as his limp made him the slowest.

The Adventure (aka there will be spoilers below):
Continuation of a slightly modified Tower of Zenopus.

What Happened:

• Consulting the map, the party decides to continue exploring to the northwest, beyond the partially collapsed room where they found treasure in the sarcophagi.
• Soon they encounter 2 Fire Beetles with vicious bites. One takes Elu down to 1 hp before they are dispatched. Unfortunately, Father Mug is bitten while trying to cast Cure Light Wounds ruining his spell.
• Reorganizing their marching order to protect Elu, the party decides to push on.
• Upon entering a new room, a giant spider drops from the ceiling. Rushing to slam the door shut between them and the poisonous monster, the party loses initiative. Vanuatu (who as a level 2 Magic-user with a good Con bonus now has the highest hit point total), is now in the front and goes down to the poisonous bite of the monster.
• Retracing their steps back to the entrance, the party encounters 7 scrawny, knee high humanoids whose features combine those of an old man and a rat in the partially collapsed room (taken from the most recent Nightwick Abbey release through Evan’s Patreon - I’m using these to replace the goblins in the adventure). A favourable reaction roll had the little creatures back away carefully and allow the party to pass unmolested.
• The party returns to town to heal and add another PC.
• Going through Vanuatu’s personal effects, Elu finds the large gem (the Blood Egg) and now it is his precious.
• Returning to the dungeon, the party develops a plan to deal with the giant spider. After stalking up on torches and flasks of oil, the party studies the map and decides to approach from a different direction and try to burn it out. Unfortunately, using their rough map they didn’t realize that the distance to the room with the spider was much greater than anticipated and that another room was in between.
• Entering this unexpected room, the party encounters over a dozen of the small wrinkled rat men encountered earlier. The party flees lighting a pool of oil  behind them to discourage pursuit.
• The party then encounters Grith the Sorcerer and his bodyguard in a workroom. Parleying, Girth invites them to share any knowledge about the dungeon that they acquire. Also, he offers them a reward if they are able to bring him a large tooth from a monster located somewhere to the northwest telling them, “they will know which monster when they see it.”
• Deciding not to mess with the Sorcerer, they take their leave and continue exploring until they encounter a giant snake in what is obviously the lower level of a tower. Quickly evading a fight with another poisonous monster, the party decides to try to tackle the tower from the surface level.
• Unable to breakdown the front door, they throw a rope and hook to the roof. Elu climbs up and, through a narrow window, spies Grith the Sorcerer returned to his tower. Continuing to the roof, Elu finds a trapdoor providing access to the top floor. However, opening it produces a terribly audible squeal from the rusty hinges that alerts Grith to possible intruders. Fleeing back down the rope, Elu narrowly avoids a conical blast from a wand wielded by Grith from a second storey window as the sorcerer screams at them for being thieves. The party then flees back to Jekarra.

The Tally:

• Vanuatu the Vegan, who just became a level 2 Magic-user, is dead (3rd PC death).
• Killed 2 fire beetles and took their red-glowing glands.

What Worked Well/What Didn’t Work Well:

• While this session was not as successful from a character longevity or monetary perspective as the previous sessions, this one was a lot of fun. To me it had more of the sword & sorcery, picaresque feel. It would have been nice if Vanuatu made his saving throw vs poison.
• I love reaction rolls! A good roll with Grith the Sorcerer leads to an interesting roleplaying encounter and possible adventure hooks. And then another roll leads to a narrow escape for the party.
• I know that some people find mapping a pain. However, they make the game much more fun as an aid in decision making.
• I’ve talked to the players about hiring more retainers.

Adventure Hooks for The Broken Lands Session #3

Sent by email to the players prior to Session #3...
Available Adventure Hooks:

1. Continue exploring the cellars under the ruined wizard tower.
2. You’ve been hearing rumours of a strange event near the bottom of the Tartarus Road. About two months ago, lightning filled the skies over a monastery dedicated to the Iron God. Rumours say all the buildings of the temple were destroyed in one night by hundreds of bolts of lightning. Some say that the Iron God destroyed his own monks as a punishment for their greed; they claim that the heretical monks had been accumulating great treasures in the underground catacombs beneath the temple instead of maintaining the spartan life required by their God. So far, no one has dared to explore the catacombs, so the monks’ ill-gotten treasures must still be there, ripe for the taking. 
3. Emmiss Sladentail has again left word that his patron, the powerful sorceress Alcastra the Fairspoken, is interested in hiring your party to recover an item from the Broken Lands. Emmiss can be found at the Scarlet Moon Inn.
4. Gallagorgon the Man-Bull, ancient and mighty progeny of the Immortal Omnithrox, desires that there be brought unto him an intact Penanggalan, a ghoul-maid of beauteous aspect and unspeakable thirsts. Those who bring the Man-Bull his prize will be granted an incredible boon -- a full day and night, dawn to next dawn, of unthinkable debauchery within his Pleasure Ziggurat. It is said that a Penanggalan, as well as other unwholesome things, haunt the Crypt of Llatai, though it goes without saying that such details are the sole concern of the boon-seeker. The Man-Bull cares not.
5. A young bravo has been asking about you, and isn’t afraid to spend a few coins to track you down. His name is Hriseit. He is affiliated with one of Jekarra’s gangs...

Other News/Rumours:

• Life in Jekarra is always hard - especially for those that make the Maze their home. Unfortunately, a street corner preacher who has been at the same spot in the Maze everyday for years has recently vanished.
• An adventuring party, the Doombringers, was slaughtered by a group of bandits wearing gold armour out to the west of the Dragon’s Teeth.
• One of the Troll-Seers (you know, the ones that tell the future by reading their own intestines that they spill on the table…) ran out of the chapterhouse of The Seers, Soothsayers, Fortune Tellers, and Wainwrights Guild (SSFTW #432)  screaming about some impending doom about to befall the city and fell over dead in the middle of the street. Its guts were all over the place.

============

The Party decided to return to the cellars and crypts under the ruined wizard tower (Option #1)

The Broken Lands Session 2

The greedy adventures saw opportunity in raiding the cellars and crypts below a ruined wizard tower along the Road of Tombs.

The Party:

• Vanuatu the Vegan (Magic-User 1)
• Elu (Elf 1)
• Steefe (Halfling 1)
• Barak (Fighter 1) - I think I may have this name wrong
• Plus a retainer - Father Mug (Cleric 2 - from Black Pudding #1)

The Adventure (aka there will be spoilers below):

The Tower of Zenopus from Holmes Basic. I am: 1) making some cosmetic changes; 2) adding a sublevel accessed by the hallway going north in the top-left corner of the map; and 3) Since this is no longer located on a body of water, the sea caverns will be changed.

What Happened:

• Before adventuring, Van decides that there is no way he would be willing to sell the huge gem, the Blood Egg, that they pillaged on their last adventure. They then hire Father Mug as a retainer.
• Descending the stairs into the cellars below, the party heads south at an intersection - using the always turn left mode. They enter a chamber and quickly overcome 4 skeletons.
• They proceed through an empty room and enter a gloomy room with piles of rocks and rubbish. They defeat 3 giant rats and then find a silver dagger and a bag containing 50 ep.
• Cautiously exploring a hallway going north they are surprised by two ghouls that attack them from the rear (a wandering monster). Father Mug failed his turn attempt, but the ghouls are defeated thanks to the halfling’s low AC and the elf’s immunity to ghoul paralysis.
• Proceeding into the next room, the party finds two more ghouls gnawing on bones from smashed coffins. Again, Father Mug fails his turn attempt but the ghouls are defeated with abundant missile attacks.
• The party next explores a huge room where the northern wall has collapsed scattering stone sarcophagi into the room. Ransacking the sarcophagi, the party first deals with poison gas, an animated skeleton, and then an animated sword. They find a magic sword, a golden coronet, and jewelry.
• Deciding that this was a good haul they decided to head back to Jekarra.
• Taking the magic sword to a sage they learn that it is Bittercut - a sword forged from the tears from a forgotten goddess.

The Tally:

• Killed/overcame 4 skeletons, 3 giant rats, 4 ghouls, and an animated sword.
• Valuable jewelry
• Bittercut the magic sword (yoiked from Black Pudding #1)
• Vanuatu the Vegan advances to 2nd level!

What Worked Well/What Didn’t Work Well:

• The old school practice of map keeping is working well - one of the players is keeping a rough map. During this session it helped them modestly by planning the quickest escape route (thus limiting wandering monster checks) once they decided to head back to the city. However, in session 3 it became quite valuable for decision making.
• Wandering monsters are working well - I just used the tables on page B53. They provided uncertainty and tension. The fact that they resulted in ghouls just before a keyed room with ghouls was just a nice coincidence.
• I replaced the magic +1 sword with something that has a bit more mystery/backstory/interest (but in the hands of PC's not much of a mechanical impact. Go get Black Pudding if you haven't already!)
• I made a mistake on the conversion of types of coin to gp for experience point calculations. For some reason I couldn't find the table on page B47 at the time. We rectified it by the end, but I told the players not to revised their XP reward (I over awarded them).
• I am using reaction rolls to determine who and how many retainers can be hired at any time. However, I think that the players aren't aware of my mental process when we roll so I may have to walk them though it. This really impacts session #3.

Isle of Dread Point Crawl

I took 10 minutes the other day and traced out the map of the Isle of Dread and quickly drew out how it might look as a point crawl. I'm not too sure how this would work, but I'm finding it to be an interesting thought exercise.

Adventure Hooks for Broken Lands Session #2

Sent by email to the players prior to Session #2...

Available Adventure Hooks:

1. Either Elu or Vanuatu may attempt to take the Oath of Vengeance and seek to exterminate the vicious Bird-Men who so cruelly butchered your friends Buz and Twig.
2. You’ve been hearing rumours of a strange event near the bottom of the Tartarus Road. About two months ago, lightning filled the skies over a monastery dedicated to the Iron God. Rumours say all the buildings of the temple were destroyed in one night by hundreds of bolts of lightning. Some say that the Iron God destroyed his own monks as a punishment for their greed; they claim that the heretical monks had been accumulating great treasures in the underground catacombs beneath the temple instead of maintaining the spartan life required by their God. So far, no one has dared to explore the catacombs, so the monks’ ill-gotten treasures must still be there, ripe for the taking.
3. Long ago a wizard built a tower atop some barrows overlooking the Road of Tombs. Rumour has it the wizard made extensive cellars and tunnels underneath the tower in search of ancient treasures. Fifty years ago the tower was engulfed in green flame. Several of his human servants escaped the holocaust, saying their master had been destroyed by some powerful force he had unleashed in the depths of the tower. The supernatural conflagration destroyed the tower, but rumours persist of magical treasures still hidden in the cellars.
4. Word has gotten back to you that a man named Emmiss Sladentail is looking for you with a job offer on behalf of his benefactor who is supposedly a powerful wizard. Emmiss has left word that he can be found at the Scarlet Moon Inn.
5. Gallagorgon the Man-Bull, ancient and mighty progeny of the Immortal Omnithrox, desires that there be brought unto him an intact Penanggalan, a ghoul-maid of beauteous aspect and unspeakable thirsts. Those who bring the Man-Bull his prize will be granted an incredible boon -- a full day and night, dawn to next dawn, of unthinkable debauchery within his Pleasure Ziggurat. It is said that a Penanggalan, as well as other unwholesome things, haunt the Crypt of Llatai, though it goes without saying that such details are the sole concern of the boon-seeker. The Man-Bull cares not.

Other News/Rumours:

• An adventuring party, the Doombringers, was slaughtered by a group of bandits wearing gold armour out to the west of the Dragon’s Teeth.
• One of the Troll-Seers (you know, the ones that tell the future by reading their own intestines that they spill on the table…) ran out of the chapterhouse of The Seers, Soothsayers, Fortune Tellers, and Wainwrights Guild (SSFTW #432)  screaming about some impending doom about to befall the city and fell over dead in the middle of the street. Its guts were all over the place.

========

Bonus old-school cred points to those that can tell me in which adventure Emmiss Sladentail can be found.

(without googling it)

The Broken Lands Session 1

We had our first session of the online Broken Lands game a while ago. Picking from the list of Adventure Hooks that had been provided the party set off for the Tower of Birds.

The Party:
Vanuatu the Vegan (Magic-User 1)
Twig (Thief 1)
Elu (Elf 1)
Buzz (Dwarf 1)
Plus two porters to carry torches and caged chickens in and hopefully treasure out.

The Adventure (aka there will be light spoilers below):
Tower of Birds by Gabor Lux in Fight On! #2
I made a few minor changes - statuary was changed to being statues of Pazuzu and I added Spectral Ravens to location #9 and toned down the laser damage (however, the party never made it to this room).
I also mis-read the map and swapped locations #7 and #8.

What Happened:
The party was dogged in driving towards the top of the tower driving a squawking and flapping chicken in front of them up the stairs (in most dungeons this would have resulted in MANY wandering monster checks).

In the final encounter Twig, the thief, sprinted for the huge gem while the other party members battled the Bird Monsters. He was able to grab it and throw it to Vanuatu the Magic-user (who was back at the stairs) before being slaughtered by the Bird Monsters (he had the magic sword and pegasus helmet). Buzz the Dwarf was also killed. Elu the Elf and Vanuatu (scooping up the gem) made a hasty tactical retreat and hauled ass after the fleeing porters (leaving behind the chickens).

The Tally:
Killed 2 Bird Monsters
The Blood Egg
A sword with a golden pommel
A small statuette of Pazuzu
A small sack with 34 gp
The pegasus helmet and a magic sword remained behind with the fallen.

2,035 XP for the two surviving party members.

What Worked Well/What Didn’t Work Well:
I tried to set up two cameras on my end - one for my face and my viewing (my laptop) and one to show the table, combat maps, drawings, etc. (my phone). However, my lack of technical know-how prevented me effectively setting this up. We defaulted to me just swinging my laptop around to show what I wanted. Also, instead of using the table map I just sketched a lot on scrap paper and held them up to the camera.

Prior to setting out, one of the players asked about a library to do some research about the Tower. I was unhappy with how I handled it.

B/X Sages and Libraries

In a recent online game one of the players asked about a library to do some research regarding an adventure hook. I gave a quick answer to keep the game moving, but was unhappy about how I handled it.

Afterwards, I was thinking about how to handle this circumstance. Going forward, I think I will handle it in one of two ways: 1) The simplest way - there are no accessible libraries. They all belong to sages who obsessively guard access; or 2) If there is a library it provides the same service as a sage but the players have to do the work without the benefit of the expertise and knowledge of a sage to help them.

Using the very brief blurb about sages on page X21 as a starting point, below are some quick (un-play tested) rules I came up with for Sages and Libraries.

The Scope of Work
Ask the question(s) you want answered. The number of words in the question(s) will determine how much it will cost and how long it will take to answer. For each word, there will be a base cost of 100gp and 1 day. Each additional question will add +1 to the word count (in effect putting an “and” in the question). The number of words is a quick and dirty estimate for the level of detail in the question and answer. If using a library instead of a sage, the time is doubled but costs are halved.

• For example, asking a sage, “Where is the blade of the sword of Akekemmon? How can it be fixed?” is 14 words plus 1 for the additional question is 15. These questions will have a base cost of 1,500 gp and take 15 days to get an answer. The same questions at a library will cost 750 gp but take 30 days.

Or you can hire a sage on retainer for 2,000 gp per month. 

And the Answer Is…

Roll 2d6:
2 - Incorrect answer (insert evil laugh).
3-5 - Question answered but at twice the cost and time.
6-8 - Question answered at base cost and time.
9-11 - Question answered. Cost and time are 75% of base.
12 - Answer plus another related fact. Cost and time halved.

If you have the sage on retainer the roll is still made for time required. The DM can determine if the cost varies based on the die roll (additional materials required, sage travel expenses, etc.)

Possible Modifiers:
Sage specialty or library facilities: Up to +2/-2
Difficulty/Obscurity of Question: Up to +2/-2

Note: I have the sneaking suspicion that I have read something resembling this in the past. My apologies for not being able to properly attribute this to whomever it was that provided the inspiration.

The Octozoid

A combination new BX monster and Stupid Art post! Not so hot in the grammar department, but oh well.

The Broken Lands

With our Nightmoor Abbey game going on hiatus, I decided to try running an online BX game for the same crew. I didn't want to run Nightmoor Abbey as for some strange personal reasons I want to play it at the table. Therefore, I sent the following to the players...

Goal: A picaresque, episodic, beer-n-pretzels game

• Using Google Hangouts
• Designed to let me use a bunch of classic and OSR modules
• There will always be 2-4 adventure hooks available to choose from (initial 3 below)
• A few house rules
• Dice rolls are honour system. I will try to roll the DM dice on the camera.

Characters:

• 3d6 in order
• Any class/race for BX or Labyrinth Lord is usable (just run it by me first so I know the source)

The Broken Lands

Welcome to Jekarra the Wicked, the city of thieves, the city of adventure. Throughout the known world, no city is half so notorious. Blackened by fire, soiled by pestilence, and scarred by war, its sandy collection of spiderwebbed tenements and rat-ridden bazaars have birthed some of the worst rogues and villains to ever stalk the storied thrones of the south.

But the City of Thieves, is also a city of chance and adventure, where fortunes are won in a night and lost before dawn. Where gems glint and flare in the lamplight, the might of magic knows no bounds, and a warrior's quick blade and shirt of mail are his best defense. The City of Jekarra sits atop the Cliffs of Leng. The huge 1,000-foot cliff face is pocked with caves, balconies and passageways - some made by the residents of Jekarra over the centuries for uses both mundane and illicit and some predate the founding of the city by millenia.

Cutting across the face of the Cliffs of Leng, the Tartarus Road descends from the city to the Broken Lands below. What caused the terrible landscape of the Broken Lands none know. It is a blasted and forsaken land full of pits, ruins, and dungeons. Wandering this inhospitable land are fearsome monsters, religious fanatics, savage raiders, and worse. However, it is also rumoured to contain treasures beyond measure.

So loosen your sword, keep a hand on your coin pouch, and take these first steps out of the tavern, and through the shadowy, torch-lit streets. A black mist is roiling beyond the precipice of the Leng, and adventure beckons below…

Initial Adventure Hooks:

1. Gerod, the Silver Man, sold you a map for 1 sp. He swore it will lead you to the Tower of Birds in the Broken Lands which contains the Blood Egg, a fantastic red gem.
2. You’ve been hearing rumours of a strange event near the bottom of the Tartarus Road. About two months ago, lightning filled the skies over a monastery dedicated to the Iron God. Rumours say all the buildings of the temple were destroyed in one night by hundreds of bolts of lightning. Some say that the Iron God destroyed his own monks as a punishment for their greed; they claim that the heretical monks had been accumulating great treasures in the underground catacombs beneath the temple instead of maintaining the spartan life required by their God. So far, no one has dared to explore the catacombs, so the monks’ ill-gotten treasures must still be there, ripe for the taking.
3. Long ago a wizard built a tower atop some barrows just south of the Red Massif overlooking the Road of Tombs. Rumour has it the wizard made extensive cellars and tunnels underneath the tower in search of ancient treasures. Fifty years ago the tower was engulfed in green flame. Several of his human servants escaped the holocaust, saying their master had been destroyed by some powerful force he had unleashed in the depths of the tower. The supernatural conflagration destroyed the tower, but tales persist of magical treasures still hidden in the cellars.

Many will likely recognize the hooks.