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)