Session #47-48: Doom of the Dire Boar & Return to Harrowmoor

TL:DR: Dire Boar defeated, Ent encountered, healed of disease, communed with a strange lake creature beneath the crumbling Harrowmoor Castle.  And Lady Chantrelle seems to have taken young Jacque to the Hall of Sleep.

The earth shaking might of the Mother of All Boar was no match for the accumulated power of the Barrowmaze veterans.  As She approached bristles scraping the high ceiling of the cavern, the cleric Clonin retrieved an illuminated scroll from his haversack and intoned the syllables of power inscribed upon it.  Instantly, the paper turned to ash, then swirled around the massive beast which seemed to shrink as it charged squealing ever more high pitched as it's stature was reduced to that of it children.  A rough battle ensued between the party and the three pony sized pigs.  Clonin knocked his head against the cavern wall and lost consciousness before the last perilous porcine protagonist was butchered.
After gathering treasure and surviving a further attack from a returning singular of boars, the group began their journey back to Harrowmoor, clutching the cure for Erik's debilitating disease, the Cave Lily.  Travel was cross country and confusing in the dark tangle of the Dolmenwood.  They got lost and spent a cold night in conversation with a friendly tree called Rootbound who told them of the Elven Princes who once ruled the wood but are now more rare, and of the sinister Cold Prince, who was banished.  The old tree was particularly unhappy with the recent ruttings of goatmen amongst his roots. 
It took three days to find once again the high cliffs of the Groaning Loch, and it cost a gold coin or so to convince the loan fisherman they spied to ferry them to the castle.
Returning to the somber confines of Harrowmoor, the company first visited Dr. Prunesqualor, who obligingly brewed a medicinal poultice while intimating dark suggestions that the Lady Harrowmoor had been corrupted by dark forces and was no longer an adequate protector of her daughter Violet.  "Perhaps she needs to be removed from office," he murmured. 
The evening meal with the family of the manor began uneventfully, notable for the absence of the young lad Jacque and the mysterious Lady Chantrelle.  Presently, Resper and the learned men began to tell their tales, which fascinated the otherwise bored and tedious Lady of the manor.  Tales and wine flowed and suddenly it was the witching hour, with Violet long since sent to bed.  The strange lady bid they follow her lead, and, escorted by her clowder of cats, descended by a stair behind a bookcase in the study down down to a lake side cove for below the ramparts.
"Here is the source of my family's wisdom," she purred.
The moonlight caressed the waters of the cove and Erik felt compelled to sing a strange song that came to his mind unbidden, with words he did not understand.  The lake water began to shine with a luminescent light and nebulous shape rose to the surface, more light and presence than true physicality, yet the minds of the visitors to Harrowmoor were overwhelmed, wallowing in total sensory overload. 
They came to as the false dawn emerged and stumbled up the stair heavy of foot but enlightened by visions of cosmic import, a feeling that the brooding, skeletal claws of evil in the Barrowmaze was gathering strength again, opposed not by the Church (insular as it is) but by the wild chaos that was the Nag Lord.  Their conflict will bring ruin to those caught in between.
A night in seance with the "Forroth" was a taxing affair.  Though they planned to hurry after Jacque and Lady Chantrelle, who they assumed had absconded to the Hall of Sleep, but found that Sleep came heavy to themselves, sleeping a straight 48 hours once their heads hit the pillow.

The Perplexed Questionnaire

OSR Guide For The Perplexed Questionnaire 
I realize I've been interacting with and playing OSR style D&D for a long time but have rarely contributed directly to that community.  Here goes.

1. One article or blog entry that exemplifies the best of the Old School Renaissance for me: I'm going to go with "What I mean when I say dungeon crawl". There are so many, but this one represents a great mix of geekery and intellectualism that I really enjoy about the OSR. Too bad the image links are all broken now.
2. My favorite piece of OSR wisdom/advice/snark: Roll the dice in the open. Let the dice fall where they may (as long as its on the table. Floor rolls are always considered cocked). It saves you from yourself.
3. Best OSR module/supplement: The most used module has been Barrowmaze. A solid 2+ year campaign.
4. My favorite house rule (by someone else): Hazard System from Necropraxis. This has changed the way I run my game, especially dungeons, and now feels core to type of game I prefer to run, though I have renamed it the "Doom Die". Essentially, random encounters, time passing, depletion of resources, and dungeon dressing are folded into a simple d6 die roll. It works great for side initiative rolls as well.
5. How I found out about the OSR: It's hard to remember exactly, so I looked back at the first few blogposts I made in 2010. I had watched the great edition wars rage across the forums, was kinda bummed when Dungeon magazine disappeared, observed the Pathfinder schism, was disheartened when Necromancer games decided they couldn't follow along, but I was a Type IV convert. I had grown tired of the fiddly, amorphous nature of 3rd, so I went all in. I was still playing and DMing 4th edition D&D (I even ran a 1-13 level campaign of it using the War of the Burning Sky modules by ENworld), but I was burnt out on how slow the combat went, and how players became so focused on their character sheets. And the type IV art direction was painfully uninspiring.
   I remember following a lot of ENworld forum chatter about streamlining/speeding up the game. Somewhere in there I found the AD&D3 pdf, a faithful reconstruction of the old AD&D players handbook down to the font, layout and art, but with streamlined 3e-ish rules. I never actually played it, but I think this was the first OSR game I ever picked up. Then I started reading Dndwithpornstars and followed that to lots of other blogs.
   The final flowering for me was Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I had always dug the style of the DCC modules during the 3e era, and even ran one or two of their 4e mods, so when they announced this new game I dove deep into the beta rules, started running it and making up houserules on my own. I was happy enough, when 5th edition D&D was announced I wasn't that interested. In time I got tired of DCC spell charts, and my current group formed around playing the latest edition, but at this point I don't think I'll retake the reins of DMing typeV when the opportunity arises. I'll offer to run a simpler game instead.
6. My favorite OSR online resource/toy: I use the Last Gasp generators a lot. I have a whole list of them in my bookmarks.
7. Best place to talk to other OSR gamers: Google Plus is/was great. Reddit /osr and /rpg is ok I guess.
8. Other places I might be found hanging out talking games: Where ever it all ends up.
9. My awesome, pithy OSR take nobody appreciates enough: The DCCrpg dice chain was a great innovation that hasn't been expanded upon much. Variable attack bonus and mighty deeds for fighters is epic.
10. My favorite non-OSR RPG: Back when, I loved to play Cyberpunk2020. A couple years back I had a great mini-campaign of FFG Star Wars.
11. Why I like OSR stuff: It's an autonomous zone. It is intellectual and artistic creativity purely for it's own sake. And I've always been obsessed with D&D and at this point I like playing some version that I can basically do off the top of my head.
12. Two other cool OSR things you should know about that I haven’t named yet: I really like the new Knave rules, and I'm gonna start using them with my students. I really dig the B/X Essentials line and Dolmenwood from Necrotic Gnome. I don't play the game straight, but I love the organization and style of the B/X E. Really dig the weirdness of the dark fairy forest Dolmenwood setting.
13. If I could read but one other RPG blog but my own it would be: The classics: D&DwithPornStars completing the Monster Manual redraw/hack, a revived Grognardia, a regular Jeff's GameBlog, revived Middenmurk... oh just one?
14. A game thing I made that I like quite a lot is: The heartbreaker homerules I've been running the last couple years. I even printed up some zine-style booklets. It's a kludge of all my fave OSR houserules. DCC + S&W + LOTFP etc. I've got two versions at this point, Uncommon (dungeons), and Uncommon Basic (which is maybe too basic, but is the one I've been tinkering with most recently).
15. I'm currently running/playing: DMing a weekly game of my own Uncommon Dungeons (first in Barrowmaze, now in Dolmenwood); playing in a Type V D&D "Tomb of Annihilation" campaign.
16. I don't care whether you use ascending or descending AC because: My only real connection to descending AC is the pop-punk song my friends recorded years ago that features the line, "My heart was protected by a low armor class". Otherwise, ascending AC is easier. I also don't like Saving Throw charts.
17. The OSRest picture I could post on short notice: 

Session #46: In the Valley of Beasts

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Sessions 44 & 45: The Chaos Crypts of St Clewd & the Mysteries of Harrowmoor Keep

The Heroes of Barrowmaze got out of those crypts quick.  They returned to the prayer room to find the summoned wall of iron gone and the great para-dimensional worm nowhere to be seen.  But something had stirred the denizens of Clewd's crypt; not the seemingly living and conscientious Wardens of Clewd, but a shambling horde of zombified monks, seemingly starved for flesh.  The warriors thought of their responsibilities above ground and retreated from the fray, hustling back into the tunnel whence they came and to the surface.  None followed.
The rescued children were brought back to the town of Prigwort with much fanfare, despite their best efforts.  The youngest child, Bilbry, was warmly welcomed by his relieved family.  Many toasts were given and songs were sung in the Wrinkled Medlar Inn.


The following day was blustery with rain, but the troupe left early with a horse and cart borrowed by the Heggid brothers (Mathias & Martin) from their old man.  Young Violet Harrowmoor rode in the cart with her dark companion, the boy Jacque, a surly boy who never smiled.  They arrived at he gatehouse in late afternoon, amidst a steady down poor.
The gatekeeper was named Steerpike, a surly type, but quick to raise the portcullis once he recognized the young heiress, who was brought refreshment and warm by the fire in the great hall.  Greetings from the relieved mother, Lady Harrowmoor, were strange and stilted, but that may have been the normal manner.  It was hard to tell.  The Lady was surrounded by cats, who followed her everywhere.  They cats seemed happy to see the little girl Violet.
Lady Harrowmoor rewarded the group with a large jeweled pendant, a lavish heirloom, and bade them stay the night as honored guests.  She wished to speak to them in her study on the morrow.
Upon request, Dangerous Dan was introduced to the castle apothecary, Dr. Prunesqualor, who informed the ailing warrior that the blight from which he suffered could only be cured with a tincture created with the juice of a inverted redcap, found growing in the ceilings of caves in the Valley of Wise beasts north of the Groaning Loch.  The doctor pointed across the tree tops from his tower window. "But beware.  The Court of the Naglord is not far beyond the Valley, and his beasts are vengeful of any slight."
Each of the rescuers of Violet were presented with their own room for the night, complete with fireplace and writing desk.  Dan looked out from his opened window across the courtyard.  The clouds had broken up and an early rising full moon shed its first silvery rays over the walls.  Turning, the warrior beheld a movement in the painting above his bed.  There was a large painting of a naked woman chained in a red room.  In her illustrative state she was yet gesturing, beseeching aid.  
After some deliberation, Dan discovered he could pass through and into the plane of the artwork, and he did so, making the acquaintance of the singular woman called False Chantrelle.  She begged to be set free, saying the she had been double crossed in the galleries beyond and only wanted to leave this strange treasure house behind.
Dan freed the woman, peeked into the patterned blue light of the room beyond, spying a blue skinned woman, and promptly turned and jumped back through the painting after Chantrelle, whom he then convinced to stay the night.
Lady Harrowmoor was bemused by her newly arrived houseguest, asserting that her uncle had loved the painting but that she had hardly paid it any mind.  The Lady was more interested in discussing the possible family tree of young Jacque, demonstrating his uncanny likeness to the last Lord of Ayarai, Jourdain, who disappeared along with his castle fifty years before.  She was certain that young master Jacque was actually the heir to his manse, a nearby place now known as the Hall of Sleep.
The group gathered supplies for a journey to the Valley of Wise Beasts.

Whew! Dolmenwood is very inspiring but a hassle to run.  There's a weird amount of detail and difficult to reference.  The hexes are tough to quickly grok.  I'm looking forward to getting the group back into a dungeon, but I think they are going to poke around in the forest first.

Knaves in the Moathouse

"What's a gambeson?"

Tonight I ran my wife and a buddy through the Moathouse using the new Knave rules, written by Ben Milton of Questing Beast.  They both were eaten by the giant lizard.  She got to dramatically rip her char sheet in two.
Fun session.
They both got into rolling up their traits before even stats and the inventory game was crucial.  As they found loot they kept dropping gear and debating if it would be useful later.
I also provided three random spells.  Increase Gravity was used very cleverly to collapse the damaged roof of the main hall on top of bandits.

The other houserules I used were a death and dismemberment table and a hazard die roll for initiative and encounters.  Worked great.
This was the first time the lil lady has had a character die in 5 years of gaming.  She fully enjoyed it.  I liked how fast and loose it was, especially compared to the slog of battles in our type V game (6th level in Tomb of Annihilation).
I'd like to use these Knave rules when I finally introduce rpgs to my after school club of 6th graders and I think I'll incorporate elements into my Uncommon rules.  I've been toying with a semi-level-less spell system...

Session #43: Into the Crypts of St. Clewd

TL:DR Exploration of the Abbot's quarters reveals a staircase to the crypts below.  The mighty thews of Grak the Orc grind open a stone door to reveal a hidden sanctum of worship, full of ancient living worshippers, sonic fluctuations, a dimensional wormholes in the armoire, and a mysterious tale.

Dolmenwood and the Crypts of St Clewd are found in the Wormskin zine.

An uncomfortable but eventless night was spent dreaming of goats, ghosts and impotent rage.  Clonin found himself sitting on a cloven skull with gold teeth.  All woke early, eager for daylight.

Overgrown with moss, fungus and creeping vines, the old abode of the abbot was hardly more than an enclosed set of crumbling walls, though a sodden bookshelf told of a once erudite establishment.  The scrolls and tomes were long since victims of time and weather, but some fortuitous poking around revealed the tell tale sign of a hidden passage to the veterans of the barrow campaign.

Leaving above the sons of Heggid and the three rescued children (one named Violet, no doubt the scion of Harrowmoor), the intrepid adventurers descended in single file, the light of Erik's glowing sword dimly leading the way through a narrow winding passage in the rough direction of the Chapel.  Stepping over an underground stream that crossed the corridor, they turned and found themselves at a stone-filled arch with a bronze lever.  The lever cracked the door, but there was something heavy behind and it took all the strength of Grak and Danforth the Dangerous to shove it inward.  Passing within, it seemed that a large armoire had been shifted out of the way.

The room was furnished with pews, lamp light, frescoes and shrines but the sound in this place bent, reverberated and amplified in an unholy manner, sounding nothing so much like the opening notes to a drug filled nightmare.

The mind bending cacophony reduced all but Clonin to agonized writhing so that only he was alert enough to recognize and hail the group of clerics who then entered the chamber, demanding explanations for their presence even as the sounds returned to normal.  "Whence came ye to these protected crypts of St. Clewd and how do you ye bring with ye the chaotic happenings of the eastern halls?"

Even as the party attempted to get explanations of their own for these archaic monks, the weak reality in this place sunder once again, this time the armoire doors burst open to reveal a swirling dimensional portal forthwith flew a gargantuan pink and yellow worm, all eyes and mouth.  The clerics fled in terror.  Aliontus pulled out a Scroll of Wall of Iron, quickly spoke the eldritch syllables and a gate of solid metal crashed down, sealing off half the room, and the exit as well.

In the fracas, a further concealed corridor was discovered in a fresco of heaven's gate.  A short stair lead to a hidden library, where a single half blind scholar, related a story of ancient tragedy to the wondering party, now trapped in these crypts.

"Long ago, St. Clewd returned to us, but corrupted by chaos, which came with him.  The eastern crypts, where the chaotic effects of the dimensional cataract are still prevalent.   In the western crypts, wherein the Order of Wardens dwell to this day,  guarding the sealed tomb of St Clewd, who remains demented and warped. The monks have survived underground for three and a half centuries, renewed by the waters of resurrection, searching the archives for a ritual to resolve the chaotic energies..."

Dolmenwood and the Crypts of St Clewd are found in the Wormskin zine.

Session #42: Drinking in Prigwort and a visit to the Abbey of St. Clewd

TL:DR Via Prigswort, the travelers in Dolmenwood begin to explore the ruined Abbey of St. Clewd, encountering a necromantic gloam of blackbirds in a belfry.
Dolmenwood and the Crypts of St Clewd are found in the Wormskin zine.

The Company of the Font passed a pleasant evening in the refuge of St. Keye.  Keye was an innocuous saint of chroniclers and scholars, but the monks of this spartan place had made a point to study Keye's "Chronicles of the Brewmasters" and now produced a high quality, subtle flavored farmhouse ale.  The nightly meal was hearty, though accompanied by the liturgical reads from the Book of St. Keye.  

The Company were not the only patrons at the refuge.  There were woodsmen, travelers, and a beer merchant.  Tales were told of the outlandish breweries in the nearby town of Prigswort, of the curiously resident nature of hauntings in Dolmenwood, compared to the wandering dead of the Duchy of Aerik and the Barrowmoors, and most interestingly, the reward offered by the noble lady of Harrowmoor Keep for the safe return of her missing daughter, Violet.  

Nestled in a series of clearings in the deep woods, the Company of the Font came to the the town of Prigwort at the crossing of four of the largest roads which traverse Dolmenwood. Harne the Hermit told that Prigwort was the largest settlement within the wood, renowned for its breweries and distilleries, the like of which a common man has not encountered for which the rich and decadent pay much to sip. The wooden cottages and high-gabled inns — all decorated with colourful, heraldic imagery and elaborate wood carving — welcomed the thirsty travelers in. At the Oaf and Oast, the Company drank deep of the Lord Oberon's Ambrosial and caroused the night away, making fast friendships with the sons of Heggid the Brewmaster, who promised to leave their prosaic lives behind and bear torches to the ruined Abbey of St Clewd. Father Heggid was decidedly ambivalent about this development.

The following day dawned bright in the clearings of Prigwort and the Company dragged their aching heads out of the last soft bed the would experience for some days. A long dusty tramp along the Swinney Road with the Sons of Heggid (Harne the Hermit having stayed behind clutching a cask of saison) brought the party to the foot of a rocky hill, where the road split: a well-used track ran around the base of the hill to join Fort Road; and an overgrown path wound up, via a series of paved avenues and stairways, to the summit of the hill. "Up there," said the Sons, "is the Abbey of St Clewd the Righteous, but we have never been."

The way passed through the toppled frame of the old gate and into the former central courtyard of the monastic complex.  Most of the buildings were reduced to rubble, now so overgrown as to pass almost unnoticed. The main chapel, though heavily damaged, remained largely intact, as did a smaller stone building and a crumbling bell tower, which seemed to be the nesting place of a flock of black birds. The whole place had an eerily silent look and the hair stood up on the nape of every travelers' neck.

The explorers first decided to visit the ruined bell tower to get the lay of the land. Entering the dank and mildewed lower chamber they discovered a narrow stair above and three dirty faces staring from a small doorway below. The three face were that of little children, aged no more than a half-dozen summers who told a strange tale of their lives collecting bones and eating worms with their good friend Mr. Rag-n-Bones, who lived in the Belfry. Leaving the Sons of Heggid below with the children, the heroes ascended the stairs, which betrayed them, sending Grack tumbling down, broken but unbowed. Above there was a chamber full of strange ornaments made of small bones lashed together in the likeness of small manlike figurines. They made a diorama across the floor of an invading force descending upon a collection of small boney homes. Calling out to Mr. Rag-n-Bones, the searchers found no answer and so settled down to wait.

As dusk settled over the ruined hilltop, there was a bustling and squawking of birds which rushed into the room and coalesced into an unnerving figure of man made of beaks, claws and feathers. "Who are you who tarry so long in my chambers?"

The conversation that ensued was tense, meandering and strange. The gloaming creature claimed to have great knowledge of the wood but revealed little, claiming the small children as its friends and asserting its right to collect the bones of the dead supplicants of Clewd. Finally, its patience wore thin and it attempted to drive the interlopers from its home, but was surprised by the power of their arms and convictions, and soon a scattering of black birds was sent in retreat.

Session #41: Into the Dolmenwood, through the Wenchgate

Atanuwe, the Naglord

Updated: The whole tale told, 8/26/18.

Leaving the Barrowmounds behind, it's evil weakened but still lurking, the Company decided to visit the enchanted Dolmenwood, hoping to find a holy place in which to consecrate a new church.

Preparations for the journey were not auspicious:  The Company deposited the cursed relics of Dekeon in the Church vaults at Ironwood Motte, but refused to tithe the Church, which disappointed the Father.

In a final audience, the Company demurred when given the opportunity to pay monetary tribute to the Duke, who was enraged and banished them from Ironwood Motte, despite their heroic exploits saving his son the year before.
It seemed that tales of the wealth dragged out of the Barrowmaze had reached the ears of the great and powerful, and they expected their due, but the Company held tight to their hard earned gains and took themselves to the Road.

On the first day of their journey, the Company met Harne, the Wild Man of the Wood, on the Horse Eye Road.  Harne told many tales of fungus, fairyies and mysterious stones.  He warned of the Nag Lord a many hoofed petty god, and other weirdness.  Harne also claimed to know the way to the ruined Abbey of St Clewd, so he joined the the Company in their travels.
Passing, farms, fields, and distant plumes of smoke without interest, the Company entered the Wenchgate by way of innocuous pleasantries.  Faces in the twisted wooden arbor spoke strange messages and prophecies.  Further, the Company met a talking tabby cat with wings.  It asked for help freeing Treemother from spiders but the travelers bade it fend for itself and marched on.
Near the end of the first day in Dolmenwood, the Company arrived at the Refuge of St. Keye, a simple monastery dedicated to brewing simple beers, a welcoming place.

Clonin the Bearer of the Font, spoke long into the night with the head monk of the refuge, Brother Alfred, and learned much.

The forest of Dolmenwood lies in the little-frequented northern reaches of the kingdom of Haven, under the rule of the Duchy of Ironwood. Though men, with their fortresses and cathedrals, now claim dominion over this stretch of tangled woods, fungus-encrusted glades, and fetid marsh, other powers held sway here in ancient times and — some would say — remain the true masters of the realm.

Within the forest, the magical and otherworldly are always close at hand — rings of standing stones loom in glades hallowed by pagan cults of yesteryear; the energy of ley lines pulses beneath the earth, tapped by those in possession of the requisite secrets; portals to the perilous realm of Fairy allow transit between worlds, for those charmed or fated by the lords of Elfland.  Even the herbs, plants, and fungi of Dolmenwood have developed in odd directions, absorbing the magic which infuses the place. Some say that the waters are enchanted. Some say the stones and the earth itself. Perhaps both are right.

Dolmenwood and the Crypts of St Clewd are found in the Wormskin zine.

Barrowmaze #39-40: Assault on the Pit of Chaos, Eye Tyrant Unleashed

TL;DR  The Bearers of the Font of Law closed the Pit of Chaos, then returned for the treasure of the Yellow King.

As the light of the Font of Law faded day by day, Clonin and his fellows determined to conquer their fear and head straight for the Pit of Chaos, the location of which they had discovered after the Yellow King had sent them to a far corner of the Barrowmaze.

Girding themselves for battle, the heroes of light entered through the mound of the forgotten throne and headed north, determined to avoid distraction.  However, in the pool room near the resting place of poor Sir Guy, the treasure seekers were tempted by the tilted tiles on the floor, topped by a gemstone.  They were soon surrounded by the groaning spirits of evil priests.  They coalesced and tried to choke the life out of Aliontus, Erik and the others but brave battling and magics swords broke the spirits.

The grand hall approaching the Pit of Chaos was littered with the corpses of strange and terrible creatures.  Things of tentacle and fur lay slumped against the walls.  A terrible green light from the massive double doors illuminated the abominations of nature.

A lone hero snuck in to take a peak.  He saw a massive chamber, vaulted ceiling held aloft by pillars made of the torment of captured souls.  Against the far wall a gigantic statue of Nergal, fat, complacent, naked loomed over the depression in the center of the room.  A pit from which seeped green luminescent wisps and crawled with strange creatures.  It was a crowded place.  A horde of shuffling, clattering undead milled about.  Looming over all floated an unreal creature of myth and nightmare, an eyeball some 6ft diameter, with a mouth and more eyestalks.  The thing cackled and muttered as it roamed, surely slavering at the thought of tomb robbers for a meal.

After urgent discussion, whispered planning and the casting of spells of blessings and protection, the heroes charged in.  Half broke left, half right.  The eyeball monsters spoke, its insane ravings that of a dimension and time lost maniacal intelligence, speaking of lands of undreamt of and centuries shackled to the defense of this chaotic pit.  It's eyes glowed with menace.  All magic in its field of vision ceased to function.

Clonin charged in, terrified and vulnerable despite the protections of his god.  Weaving between pillars he found his path to the Pit blocked by half living zombies.  The Font of Law was dim in his hand as it passed before the eyesight of the all seeing guardian.  How to fight such terrors in such numbers?  Perhaps he did not need to.

Clonin threw the Font.

The glowing ball arced up over the heads of the undead army, below the terrible visage of Ibyx-Idyll, and dropped into the pit!   A flash of green light washed over everything and turned white.  A deafening explosion rocked the place.  When their vision cleared, the heroes found the monsters fled, an Eye of Terror now lurking these darksome halls, but the Pit was dark, the statue of Nergal toppled and fallen in, the terrible silence of these tombs returned.  Gathering what treasure they could find, the group returned to Helix to carouse!

Addendum: Some weeks later the Company returned, defeated the Yellow King and stole his treasure but not his boat.  They are rich with coin.  The Barrowmaze is quieter, yet evil still lurks within.  Meanwhile, the aggressive logging and assertion of power by Duke Ironwood seems to have angered the denizens of the mysterious Dolmenwood.  Reports of loggers and woodsmen attacked by goatment and worse have increased in number.  Spurred by rumour of a Church let go to ruin piques the interest of ambitious clerics.  Perhaps a claim can be staked within the wood, or the mystery of the pink comet revealed...

Barrowmaze #38: At the Mercy of the Yellow King, and Escape

TL;DR  The viking ship king teleported the party to another part of the dungeon from which they escaped.  What will they do next?  Finally assault the Pit of Chaos?  Attempt to plunder the ship of the Yellow King?  Explore some random barrows?

...

The yellow king spoke of his origin;  "Once I lived in the Devoured Land,  a distant, unfathomed place. They say the cleft peaks are the uneaten half left torn when the first Cannibal God bit the world. Things there are as things were in the day before all days, when all that is now knew a common tongue and a young, smoother moon hung pearl-like in a black bed gestating the unborn stars. The ice is clearer, the wind sharper, every sound echoes, and all time unravels with a clear and open order.  The shadow falls across the rock, and the rock despises that. The oldest witch is here, the proudest stag, the most vicious wolf, the fattest hog and most lustful goat, the most avid crow, the most resentful of rats.  There are trees that grew in first rain, and horses that have never known a rider, stones cut by the hand of the first women and recut by thousands after, there are fortresses buried since the first battle. It’s said time started and will end in this place."*

"Why are you here?" asked the trembling intruders.

"I was exiled by the Black Amazons of the Frozen North.  I was sent forth on my ship long before the founding of the kingdoms of men.  Now I rest here with the plunder of my lifetime.  But of late I rest no more, awakened by the persistent pulse of Chaos."

"What should we do?" asked the grizzled tomb robbers.

"I will send you forth."  

With that the small group was instantly transported to a place of stone, in fact a dungeon chamber with a treasure chest flanked by gargoyles.  The warriors approached the chest and were suddenly covered in green slime expelled from the static statues.  A suit of platemail and a magical hauberk of chain were destroyed before the slime could be burned away.  Moments later another walking dead approached but was summarily dispatched.  The chest itself was wizardly locked, but the torchbearer was happy to carry the heavy load.  

Low on spells, vigor and courage, the group searched for an exit to the foul place.  Finally they discovered a goatman cowering in a side chamber.  He spoke of blackmail against his Lord Malbleat in the Western Dolmenwood.  He also intimated the close proximity of the Pit of Chaos.  In exchange for a dram of wine and a bit of food the goatman, Billy, offered friendship and lead the group to an exit from the Maze, stopping along the way to swiftly Web a floating ball of eyeballs to the wall.  

Relieved and weary, the Company of the Raven collapsed in their beds, happy to have survived another foray, but concerned the light of the Fount of Law continues to dim.
*Words courtesy of Frostbitten and Mutilated by Zak S.

Barrowmaze #37: Death Ship of the Yellow King

As we began this session I was reminded that we had decided to play out the adventures of the lost party members.  I think the best way to describe this one is from the DM's perspective.
Grack the half-orc warrior had fallen into a magical pit along with a Blood Pudding.  They were teleported to another location in the dungeon.  Investigating, Erik the Red dangled a torch from a rope into the pit.  He and the rope all faded away. 

Discounting minor time discrepancies, Grack fought a round against the Pudding, stumbling into a corridor, his stone hammer ineffective against the pursuing blob.  Then Erik dropped out of the ceiling.  He attacked the thing with a magic sword while Grack ran away.  Erik followed and the bolted through a door and slammed it behind them.  They were in a large pillared chamber that had been previously explored, though not necessarily by these characters, and certainly the previous game year, so they did not recognize the place.  But they did choose the southwest door (although I wasn't giving them coordinates).  This decision more or less put them on a direct route to the original entrance in Room 1! 

The pair scraped around, looking and doors and resisting the urge to peek into side doors (except for one incident with a spring loaded crossbow) until they came to an intersection full of graffiti and markings.  Slowly it dawned on them.  They were near the entrance.  Scuttling west, the two warriors considered backtracking with their map and trying to find their friends.  Instead they climbed the rope and fell in with a party of tomb robbers heading home for the day from a day poking about the Barrow Mounds.

Just like this but without the windows.

Meanwhile, back in the dungeon... The remaining Company were facing a tomb full of Ravenous Dead.  Clonin the Cleric of Light held the zombies at bay with his holiness and the group retreated, using a Web spell to hold the door shut.  Further explorations revealed a massive tomb at the end of the hall.  After a desperate battle on two fronts against the Ravenous and a trio of Ghouls who slew a dwarven torchbearer, the group was able to investigate the grand tomb.

Within the vaulted many pillared chamber rested nothing less than a viking longship of blackened timber and tattered sail, it's deck piled high with mounds of glittering gold and silver.  As the Company clambered aboard the treasure ship they saw the Captain, a still silent form slouched in a lordly chair on the sternward deck of the vessel.

Barrowmaze #36: Of Pits, Perils and Blood Pudding

TL;DR Still thrashing around in the Haunted Tombs of Barrowmaze, searching for the Pit of Chaos and missing friends.

Our 36th session saw the adventuring pick up at the edge of a mysterious pit revealed when the reformed orcish band Grak fell through a trap door while battling a bloody slime creature and disappeared.  A dropped torch winked out before falling far.  A torch lowered on a rope faded out of present existence, along with the rope and the warrior Erik as well!  Now to two brave warriors were  missing.  Careful inspection of the perimeter of the pit revealed runes of transposition and dimensional doors.
The pair had fallen through some sort of teleport trap!
"Perhaps they are yet alive and nearby," speculated the zealot Aliontus. "But where?"
So the surviving band explored, first through hidden doors to the east, down elder halls until they came to a room of statues and chicken guano.
Spooked, the retreated, exploring west now, avoiding 10 holes in the floor, gathering gold from burial alcoves until discovered by Coffer Corpses, hungry dead who defied the lightning bolt of the Wizard Resper to nearly choke the life out of cleric and wizard.
Shaken, but desperate to find their friends and close the Pit of Chaos, the tomb raiders were stymied by a northern door, then chased south by a (returned?) Blood Pudding.  A Hold Portal spell covered the retreat.  Treasures were found, bronzed skulls and a golden bust of Nergal the Death God.  And a secret door concealing stairs down to the west.
Descending the stair, Danger Dan was very careful, measuring each step and studying the stonework of the floor.  And so he did not fall into the pit at the foot of the stairs and instead poured boiling oil on the Ravenous Dead below until the corridor was thick with smoke and the evil hunger quenched.
Beyond, octagonal crypts were explored, a sea-faring tomb depicting long boats rowed by horn helmed warriors, the frescos were of an ancient barbaric style.
Another crypt opened beneath the grinning deaths head visage of Nergal.  A richly preserved cloak tempted Dan within, but 7 Ravenous Corpses rose from their deathless slumber, eager to consume the living!

Play Report: Operation Unfathomable

I ran Operation Unfathomable and it fell a bit flat.

The other night our regular DM was out of town so we had some friends over to play my homebrew game instead of type VI D&D.  I decided to run Operation Unfathomable.  I backed the kickstarter and have the preview pdf (I actually went in for the combo OU and Odious Uplands which I think is going to take awhile).  I did an hour or so of prep, making bullet points of some of the early descriptions, printing out the intro, the map and Oothu the henchman's stats.  Giving them the list of items to choose.  It all started well.  Having the illustrations to show was great.  But the play itself devolved into a routine of, "Well, we just go forward again."  They ignored side-passages, slew the Mind Bats, and encountered a segmented giant who confiscated the Battle Axe of Spell Cleaving.   Finally they spoke to a Null Priest about the party being held for the Worm Sultan.
I certainly didn't have the whole thing in my head as well as I would have liked and working from a PDF didn't help, but I think there was also a bit a situation where the gonzo-ness was layered on so thick the players weren't sure how to react.  I meant to run a dungeon crawl, but it ended up feeling a bit like the Tomb of Annihilation jungle crawl we've been playing, where it's hard to feel like you are making a meaningful decision because each one leads you so far astray.
I can see Operation Unfathomable working as a really fun romp with the right group of people, it has amazing potential, but I think I would have done better in this case to offer a more traditional style dungeon like Barrowmaze or some such.
I wonder what other peoples' experiences have been like with Operation Unfathomable.  Has anyone else besides the creator DM'd it yet?

Barrowmaze #33-35: Doom of a Death Knight, to Rescue a Barmaid, and the Search for the Pit of Chaos

Nearly lost in the mists of time, a bleary-eyed hobbit recounts the Raven Company's recent weeks of adventure.

#33:  Doom of a Death Knight
A second foray into the flooded tunnel beneath the mysterious black pool behind the bronze door of Nergal in the northern edge of the Barrowmounds saw the wet and bedraggled group exploring the crypts and burial alcoves of the Deserted Dormitory.
The light of the Fount of Law seemed to be dimmed somewhat, but focused more than ever, it's light turning always to the north and east, so they explored that direction, ransacking the bones and treasures as they went.
They were haunted by the echo of booted footsteps.  Whispers of the dead told of the Death Knight Dhekeon the Betrayer searched the halls to return the Fount of Law to it's hidden place.  After some hide and seek the company engaged the Death Knight and his skeletal minions in battle.  In desperation they fled through the chamber of the Water Weird, hoping to turn the two upon each other.  It worked!  Combined with an inspiring potion of heroism, Dhekeon the Betrayer was defeated!

#34: Rescue the Barmaid!
Back in the village of Helix, there was much activity.  Word had gone far and wide that the dead were walking beyond the mounds, leaving treasures unguarded within.  The Duke's son and marshall at arms were organizing the construction of a wooden palisade around the village.  Loggers struggled to pull felled trees from the fringes of the Dolmenwood.
The barmaid Merde had in recent weeks confessed to her involvement in the Cult of Orcus, due to the secret machinations of the false priest Gamdar.  Gamdar had some sort of hold over her soul and compelled her to travel to a glade within the Dolmenwood each month to participate in a ritual of bloodletting.  The Company resolved to accompany her on her journey.  There they laid in ambush, assaulting the Acolyte of Orcus and his goatheaded minions, rescuing the barmaid and taking Gamdar prisoner.
Gamdar told tales of the Acolytes of Orcus searching the Barrowmaze for the lost spark of Nergal, challenging the competing interests of the Necromancers of Set, who he suspected of having their own secret entrance into the maze.
Further, it was rumored that a great and powerful evil lurked in the eastern reaches of the maze, far beyond what had so far been explored.  An evil said to guard the Tablets of Chaos, the hidden word of Nergal Himself.


#35: Search for the Pit of Chaos
Returning to the dungeon, driven by the fading light of the Fount of Law, the Company chose to enter via the mound of the Forgotten King.  Below they encountered a Necromancer of Set with his retinue, who spoke of the power of his superiors but warily backed away from conflict. 
Surging north, the Company edged around a few previously discovered pits, battled blood thirsty spiders and carnivorous flies, and discovered a secret door into a long hall going north.  Torchlight revealed a red blob quivering and smelling of a butcher shop.  Grack ran forward to attack and fell into a bottomless pit... or is it?

Barrowmaze #32: In Search of the Pit of Chaos

Deep in the warrens of the Barrowmaze the pure light of the Fount of Law flickered in the hands of Clonin the Just.  He looked closely and beheld the voice of Sir Guy de O’Veargne: "The righeous might of Ygg fades as the betrayer himself has roused himself and now stalks these halls again.  Sir Dekeon sleeps no more!  Quickly!  The Fount must do its duty soon!  While there is still time!"  The light of the white orb focused somewhat in a northerly direction.  

The Company of the Raven paid last respects to their fallen dwarf companion and began exploring a northerly hall.  Tapping at the floor revealed another hidden trap door, now easily avoided.  In a chamber of burial alcoves a secret passage was discovered, leading to a soot covered room guarded by the living dead who literally burned with hatred for the living.  In the desperate battle that followed another dwarven henchman met his end, as nearly did the elf cleric Helga.  

Further investigation lead to the discovery of a damp chamber, featuring at ancient subterranean pool.  Evidence of desperate battle was strewn about, twisted bodies law dead and unmoving, with no visible marks of violence.  Sneaking forward to loot the bodies attracted the attention of the guardian of the pool, a weird serpent formed out of the living water of the pool, writing and swaying, jealously keeping for itself any revenues provided by foolhardy heroes. 

Through careful machinations and judicious bravery a magic sword, shield and armor were retrieved and the group bolted beyond, leaving the weird of water empty handed.  

Conversion of Red & Pleasant Land's "Alice" for Type V D&D

Play an entirely accidental adventurer who makes their way through the weirdness of dungeons with nothing but exasperation and unshakeable self-belief.

I made this a while back and found recently found it again.  It's entirely derivative of work by others like David Brawley and of course based on the super inspiring (though in my experience underused) Red & Pleasant Land book of vampires in wonderland by Zak Smith.

Anyways, here's my tweak on it.

The Alice (or Allardyce):  

A Carrollian Character Class of Wit and Whimsy

Hit Die: d6

Saves: Dex, Cha

Weapon: Simple weapons

Armor: None

Skills: Pick any three

Tools: All gaming sets and musical instruments.

Language: Common and one other

Equipment:

• One simple weapon
• Three trinkets
• A game set or instrument
• A purse

Level 1 - Exasperation (d4)

Level 2 - Class Feature

Level 4 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 5 - Exasperation (d6)

Level 6 - Class Feature

Level 8 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 9 - Exasperation (d8)

Level 10 - Class Feature (roll twice)

Level 12 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 13 - Exasperation (d12)

Level 14 - Class Feature

Level 16 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 17 - Doubly Exasperated

Level 18 - Class Feature

Level 19 - Ability Score Bonus, OR Class Feature

Level 20 - Class Feature (roll twice)

Exasperation: Once per real-time hour, Alice may become exasperated with the situation and roll a d4 against the chart (in the RPL book) for the result.  The die type increases at 5th, 9th, and 13th level.

Doubly Exasperated: Once per session, you may roll twice on the Exasperation table and choose which result you'd like.

Class Feature:

Roll 1d100.   Most class feature can only be chosen once.  If one is rolled, select the next.  The Exception is the “Red Knight” ability.

At 10th and 20th level, roll twice and gain both features.

1-5 Alice was then reminded of something she’d noticed before...

Gain proficiency in one Save you are not proficient in.

6-7 “I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.”

Gain the Keen Mind feat

8-9 “Speak English!” said the Eglet. ”I don’t know the meaning of half those words and what’s more I don’t think you do either!”

Gain the Linguist feat

10-11  Falling down wells really improves the hand-eye coordination:

Gain the Athlete Feat

12-13 Again she heard a little pattering of footsteps in the distance.

Gain the Alert feat

14-15 Alice was not a bit hurt, and jumped up in a moment.

Gain the Dungeon Delver feat

16-17 Soon her eye fell on a very small glass box

Gain the Observant feat

18-19 “That was a narrow escape!” said Alice

Gain the Mobile feat

20 “Well, now that we have seen each other," said the unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you.”

Gain the Lucky feat

21-25 She noticed the Red Knight always feinted to his left— she was a very perceptive girl.

Gain 1 use of Inspiration after each use of Exasperation.

26-30 Alice liked pies, although sometimes people did not want her to have them.

Alice can cast Goodberry once per day.  The goodberries look like tiny pies.  

30-35 She closed her eyes and said the words just as she’d been taught...

Gain the Magic Initiate feat, only acquired once.

36-39 Oh, I do so apologize...

Once per foe, you may use a bonus action to "accidentally" trip.  This check is made at advantage.  Only acquired once.

40 Her sister had mentioned they were dreadful people...

Gain the Favored Enemy feature, but it applies to one organization instead of a type of creature.

41-42 All that hiding in the dumbwaiter has finally paid off.

The Alice knows a secret.  Once per session, she may make an Intelligence check (DC 15) to replicate the effects of a Legend Lore spell.  

43-44 It seemed nearly everything was dangerous if handled improperly.

Gain the Tavern Brawler feat.

45-46 It was very shiny and stuck out like a soup spoon...

On a successful mêlée hit, the Alice may use a bonus action to make a Sleight of Hand check to grab an item (other than the target’s weapon) off a target. This won’t work twice on anyone above zombie-intelligence who sees it.  

46-50 She was not such a mouse as she used to be.

+1 Dexterity to racial max, excess goes to Strength or Constitution.

51-52 Alice then did something quite astonishing...

Alice may add her Charisma bonus to her Armor Class.

53 The blue one certainly did make the Alice taller, of that Alice was certain...

Become proficient in the poisoner and herbalist kits.

54 She could be very charming when she needed to be.  

Gain the Actor feat.  Social rolls against nobility are made at advantage.  

55-60 “I do hope it will make me become large again!”

Alice may Use all Magic Devices.

61-62 “It really was curious,” she thought— “How many times could this kind of thing happen?”

The Alice may escape death or another equally awful fate exactly once. The Alice must spend at least a round playing possum to build tension but...surprise, the Alice jumped out of the way just in time!

63 She knew to curtsey at times like this, and so she did.

Gain the Uncanny Dodge Ability

64-67 It was so lovely, and— according to the book— it was right there.

Whatever the thing that the Alice always wanted is, it’s there. 4 sessions worth of adventure away or less. (there are some more rules, just read the RPL book)

68-71 She had not known her mother’s cousin very well, and decided that it was a bad thing that she had died...

The Alice has been willed 5,000 gp in assets: art, libraries, lands, or other eldritch strangeness.

72-73 They kept talking as though Alice was a rhododendron in a pot.

Gain the Skulker feat.

74 She knew from school what the word meant, but did not know if it was rude or not.

Alice may attempt to speak to any creature with a successful Intelligence 10 roll.

75 Alice quite liked drawing, and had an impressive box of crayons at home.

Become proficient in the forgery kit and painter's tools.

76-78 She thought it might be a saltcellar, or at least that seemed like a good word.

The Alice can accurately appraise treasure to a nontrivial and nonboring degree:

The value of nonmagical things can be estimated flawlessly.  With a successful Arcana check, Alice knows if a magical item has something off about it.

79 She did seem to offend people (and animals) wherever she went.

Gain proficiency with any one weapon.

82-85 They all listened attentively as Alice told her tale.

+1 Charisma to racial max, excess goes to Wisdom or Intelligence.

86-88 They began to throw stones, and Alice began to avoid them.

Gain Evasion  Only acquired once.

89-93 She began to feel somewhat neglected.

If the Alice is attacked in a round that she spends doing nothing but dodging and her attacker misses, the attacker will not only miss but fumble and lose his or her next turn (if s/he or it has multiple attacks, s/he will lose a number of attacks equal to the Alice’s level). This only works once per foe on anything of better than zombie intelligence that sees it happen.

94 She tried to remember what she knew about stoats.

Become proficient in Handle Animal checks. And may Speak with Animals

95-00 Alice had seen so many unusual things lately, it had become usual.

Immune to Fear, Insanity and Confusion effects.