In which Old Dolf loses an eye and brave Tansybell defeats a demon in single combat.
Trigg Sunbold, Fighter 2
Gimwort of Greydelve, Dwarf 1
Sassaran, Elf 1
Eldred the Enchanter, Illusionist 1
Tansybell of Merry Meadow, Halfling 1
Old Dolf, Thief 2
THE LOG
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| Our route on this delve |
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| Carousing, pastoral-style |
Since the party struck it rich back in Delve 3, I decided to test out my variant carousing rules and had them throw a feast. My party and the NPC party are jointly funding it, although from a mechanical standpoint each group is rolling separately. I wouldn’t normally go into this level of detail for an NPC party, but I decided that since they found the treasure and returned to town together it would make sense for them to throw a joint party.
Selling the Loot
Using the Haggling rules in Carcass Crawler #2, Eldred sells the emerald rings at the Silver Branch (Eveningstar’s jeweler) for 6,800 gp. He later learns that Ivy’s party beat him to it and got a slightly better price as a result (7,200 gp) but decides to keep this to himself.
Lodging
The party stays in the best rooms that the Golden Unicorn has to offer for the princely sum of 1 gp per person per night. They feel that they should be loyal to their regular even though they’re rich now. Even Sassaran is convinced to stay in town rather than camping in her usual grove.
FEAST!
D6 rolls (for a village feast) determine that Trigg’s party contributes 400 gp each, while Ivy’s party spends 500 gp. The bonus XP takes Trigg, Ivy, and Berrybert to level 2, while Root the Wanderer achieves level 3! At this point I decide to implement another house rule regarding attribute gains on level up. My 3d6-in-order guys are fairly unimpressive, so the chance to improve feels appropriate. I’ll roll a d20 against two stats of my choice and one random stat. If the d20 equals or exceeds the characters attribute, it increases by 1. Trigg gets +1 Intelligence from staying up late going over the party’s expense reports with Eldred, while Old Dolf’s Charisma goes from an 8 to a 9. Perhaps he is becoming less wheedling now that he has some friends.
Preparations for the feast take several days: the cooks of both inns are kept busy, people from the outlying farms bring provisions to sell, and the monks of Lathander contribute a cask of their famous abbey-brewed ale. Tables cover the yard of the Golden Unicorn, lights are strung in its trees, and a space is cleared for dancing.
During the Feast
I quickly realized that my feast rules imply a very specific milieu and required some creative interpretation for a village feast rather than a lord’s hall. My feast rules always give a character a complication, with a saving throw shading whether the results are good or bad. I’ll note whether the character passed their saving throw or not in (brackets).
Trigg (failed) – Received a Gift: A young woman presents Trigg with a feast-day shirt embroidered with designs that match the sunflower-and-hare heraldry on his shield. By accepting he is obliged to dance with her the whole night, which earns the concern of the girl’s parents who will be watching the adventurer closely from now on.
Gimwort (passed) – Game of Skill: The locals tease the dwarf for his short legs and difficulty following their country dances. He amazes the crowd with a display of dwarvish tumbling, earning their good-natured approval.
Sassaran & Taravol (both failed) – Secrets Revealed: with both elves getting the same result, I decided that they were both so pleased to have another elf to talk to that they spend the entire night in animated conversation. Sassaran learns about a series of caves in Starwater Gorge that the NPC party started exploring (the so-called Caves of Chaos), while Taravol learns everything that the PCs do about the Haunted Halls.
Eldred (failed) – Fallen In Love: the poor enchanter has fallen head-over-heels for Arbold Tethyr’s fat daughter, who he encountered while shopping for lantern oil last time the party was in town. She considers Eldred to be a kind and charming man but she wants someone more robust for a husband. Eldred is heartbroken.
Tansybell (failed) – Made a Boast: the halfling lass takes too much ale and (perhaps worried that she hasn’t done anything very adventurous yet) she vows to stand at the front of every battle on their next delve.
Old Dolf (failed) – Granted a Boon: when Lady Winter of Eveningstar makes her brief courtesy visit to the feast, a drunken Dolf begs her for a kiss. She tells him (not unkindly) that when a Purple Dragon Knight receives the accolade it is customary for his lord to seal the ceremony with a kiss. Has he accomplished any great deeds worthy of knighthood? Dolf isn’t one for swearing solemn vows, but he does not harbor a half-serious daydream of becoming a purple dragon knight.
Summarizing the rest of the NPCs: the reticent Ivy surprises everyone with her pleasant singing voice, while Berrybert and Dagger get into a big argument and are thrown out. Meanwhile, due to a miscommunication over druidic rites of celebration, Root the Wanderer is banned from the Golden Unicorn henceforth. Some reaction and loyalty rolls determine that the NPC party stays together, setting up camp in an old ruined farmstead just outside of town.
A few days in town
I decided to start tracking a calendar here and found Sam Seer’s OSR Calendar. The module says that adventurers flock to Eveningstar every summer, and for simplicity’s sake I decided that our party are early birds: Delve 1 took place on the first day of the season. Working backwards, the party stays in town from June 8–11.
Having made no money for two delves in a row, the party pools their resources (11 gold, 11 silver, and 4 copper) before deciding what to do. Sassaran camps by herself in her grove on the High Road, drinking her bottle of elvish wine and playing the flute. Tansybell continues to work in the kitchens for her summer, sleeping by the oven. The menfolk double up at the Golden Unicorn, sleeping badly but saving money.
During their stay in town, Eldred restocks on lamp oil (more expensive than their rooms at the inn!) and makes friends with one of the proprietor Arbold Tethyr’s “three fat daughters,” who apparently manage the shop. Gimwort is able to sell the lock lurker’s venom sacs to the local healer Mother Tethos for a few coins (the diluted venom is a valuable anaesthetic), but most of the money is then lost when Old Dolf insists on “treating” the party to celebratory ales with his “kobold money” – his 4 silver pieces fall far short of the necessary 30 sp, and the others are forced to cover the tab, which may have been his plan all along.
The party needs to make some real money on this next delve, so on the morning of June 12th they head out to Starwater Gorge and The Haunted Halls. Their mission: to brave the magic doors!
OUR HEROES
Trigg Sunbold, Fighter 1
Gimwort of Greydelve, Dwarf 1
Sassaran, Elf 1
Eldred the Enchanter, Illusionist 1
Tansybell of Merry Meadow, Halfling 1
Old Dolf, Thief 1
It’s possible that Ed Greenwood didn’t actually roll for random encounters at all in his home game, and instead just chose whatever seemed appropriate at the time. In that case he might’ve included a list of drop-in encounters to pick from, perhaps finding space for it by cutting some of the sections where he complains about not having enough space.
Regardless, elsewhere in the text however it calls for rolling wandering monsters every other round, and suggests that “if desired” the standard tables for dungeon encounters may be used. OSE does have a generic encounter table by dungeon level, but it has slightly too many Killer Bees and Giant Shrews for my vision of the module’s weird purple late-summer high-fantasy vibe. Therefore:
Haunted Halls: Wandering Monsters
4d4 Kobolds. 2-in-6 chance of specialists
2d6 Giant Rats
Bats: 50% chance of either a Bat Swarm or 1d4 Giant Bats
1d8 Fire Beetles
1d4 Living Statues
Haunting, Minor
NPC Party
1d3 Curst
Green Slime
Haunting, Major
Owlbear
Basilisk
Picked Guards: each guard has maximum HP (4) and is equipped with helmet, shield, shortsword and a hand-crossbow with 12 darts coated with sleeping poison. Guards have Morale 10 (roll separately for them and any other kobolds)
Slingers: armed with pots containing 1) green slime, 2) wasps, 3) sleeping potion, 4) burning oil.
Slinkers: scout ahead of the main group. Roll separately for surprise: if the slinkers achieve surprise but the main group doesn’t, then they have flanked the party. If the main group achieves surprise but the slinkers don’t, then they were an advance group: the party initially encounters the slinkers and is then surprised by reinforcements in the following round.
Ratshirts: wear the pelts of giant rats they have slain and fight with longswords or battle-axes (two-handed weapons for the diminutive kobolds). Ratshirts have Morale 8.
Living Statues: made of stone, but use the stats for Crystal Living Statues. Each statue in the Halls has a gemstone core set into its chest or brow. Determine the value using the normal rules for gems. Living statues can cast the spell Chromatic Orb (1st level Illusionist spell, OSE Advanced Fantasy) using the value of their gemstone core to determine the effects.
Hauntings: old magic has stained the very stones of the Haunted Halls and occasionally flickers back into life.
Minor: roll a 1st-level Illusionist spell and apply the results as seems appropriate.
Major: use an Illusionist spell of level 1d4+1
NPC Party: generate 1d4+2 characters. Roll for each character’s level: 1-3) 1st, 4-5) 2nd, 6) 3rd.
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| "You fool... Don't you understand? No one wishes to go on..." |
Curst: A dreadful curse still hovers in the air of the Haunted Halls. The Curst are former adventurers, suffering from deathless existence.
Stats as NPC party, with the following modifications:
Morale: Curst have Morale 10. Curst do not experience fear, but may occasionally get distracted and wander off in the middle of a fight.
Undead: Curst have all relevant strengths and vulnerabilities common to all undead.
Curse of Immortality: Regenerate 1 HP per round. Curst cannot be slain – if reduced to 0 HP they become immobile until restored to full Hit Points.
The only way to permanently destroy a Curst is an application of the Remove Curse spell (which causes them to collapse into dust with a grateful smile on their lips).
Madness: Each round of combat a Curst has a 1-in-6 chance of experiencing a bout of madness. They spend the round engaged in some odd activity (reciting rhymes, skipping, laughing, counting stones in the wall, etc.) and cannot be distracted from it.
Curst Reaction Rolls
2: Believes it is alive and that the PCs are monsters or old enemies. It attacks. You may wish to roll on one of the OSE Dungeon Encounters tables to determine what the Curst thinks the PCs are.
3: Bashing its head against a nearby wall. If it notices the PCs it attacks, growling animalistically.
4: Guarding an area. Attacks trespassers while engaging in casual conversation.
5: Wandering in circles or pacing up and down. Attacks if the PCs cross its path.
6: Distracted by a bout of madness. Roll again next round.
7: Lucid. It attacks, hoping to be killed. It may explain what it’s doing as it attacks.
8: Talking to itself and laughing. Roll again next round.
9: Idly inflicting self harm (holding its hand in a brazier, etc.). May engage in conversation for 1 round, then roll again.
10: Crestfallen. It sits muttering to itself and largely ignores the PCs. Will answer 1d4 questions before experiencing a mood swing (roll again on this table).
11: Believes it is lost and that the PCs are its old companions. It will join them for 1d6 turns before experiencing a mood swing (roll again on this table).
12: Lucid and listless. It asks if the PCs have a cure for endless life.
Basilisk: an escapee from the Chamber of the Chain (Area 25), the Basilisk that roams the Halls is cunning and very old. It has maximum HP (48), but Morale 6. Use the attack patterns from Tomb of the Serpent Kings, pages 19-20.
My preference is for basilisks to only petrify with their gaze, rather than also having a petrifying touch attack. If this feels too modest, substitute poisonous fangs (death in 1d4 turns).
If the Owlbear and the Basilisk ever encounter each other, they will fight for dominance over the Halls. The winner becomes more aggressive (replace the loser’s entry on the table with the winner).
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In which the party fights a series of horrible bugs in ruined bathrooms and recovers a surprising haul of magic items. They find barely any money. |
A Week In Town
After a week spent scrimping and saving in town in order to afford their rooms at the Golden Unicorn (Eveningstar’s 2nd-best inn) that Trigg needs to recuperate, the party is back on the trail towards Starwater Gorge and the Haunted Halls.
Tansybell got some part-time work in the inn’s kitchen to cover her expenses, while Sassaran went to camp by herself in a stand of trees off of the High Road. Old Dolf blew through his pocket money halfway through the week and then philosophically returned to sleeping in haylofts, scrumping, and bothering people for money, which is more or less what he did before.
I got my OSE town prices from Carcass Crawler #2, which also has a Wood Elf class that I decided to use for Sassaran – the main trade off here is getting the Fighter’s attack bonus and an additional +1 to-hit with ranged weapons in exchange for losing turn undead.
Now that the party has alerted the kobolds and opened the portcullis, I’m using a d6 wandering monster table, where a 1 indicates a kobold patrol and a 6 the hunting owlbear.
I’ve also decided on a solution for the empty rooms: I’ll roll a random room from the upper level of the adventure module B1 In Search of the Unknown, with a 50% chance to contain treasure and a separate 50% chance for a monster from the relevant tables at the back of that book.
Modeling their behavior on my old high school friends’ exploration method, the party’s goal on this delve is to double-check the areas they’ve already been to before braving the obviously dangerous doors in Area 8.
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| There are many kobolds, but Sam Wood's 3e one is mine |
In which the party is nearly slaughtered by an owlbear in the very first room, avoids green slime and a giant spider, fails to search an unusually treasure-filled toilet, wanders around long stretches of empty corridor and battles some elite rootin’-tootin’ crossbow-shootin’ kobold guards. They do not find any money.
Trigg Sunbold, fighter 1: aspiring hero and party leader
Gimwort of Greydelve, dwarf 1: a doughty young dwarven warrior
Sassaran, elf 1: aloof elvish archer, doesn’t speak common
Eldred the Enchanter, illusionist 1: weak of body but sound of mind
Tansybell of Merry Meadow, halfling 1: a lass of great courage but little ability
Old Dolf, thief 1: how is this stupid old coot still alive?
I’m a bad perfectionist when it comes to designing things or running games for other people, so I decided to start immediately – I’m using OSE from the SRD website and I’ll be playing The Haunted Halls of Eveningstar, an adventure that I’ve read once but haven’t wasted a bunch of time thinking about what I’d like to improve.
I know I’ll be using a couple of house rules:
Where appropriate I’ll use a simple “Yes/No” oracle on a d6 (high for yes, low for no). To simulate group discussions I’ll roll the oracle die for each character to get a “party vote”.
Now to generate some characters. I wanted to use a party of six PCs, and I wanted a Fighter, Magic-User, Thief, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling, so I decided to roll six sets of 3d6-in-order attributes and then assign the classes. I then distributed equipment based on a vague sense of balance and aesthetics. I didn’t use any of my prized name generators, instead inventing names by drawing from my own ideas of light-hearted vernacular fantasy. I started with pretty basic sketches of these guys, but their character bios have been fleshed out over a few sessions of play by now.
