Année: 2026

Flaming Bats for Dragonbane

David Skelector Bestiary, Dragonbane, Fantasy, Monsters, Roleplaying Game, RPG

I’m converting a monster from Gunderholfen (OSR D&D) to Dragonbane that should be encountered next session most likely. I think I’ve emulated the design of monsters in DB closely enough.

Now, I’m not a fan of « Planar » stuff in rpgs. Flaming bats coming from the plane of fire doesn’t do it for me for some reason. Would there be a more « biological » explanation available? Does it eat coal or something as part of its diet? Or I dunno maybe we should go the magic did it route and let’s say it absorbs ambient mana, convert it to heat and that’s why they’re only found in dungeons…

Flaming Bat

This creature is a large orange and black bat with a 2 meters wingspan. It lairs in hot places within small colonies. When resting it emits only a dim flicker like dying embers but when actively hunting it’s wreathed in flames.

Ferocity: 1

Size: medium

Movement: 30

Armor: –

HP: 9

Resistance: Immune to fire.

Flying: The wings of the flaming bat allows it to move freely through the air.

Weakness: If doused in water, their flames can be quenced for a stretch. During this period a flaming bat will try to flee combat.

Monster Attacks

d6 Attack

1 Sharp Teeth! The agile flaming bat swoops down and takes a quick bite at a player character with its sharp teeth, for 2d6 piercing damage. The attack can be evaded or parried.

2 Smoke Screen! The flaming bat exhales a cloud of black smoke from its mouth, all player characters within 2 meters must evade or be blinded (must succeed in an awareness roll in order to attack). The smoke dissipates after 1 round.

3 Sweeping Claws! The flaming bat does an acrobatic figure midair and tries to rake a player character with its claws, for 2d6 slashing damage. The attack can be evaded or parried wth a shield.

4 Fire Belching! The flying creature opens its mouth and let go of a jet of flames, for 2d8 fire damage. The attack can be evaded or parried wth a shield.

5 Latching Attack! The flaming bat tries to latch itself onto a player character using its fangs and claws. The attack inflicts 1d8 piercing damage and subsequently 1d8 fire damage each round that the flaming bat stays latched on. The attack can be evaded or parried wth a shield.

6 Fiery Dive! The fire-emiting creature suddenly burns brighter and dives towards a player character, for 1d8 slashing damage and 1d8 fire damage. The attack can be evaded or parried with a shield.

Shout-out to DF Whiterock: the gold standard of play reports

David Skelector Fantasy, jeux de rôles, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG, shout-out ,

Just a quick shout-out to dripton from DF Whiterock as he consistently offers the best rpg play reports out there on his blog, in a category of his own really. Way better than what I’m doing over here I must say, my dear readers. He includes an impressive level of details for one, and never to the detriment of entertainment – not an easy feat to accomplish when writing play reports.

His present endeavor is a campaign of Dungeon Fantasy (a GURPS variant), he’s indeed a DF guy – within the Halls of Arden Vul mega dungeon (which as a bonus I’m also a big fan of).

So, what can I add? The best play reports ever, precise and humorous. Also, a lot of behind the curtain to be appreciated by dungeon masters or would-be dms.

Highly recommended!

Gunderholfen- Peril in Ganfal Swamp (session 16)

David Skelector Dragonbane, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Gunderholfen, jeux de rôles, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG

I’ll try to have something like a weekly session, at least bi-monthly, of this campaign with my kids for the coming months until summer, we’ll see if I manage to do it.

Short session, 2 hours.

Gunderholfen by G. Hawkins: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/265629/gunderholfen

Player Characters (PCs) – The Battle Brothers:

  • Aracyne, Elf Hunter, fearless Guild Leader, (Isaac)
  • Jedri, Ratman Thief, he likes his rat-shape curse (Isaac)
  • Forka, Dogman Knight, fierce warrior (Edmond)
  • Torch, Goblin Knight, not expendable anymore (Edmond)
  • Grimoire, Goblin Mage, frail but smart (me)

Gunderholfen

  • We start in Level 4, with the Battle Brothers and Protectors in the ogres’ den. Having slaughtered most of the adult males and ordered the survivors away, the adventurers clean up the place, using the open pit to good effect, to make it, well, less of an ogres’ den.
  • After that, they block the door and camp there for the night. Forka, in his turn to keep watch, hear footsteps nearby and whispering voices. There’s the smell of orcs. But they seem to turn back the way they came.
  • Next day they begin together their ascent towards sunlight. They tie themselves together with rope for the slippery stairs to Level 3. Reaching Level 3, they do a small detour to see Grom the ogre and ask him some questions. They give him a 50 gp gem and learn from him of the quickest way to reach the « dwarven city » (going south of the ogre den in Level 4, then south-east and then west in a long, noticably warmer passage into a large carvern and then south to reach their destination).
  • They encounter a patrol of ant workers in Level 2 busy transporting dead giant rats and neither side is interested in fighting.
  • They reach Level 1C, into what was the hobgoblin area and got to a portcullis that was always closed to them in the past. They opened it and, a bit further, got to a deep vertical, artificial shaft with chains dangling but no easy way down.
  • They backtracked and then reached Level 1B and got out by the « goblins » door.

Ganfal Swamp

  • Aracyne leads the group competently through Ganfal Swamp and they make good progress despite the harassing environment but then, several hours in, they see a dozen or more humanoids in ragged clothes emerging from behind an outcrop: ghouls!
  • The adventurers fire a salvo of spells and arrows on the howling undead and four of them are slain and another immobilized by a spell of ensnaring roots. But the ghouls are now in melee. Bodil gets hurt by a claw attack and then tackled to the ground and is in great danger. Efram the Mage gets vomited on by a ghoul and then flees not long after, demoralized by the terrifying howling. Aracyne is dishearthened but stands his ground.
  • Two more ghouls are on the approach. Bodil the elf is badly hurt and unconscious. The Hunter Adalbert also flees after another howling near him. Two ghouls are avidly pursuing Efram and Adalbert. Bayard smashes a ghoul’s face in with his magic mace and it’s killed. Jedri drops his flail inadvertently but has a dagger to continue fighting two-weapons style. Grimoire the goblin Mage casts 3 small fireballs and efficiently finish 3 already wounded ghouls. Forka team up with spear-wielding Torch to slay another. The mage Delevan cast Levitate on the ghoul on top of Bodil and throws it away, hurting it in the process, then he goes to help his fleeing companions.
  • Twelve ghouls have been slaughtered, two surviving start to run away, one is stuck in place by Ensnaring roots and is finished by a big hammer blow delivered by Forka. The adventurers have won, with one casualty among them: Bodil is concussed and has infected wounds. Adalbert and Efram also have infected wounds. Fortunately they soon get out of the swamp, into the farmlands, talk to some peasants on the road and reach the city of Longfelt.
  • The two adventuring guilds make a vow of friendship, decide to leave each other signs (cray writings) in the dungeon if they go separately and then say farewell to each other.

Closing Comments:

  • Grom has gotten back his leadership of the ogres thanks to them, there’s that, but he thinks of the adventurers as dangerous and untrustworty and won’t be a true ally. Giving information in exchange for money to the PCs so they go explore a dangerous area is the most he’s ready to do in my mind.
  • The Level 1 mining shaft isn’t there in the book (it replaces an exit to open air), I added it for some unscrutable reason…
  • Rolled an encounter in the swamp and was tempted to just pick an appropriate monster in the Dragonbane Bestiary but instead I’ve rolled on the d20 table and got 20, ghouls.
  • Ghouls in dragonbane don’t have any paralysis abilities as the D&D ones but, as monsters, have a d6 table to roll on to determine what they do, and also, as monsters, they always hit (it’s up to the target to try to defend if they wish). I rolled for each ghoul separately and it went smoothly enough.

The oldest crap map

David Skelector Fantasy

Brian Garthwaite over at 52 Monsters has written another clever post related to rpgs yesterday, this time on the subject of crap maps. Incomplete or faulty in some way, crap maps offers an interesting challenge to players, as well as being, in fact, more realistic of what one could expect of most non-modern, non-professionnal maps.

I really haven’t much to add to Brian’s post other than to go the « did you know » path and offer this tidbit of information that was lingering uselessly in my slush pile, these images of the oldest « crap map » (which might be a bit unfair to its babylonian author, I let you decide) with pieces missing and its highly symbolic depiction of the world as the babylonians thought of it.

Or depicted more clearly below:

And if you’re really into this subject I highly recommend that you listen to this british gentleman, historian and museum curator Irving Finkel, who offers us wonderful insights into the challenges of decipering such an amazing artefact.

Gunderholfen – Bullying the Ogres (session 15)

David Skelector Dragonbane, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Gunderholfen, jeux de rôles, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG

First session of Dragonbane/Gunderholfen since september of last year. Shame on me.

Last session the Battle Brothers had persuaded Bayard and his Protectors to make a temporary alliance and fight together against the denizens of Level 4.

Short session, 2 hours.

Gunderholfen by G. Hawkins: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/265629/gunderholfen

Player Characters (PCs) – The Battle Brothers:

  • Aracyne, Elf Hunter, fearless Guild Leader, (Isaac)
  • Jedri, Ratman Thief, he likes his rat-shape curse (Isaac)
  • Forka, Dogman Knight, fierce warrior (Edmond)
  • Torch, Goblin Knight, not expendable anymore (Edmond)
  • Grimoire, Goblin Mage, frail but smart (me)

Level 4

  • The two adventuring guilds, ten strong, descend the long slippery stairs down to Level 4, taking their time to decrease the risk of falling. They also devise a plan to fight the ogres which they already know reside very near the entrance of Level 4.
  • Upon arrival they go east and get to the door leading to the ogres’ den. First trying a quiet approach, they try to open the open door silently but it’s blocked from the other side. Letting go of subtlety, Bayard and Forka, the two strongest characters push the door open, displacing a large rock and a wooden beam, the latter falling to the floor with a loud bam. The PCs hear ogres nearby shouting to each other and get ready for a fight.
  • Getting back quickly to the first room, the adventurers get in formation, with 4 of them frontline and mages and archers (and Torch) behind. The first two ogres in are not very efficient (one good hit to heavily-armored Forka) and are assaulted by weapons and magic and are killed just like that. The following ogre is a bit more successful as he rushes in and rams into Bodil the Elf, tossing him aside on the ground while another ogre misses Jedri the Ratman with a big swing of his club. Aracyne hurts the ramming ogre with two arrows to the chest, wounding him badly and Jedri manages to finish him with a deadly two-weapons combo. Efram, one of the Protectors’ mage uses magic to make one ogre fall asleep and now there’s only one left from the five that were coming at them. The last one still has the will to fight though and wounds Bayard with a big hit but get overhwhelm quickly after.
  • They hear a door slam somewhere close but no other ogres are coming for the moment so the mages have time to do healing magic and everyone is healthy anew.
  • There’s three corridors, with the one in front being were the 5 ogres got out. There’s nothing interesting northeast, they go south and walk close to the wall to get past a (non-hidden) pit trap.
  • They see a room full of refuse, inspect a storeroom (nothing but food & water) and then get in front of double doors, there’s a faint odor of woodfire smoke (along with strong body odours and other unpleasantness).
  • The adventurers bash the doors open and see a big room, something like a cooking area, two teenager ogres were ready for them and immediately kick the burning logs, spraying embers directly on Forka and Bayard. Neither of them were quick enough to evade and lose a round removing the painful embers. The two young ogres don’t stand a chance though and after one is killed the other surrenders and pleads for his life. Bodil would have killed him but Aracyne his in a merciful mood and spare hime in exhange of information. They thus learn of some of the closest areas in this part of the dungeon, not much, the young ogre says that their ex-leader, Gorm (from Level 3), knows a lot more more.
  • The adventurers then proceeded to round up the surviving ogres in the other rooms (in this self-contained area) consisting of: 2 adult male ogres, 5 adult females, the teenager and 2 other youngsters. Aracyne tells them to leave Level 4 and get to Gorm in Level 3 if he would take them. They agree to leave on the condition that they could take their stored food and water with them and the adventurers accept.

Closing Comments:

  • Not much exploration this session but a big step accomplished in removing the ogres, as their presence near the entrance of the Level was always going to be a problem each time they passed.
  • 10 adventurers together are certainly a force to be reckoned with. I’m thinking that they must attract more attention than a smaller group obviously and, at the very least, I will adjust encounter rolls to reflect so in the future. Otherwise, in a non gold-for-xp system there’s just no much disadvantage in being that numerous.