RPG

A RPG campaign that emulates Ryoko Kui’s Delicious in Dungeon

David Skelector Delicious in Dungeon, Dragonbane, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, jeux de rôles, manga, megadungeon, Roleplaying Game, RPG

Here’s some concepts I’m stealing from Delicious in Dungeon for my ongoing megadungeon campaign. It’s not even the food aspect of it, don’t care much about that, but there’s plenty other things that are worth borrowing.

See my highlights of the manga:

(Note that the manga go further than that (14 books) but from book 10 and on it diverges from my main interest/obsession, the dungeon, as the story devolves into a big crisis and final resolution for the last few books.)

In bold is stuff I want forefront in my Gunderholfen campaign.

Dungeons, Demons and Masters

There’s two kind of dungeons in Delicious in Dungeon. Natural dungeons are simply places where magic happens to be strongly concentrated. Unnatural/real dungeons are different and are basically prisons for demons (entities from another world), one demon per dungeon to be more precise. Dungeons of this latter type are huge, sprawling, expanding and sometime changing to fit the need of its Master.

Part demon’s accomplice, part roadblock to its liberty, the Master of the Dungeon is the one who controls the physical object that detains the demon, somewhere in the deeper levels of the dungeon. Probably already powerful, a Master gain extra powers once they take over a Dungeon, like the ability to create monsters, modify the dungeon, and have access to unique spells. This comes at a cost as the demon’s influence slowly erodes the Master’s grasp on reality and leads to madness down the line.

Demons have some limited abilities to interact with interlopers and can try to influence them in some way. Adventurers can also become unwittingly the demon’s liberators if they manage to kill the Master without further precautions.

Aside: a Player Character managing to become a Master most probably become an NPC and a villain for another campaign…

The Deeper you go, the more Magic/Mana there is

Mana is everywhere but there’s a lot more mana inside dungeons than outside. It has two main effects. The first is allowing the presence of monsters as they need ambient mana in order to exist at all, and larger amounts the more powerful they are. Thus, powerful monsters cannot normally venture on the upper levels without seriously comprimising their health. (if you ever needed an explanation for monster placement here you go).

The second effect is on magic-using. Spells are easier to cast and are more efficient inside the dungeon. (and to go further than the manga on this particular point>>) The deeper you go the truer it becomes. This also means that more powerful magic can only be cast on deeper levels (or a special place like a wizard’s tower perhaps) and isn’t purely in proportion to it’s caster’s might/high level. (If you follow my meaning, this implies a system that is probably NOT D&D).

The all-important, well-rounded Magic-User

Magic-users are absolutely essential to a party of adventurers to the point where not having one would be a serious issue. Potions, scrolls and other one-shot items are non-existent, you MUST rely on the magic-user for utility spells (water-walking comes to mind), protection spells, sheer firepower and most of all, healing (resurrection even). It’s a world without clerics where mages can cast fireballs AND heal (but some are better at one or the other). Protecting the party’s magic-user is not to be taken lightly. This implies that magic-users are polyvalent, have large ressources (are not depleted that quickly, have also an additional reserve with their mana-staff) but must manage them as there’s nothing else to fall back to.

Know your Monsters: Dungeon Ecology

Monsters, except the very weakest, should always pose a threat if you don’t know much about them. You have to have knowledge of their abilities, weaknesses, favored tactics, etc. if you wish to reliably be victorious in encounters with monsters. Theoritical knowledge (from a book say) is fine but isn’t always reliable. Hard gained practical knowledge is best of course but isn’t widely shared and often kept to one’s group to have an edge over others.

Adventurers Guilds

Adventurers work in guilds (the same as a party), with each members having signed contracts (with terms that could differ from one another). The guild’s leader owns the party’s equipment in its entirety (weapons and armors included). He’s the one who buys provisions and equipment for everybody each delve. The guild members can leave the guild if they wish so as long their contracts allows it.

Fatigue and Resting

The food aspect of Delicious in Dungeon (i.e eat properly in your dungeon-delving or suffer dire consequences) is interesting but hard to put in place in a ttrpg I think. A more general approach that includes stamina/fatigue that player characters have to take into account is something I wish to put more emphasis on (resting as something more that regaining hit points or abilities) in my campaign.

Conclusion

The fluff about the Dungeon/Master/Demon isn’t that important to be honest, though it fits with the module I’m actually running (Gunderholfen). What I find much more interesting is to play, to adapt (as the dungeon master) with:

  • how magic is applied in this setting, changed by how deep you are in the dungeon
  • player characters doing a rest as something more significant than in classical D&D
  • and also, and this gives me some work to do, how many monsters should be puzzles to solve for the players (they have to learn how to fight them efficiently).

Gunderholfen – Unsavory Characters – Session 7

David Skelector Dragonbane, Fantasy, jeux de rôles, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG

I would like this game to be bi-monthly at least – this is the kind of rpg campaign that needs the players to be invested in and remember things, but y’know, between my weekly frosthaven session with my brother-in-law, work, family life and, well, everything else, my ttrpgs ambitions often get the shorter straw…

Short session, 2 hours, with two thirds in town (Longfelt) with players trying to find – and obtain membership, of disreputable organisations.

Player Characters (PCs):

  • Aracyne (Isaac), Elf Hunter, Guild Leader
  • Forka (Edmond), Dogman Knight
  • Hédralynn (Marjorie), Elf Mage
  • J. Lebeau (Olivier), Dogman Fighter

Longfelt

  • Upon hearing of the existence of an Assassins’ guild, J Lebeau is determined to become a member.
  • After a stroll in a bad neighbordood in town, trying his best to be both intimidating and inquisitive, he finally hears from some locals that he should go to the Gasping Playhouse.
  • Here he talks to the owner, an half-elf named Rufina. She quickly guesses that he’s more interested in the real-life applications of the arts of assassination than in theatre.
  • She can introduce him to some friends be he has to prove that he’s got potential first. As he’s a dogman, the arts of impersonation isn’t that relevant but is he good at hiding and acrobatics? He shows, in front of a live audience, that he’s very good at it.
  • J Lebeau is introduced to the Assassins’ Guild, somewhere beneath the city.
  • ______________________
  • Upon hearing of the existence of a Thieves’ guild, Aracyne is determined to become a member.
  • Aracyne goes talk to some shady merchant and asks him to whom he should talk if he has some not-quite-honest merchandises he would like to procure. He’s told that everybody knows (in this part of town) to go to the Ashen Bandit tavern for such dealings.
  • At the Ashen Bandit, Aracyne meets with Belita of the Thieves’s guild. He will be put to the test if he wants to join. How about he goes outside of Lady Keritsa’ Parlour, wait for some foolish fop to come out and come back with something of his?
  • Aracyne finds an easy target, cuts his purse without being seen and goes back to Belita. He gives her the purse and (after a small hesitation) its content .
  • Aracyne joins the Thieves’ Guild.
  • Meanwhile. Hédralynn wishes to find an artisan specialised in security/defensive installation, the kind that uses decapitation apparatus, boltshooters, poisonous gases, etc.
  • She spends some money on spreading the word and soon enough is introduced to a dwarf named Oshida. She wants to hire him and do some work inside Gunderholfen.
  • He assures Hédralynn that he’s an expert in this kind of work but, of course, his expertise don’t come cheap.
  • After a bit of negotiations, helped by the fact that (as a dwarf) he’s interested in Gunderholfen, he asks for 300 gp (100 now) for him and his team to make one very lethal room inside the dungeon at a tbd location.
  • Hédralynn takes most of the party’s collective gold and pays the fore payment.

Gunderholfen

  • Travel through Ganfal swamp went well.
  • PCs talk to their hobgoblin allies, give some suplies. Agree to block other adventuring parties from getting in. Chief Nerulf a bit suspicious of letting a dwarf team in but agrees if they split the spoils (of dead adventurers) 50/50.
  • The PCs then go explore below.
  • They kill some stirges from the nesr at the entrance of Level 2.
  • Past the Wind Corridor (remove their shoes) and flooded cave (walk on water spell), they get to a natural cave room with puffball mushrooms (the unmoving kind, charged with mana) that they’ve seen before. They linger in this room this time, Hédralynn to recharge her mana staff.
  • 4 giant ant workers intrude (random encounter) in but the adventurers react quickly. Alfred wound one ant with his sword. Aracyne aims his bow for an unarmored spot and kills an ant with an arrow right between its mandibles. Forca just smash another with his 2-hands hammer. Hedralynn hurls two fireballs, one normal at the wounded ant and one supercharged to calcinate the remaining unhurt ant.
  • With the ants all dead, the PCs go further south. They get into the room with glowing crystals all over. Hédralynn again takes some of the mana to replenish her staff whilts her companions take some crystals with picks.
  • Now in unexplored territory, south-west, in a room full of mold, they get ambushed by 5 land lampreys. Two latch on Forca to suck his blood, the others miss their targets. Forca burns one to death with his torch. J Lebeau decapitates the other with his hand axe, its head still hanging from Forca’s thigh. Both Aracyne and Hédralynn manage to shoot another one with their bows. Alfred slay the last one with a sword slash. Forca removes the land lamprey’s head lacthed to him a bit messily with a dagger.
  • Further west, they get into a large room with its walls covered with pale moss. A whitish, oval rock stands out in the middle of the room. There’s 9 buttons on it. J Lebeau press them all to no visible effect. Forca and J Lebeau smash the stone to pieces, nothing happens.

Closing Comments;

  • As is my habbit, I did a preamble to our session, laying out a few things about the campaign, information about the home base/town this time around, mostly, and mentionned the guilds (the openly visible ones: fighters’, mages’ and the hidden thieves’ and assassins’, classical stuff). Both Olivier (made him think of Skyrim) and Isaac jumped on the idea of being part of secretive organisations and acted accordingly. In a different campaign I could have made a bigger deal of getting in, making it more difficult to find, with several steps, etc.
  • Marjorie/Hédralynn is trying hard to make it difficult for the competing adventuring parties (I made clear that competition would be a key component of the campaign, more on this another post). Her efforts should amount to something certainly but of course, it can’t be foolproof. I’ll let the dice decide in large part what happens to other parties.
  • I have some critiques of dragonbane (I’ll lay them out if I ever get around to do a proper review of the system) but combat isn’t one of them. It’s fast, fun and full of interesting options. PCs hit about 70% of the time, which is about right IMO, can topple an adversary, aim for a weak spot, try to evade a dangerous attack, etc. PCs are capable without being overpowered, it’s great.
  • Dungeon exploration was rather short this time so no going back to town, we’ll start where we left next session.

Ooze Master & Golden Beholder – Session 49b

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG

Deuxième partie de la session forte en combats.

Personnages Joueurs (PJs)

  • (Marjorie) Kalohan, (level 11>>12) High Elf Wizard (evoker), Inheritor,  doit trouver un sort inconnu jusque là avant de pouvoir obtenir son héritage
  • (Isaac) Anfi, (level 12) Locathah Fighter (eldritch knight), Outlander, venu sur la terre ferme en passant par la Caverne-Tunnel, là pour découvrir ce nouvel environnement + Salamandre Géante
  • (Edmond) Vingt, (level 9>>10) Myconid Druid (circle of spores), Acolyte, envoyé de Zuggtmoy, la Déesse du fongique + Fourmi Zombifiée
  • (Félix) Flyzus, (level 12), Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander, n’a plus de famille ni de patrie, là pour l’aventure et se forger une nouvelle vie. Accompagné de son Dire Kakapo juvénile qu’il a sauvé.
  • (Chris) Pax Double-Poches, (level 12), Halfling Rogue (arcane trickster), Criminal, fuyant un passé criminel, a vu de ses yeux les trésors merveilleux qu’a rapporté le ranger Flyzus de sa dernìère expédition et s’est immiscé dans le groupe depuis
  • (Chris) Rufb (level 12), Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; capturé par des pterafolks, seul survivant de sa bande de mercenaires, délivré par Flyzus au sommet du Firefinger

Ayant espionné magiquement à distance un des doppelganger de Jobal, les PJs savent où trouver le « vrai ».

Le vrai Jobal – Ooze the Master

Avec le raccourci offert par le Passwall de Rufb, les PJs sont dans la salle du bassin d’où surgit le maître des lieux. La discussion est fort courte et la magicienne entame les hostilités avec un Wall of Fire concentré sur le bassin. Les traits fondus, Jobal n’est maintenant qu’une énorme masse visqueuse qui s’élance au plafond, y reste fixé, tout en faisant pleuvoir sur les aventuriers acide et coups de tentacules… Mais les PJs savent désormais que le feu est un bon moyen de lutter contre cette… chose (the Thing!), et ils y mettent beaucoup d’enthousiasme. La magicienne envoi une Fireball mais se fait frapper violemment en retour (1). Anfi fait de gros dommage avec sa hache enflammée tandis que Flyzus tire avec son Hatebow. Vingt quant à lui peut « soigner à l’envers » le monstre puisque c’est aussi un mort-vivant et ainsi le blesser sérieusement. La concentration de l’assaut, en tenant compte des points faibles, a tôt fait de tuer le Ooze Master Jobal (2).

Dirty Dealings with Dirty Talons

Le grabuge a cependant tôt fait d’attirer des sbire du défunt Jobal, des criminels du groupe d’élite des Dirty Talons, le chef et deux autres malfrats. Constatant la mort de leur employeur, ceux-ci veulent bien ccopérer avec les aventuriers mais seulement s’ils reçoivent une compensation monétaire. Ils offrent quelques informations utiles (3) sur le complexe moyennant une coquette somme et demandent encore plus en échange de précisions mais Kalohan, sans pitié, fait un sort de Blight sur le chef pour l’intimider et l’ordonne qu’il serve de guide vers la salle au trésor. Ce dernier accepte de mauvais grâce mais prend la fuite à la première occasion alors que le groupe tourne dans un corridor et que 2 sentinelles, de ces étranges Hommes à tête de scarabée, s’apprêtent à les attaquer.

Flyzus fait un Hunter’s Mark sur le chef des Dirty Talons alors que ses compagnons disposent rapidement des sentinelles et le groupe s’élancent ensuite à la poursuite des fuyards, Rufb et Flyzus (plus rapides) en tête. Après plusieurs croches, les PJs constatent que les Dirty Talons se dirigent vers la sortie du complexe mais Kalohan profitant d’une ligne de vue directe, à la distance maximale de son sort, fait apparaître un Stonewall qui leur bloque le passage. Les Dirty Talons, coincés, n’ont d’autres choix que se battre, ce sont des adeptes d’art martiaux et assez compétents (un dévie une flèche sneak attack de Pax avec aisance) mais une Lightning Bolt bien placée et la force de frappe supérieure d’Anfi et Flyzus en particulier en viennent à bout.

Les aventuriers ont écopés de plusieurs blessures, en particulier contre Jobal et vont de nouveau se reposer avant de poursuivre. Le repos s’étant effectué à l’extérieur du complexe, les aventuriers reviennent pour trouver l’entrée de nouveau gardée mais rien qui peut les arrêter.

Le Roi Soleil

Déterminés à combattre le Beholder surnommé « Le Roi-Soleil » (4), le gardien d’une des deux pyramides surplombant le complexe où ils se trouvent, les PJs se concertent pour trouver un bon plan d’attaque (5). La magicienne espionne le repaire du Roi-Soleil avec un autre Arcane Eye et une fois qu’elle le voit elle lance un sort de Transmute Rock (to mud) au dessus de lui, l’engloutissant dans une masse de boue et puis, avec le même sort, change cette masse en roche!

Le monstre hurle de colère et ne perd pas de temps à utiliser son rayon désintégrateur pour se sortir de là mais les aventuriers en profitent pour se faufiler dans le puit au plafond (Pax lévite et accroche une corde, les autres grimpent) et entrent dans la pyramide.

Ils sont vite confrontés à des Gazers, de minuscules copies un peu grotesques du Beholder. De simples nuisances pour des aventuriers aguerris mais qui les ralentissent suffisamment pour que leur maître se libère…

S’ensuit un affrontement épique où la capacité anti-magique du monstre va radicalement changer la donne par rapport aux capacité habituelles des PJs. (6) Ceux-ci se rendent comptent que leur assaut frontal est vouer à l’échec (trop de rayons les frappent) et bientôt se divisent en deux groupes pour que l’oeil anti-magique ne puissent les englober tous. Pendant ce temps Rufb d’abord frappé par un ralentissement, sera assaillit par son coéquipier Flyzus qui a succombé à un charme (heureusement que Vingt a pu guérir Rufb). Pax passe à deux doigts de se faire désintégrer et boit en vitesse une potion de soin. Anfi ravive l’espoir du groupe alors qu’il parvient lui à proximité de monstre et inflige de lourds dégâts avec sa hache (action surge bien placé). Rufb se fait pétrifier et est définitivement hors-combat. Kalohan est la cible de l’oeil spectral (lair effect) qui la tracte plus loin. Anfi se fait charmer à son tour. La situation est critique mais heureusement Flyzus, libéré du charme, et avec l’oeil anti-magique tourné vers Pax et Kalohan, utilise les pleins pouvoirs de son Hatebow et DÉFONCE le Roi-Soleil avec des flèches dévastatrices. Le monstre est terrassé! (7)

Ne reste plus qu’à ouvrir les coffres à trésor (8), en plus de l’or et joyaux pour une fortune, ils trouvent un légendaire Well of Many Worlds et une armure magique de résistance au feu.

Closing Comments:

  1. Marjorie prend toujours milles précaution pour éviter d’être la cible mais ne réussit pas toujours!
  2. Ooze Master, le template dans Tales of the Yawning Portal (WoTC), un undead ooze avec quelques habiletés de spellcasting et lui ai rajouté des actions légendaires pour l’occasion…
  3. Brisant certaines suppositions des joueurs, Jobal n’est pas le véritable maître des lieux, en dépit de sa condition surhumaine/inhumaine dans lequel il se trouvait. Le maître est le mystérieux Piyyat, un nom déjà mentionné jadis, alors qu’ils exploraient un autre donjon…
  4. Le temple solaire fait partie de son repaire et aussi, il porte une quantité extravagante d’or sur sa personne.
  5. Les joueurs vont prendre BEAUCOUP de temps, en particulier Marjorie qui n’est pas très diligente concernant les limitations de ses sorts (i.e non tu ne peux pas faire 2 sorts qui exigent la concentration en même temps…)
  6. J’ai changé le Ray of Charm; un seul round au lieu d’une heure (!), mais qui met véritablement la cible (qui a manqué son jet de sauvegarde) sous contrôle du Beholder
  7. J’ai joué le Beholder le plus habilement possible et ce fut un combat extrêmement difficile pour les joueurs mais visiblement très apprécié
  8. Pour une fois laissé au hasard, les joeurs ont eu d’excellents jets sur la table des trésors 😀

Under the Old City – Session 49a

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG

Suite de notre très occasionnelle campagne de D&D 5E. Je suis très content que Félix ait pu se joindre à nous à nouveau. Je réalise qu’il a maintenant 17 ans et qu’il a commencé à jouer dans cette campagne alors qu’il en avait 11!

Longue session +- 12hrs, en 2 parties

Personnages Joueurs (PJs)

  • (Marjorie) Kalohan, (level 11>>12) High Elf Wizard (evoker), Inheritor,  doit trouver un sort inconnu jusque là avant de pouvoir obtenir son héritage
  • (Isaac) Anfi, (level 12) Locathah Fighter (eldritch knight), Outlander, venu sur la terre ferme en passant par la Caverne-Tunnel, là pour découvrir ce nouvel environnement + Salamandre Géante
  • (Edmond) Vingt, (level 9>>10) Myconid Druid (circle of spores), Acolyte, envoyé de Zuggtmoy, la Déesse du fongique + Fourmi Zombifiée
  • (Félix) Flyzus, (level 12), Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander, n’a plus de famille ni de patrie, là pour l’aventure et se forger une nouvelle vie. Accompagné de son Dire Kakapo juvénile qu’il a sauvé.
  • (Chris) Pax Double-Poches, (level 12), Halfling Rogue (arcane trickster), Criminal, fuyant un passé criminel, a vu de ses yeux les trésors merveilleux qu’a rapporté le ranger Flyzus de sa dernìère expédition et s’est immiscé dans le groupe depuis
  • (Chris) Rufb (level 12), Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; capturé par des pterafolks, seul survivant de sa bande de mercenaires, délivré par Flyzus au sommet du Firefinger

Les PJs continuent leurs explorations des sous-sols de la Vieille Ville à Port Nyanzaru avec pour objectif d’éliminer le chef criminel Jobal et le pouvoir soupçonné de l’appuyer dans l’ombre. Avec leurs efforts précédents ils sont maintenant à l’entrée d’une section à l’architecture plus ancienne et devant une lourde porte de bronze.

Personifications Multiples

La magicienne fait un sort de Seeming qui change l’apparence des membres du groupe à sa guise. Flyzus aura l’apparence de Jobal, accompagné de ses « sbires ». Ils ouvrent la porte et tombe face à face avec un Homme à tête de scarabée (1), un de ces étranges cultistes, mais celui-ci les ignore. Ils tournent le coin et voilà qu’ils voient Jobal et son entourage mais lui non plus ne semble pas perturbé outre mesure de voir un double de lui-même devant ses yeux. Les aventuriers décident alors de semer la confusion parmi les ennemis. Kalohan jette un sort de Crown of Madness sur une magicienne ennemie qui semblait elle les suspecter et Pax fait un Tasha’s Hideous Laughter sur un garde du corps. Dans le chaos qui s’ensuit, les Pjs attaquent par surprise et après une échauffourée intense mais courte, ils éliminent leurs adversaires.

Ils constatent que Jobal, une fois mort, prend les traits informes typiques d’un doppelganger…

Un corridor lourdement piégé s’enfonce plus loin dans le complexe mais Pax réussit à trouver une porte secrète.

Temple Solaire

S’y engouffrant, et un corridor plus loin, les Pjs se trouvent maintenant dans une sorte de temple dédié à un culte du soleil où ils doivent affronter 2 cyclopes solaires qui lancent des rayons de flammes par leurs yeux!

Esquivant les rayons, Flyzus, Anfi et Rufb vont en combat rapproché. Les cyclopes sont redoutables avec leurs haches et infligent de lourds dégats mais avec l’appui de ceux en arrière les guerriers ont finalement le dessus. Anfi s’empare de la lourde hache enflammée d’un des cyclopes (2).

Pax inspecte le cadran solaire au milieu de la pièce mais se retrouve soudainement tracté vers le plafond (où se trouve une ouverture). Rien de moins qu’un Beholder se trouve juste en haut! Rufb s’élance au secours du pauvre halfling et parvient à le sortir du rayon tracteur. Cependant Pax ne va pas immédiatement à l’abri puisqu’il veut décocher une flèche au monstre, le blesse, mais est à la cible d’un rayon dévastateur qui le tue presque.

À l’écart du trou au plafond maintenant, la magicienne envoi un Arcane Eye pour espionner le Beholder en haut mais son oeil magique est rapidement dissipé par le pouvoir anti-magique du monstre (3). Qui plus est, à intervalle régulier apparaissent de nul part et près d’eux, des yeux spectraux qui leur lancent des rayons néfastes. (4)

Les aventuriers affichant plusieurs blessures et avec une bonne partie de leurs ressources épuisées par leur combats précédents, décident de ne pas tenter le sort cette fois contre cet adversaire redoutable et rebroussent chemin.

Le Vrai Jobal?

Après un repos à l’extérieur du complexe les PJs reviennent à l’endroit où ils avaient affronter Jobal et voilà qu’ils se tient de nouveau devant eux (seul cette fois): « mais qui êtes vous et que voulez-vous? » Sur quoi, ayant compris essentiellement que ce Jobal-ci n’est pas plus véritable que le précédent, ils demandent à voir le « vrai » Jobal sans pour autant préciser ce qu’ils lui veulent. Sans réponses le faux Jobal part mais sera suivi à son insu d’un Arcane Eye de Kalohan. Celle-ci voit son parcours, il traverse une partie du complexe et se rend à son maître dans une salle étrange avec un bassin contenant un liquide noir et visqueux. Une figure en émerge et une discussion (ne peut entendre) a lieu.

Ensuite, analysant la configuration des lieux, les PJs s’aperçoivent qu’ils peuvent se faire un raccourci en utilisant le capacité de Passwall de la Hache magique de Rufb. Ils aboutissent ainsi directement à salle de bassin.

La figure émerge de la viscosité liquide et prend vaguement le forme de Jobal. Les aventuriers passent aux choses sérieuses…

Notes du DM:

  1. j’ai volontairement remis plusieurs des éléments les plus étranges d’aventures précédentes pour essayer d’indiquer que les joueurs s’approchent rapidement de la SOURCE de toutes ces étrangetés
  2. Anfi est le seul avec assez de force pour pouvoir manier ces haches énormes
  3. Marjorie, qui n’avait jamais affronté de Beholder auparavant, est sidérée d’apprendre ce pouvoir qui limitera beaucoup les siens par la suite…
  4. Un lair effect bien amusant pour le maître de jeu et bien agaçant pour les joueurs!

Gunderholfen- Breaking the Blockade – Session 6

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

It’s been a while since I ran any ttrpg, the good thing is I had time to figure out how I want to manage an osr mega-dungeon campaign with the not-quite-osr and incomplete system that is dragonbane. More on this another time.

Full group of players. 2 hours session.

Player Characters (PCs):

  • Aracyne (Isaac), Elf Hunter, Guild Leader
  • Forka (Edmond), Dogman Knight
  • Hédralynn (Marjorie), Elf Mage
  • J. Lebeau (Olivier), Dogman Fighter

Level 1C, hobgoblin territory

We start with the PCs safe in hobgoblin territory. As the adventurers wish to get back in town (they’re low in rations and have accomplished their official mission) they have to come up with a plan on how to deal with the goblins who block their only (known) path towards the outside world. The hobgoblins also badly wish to have access to an exit so they’re more than willing to help the PCs and will provide half a dozen warriors for the initial assault (and will join en masse in the next phase if it succeeds).

It all comes down to how to manage to cross the « Corridor of Death » between the two factions.

Aracyne had the idea for them to craft two improvized, over-sized shields so they have cover whilst they advance. Hédralynn and Ghardeet the hobgoblin shaman cast Stone Skin on the warriors who’ll be in front and then they open the portcullis.

The group slowly advance in the unlit first tier of the corridor and it’s not long before the goblin sentinels become aware of their presence, yell at the guards room behind them and start peppering the invaders with projectiles. The large shields come in handy and are opened-up for one split-second as the allies let go of their own volley, wounding two goblins in the process. Hédralynn uses a levitate spell on the nearest makeshift barricade and throws a big chunk of it away. The remnant of the barricade is smashed aside by the two shield-bearers and the group is now midway into the Corridor of Death.

The panicking goblins still have a trick down their sleeve, or so they thought, as they throw a Poison Bomb Hédralynn « catches » it midair with her magic and throws it back at the goblins feet! Choking from their own bio-weapon, abandoned by their fellow goblins who’ve shut the door closed behind them, the poor sentinels are not long for this world.

With the Corridor of Death taken, the chain of events is inevitable. The hobgoblins break the door open (they use a stone statue as a ram) and overwhelm the chiefless goblins who, after a brief attempt at resisting, break and flee wherever they can. Some flee northward and escape the dungeon by the side-entrance, the others are eventually rounded up by the PCs and hobgoblins and forcefully conscripted yet again. A bit later, under the suggestion of Hédralynn, those goblins then spearheaded an attack against the surviving kobolds in the section west of there, resulting in the taking over of the entire Level 1 by the Hobgoblins and their very happy chief, Nerulf. The latter gives something to the PCs, a scrollcase containing a message from one Danfelt that mentions something special way down at Level 7, an entrance to the « Floating Level » if one manages to get past the dangerous gray dwarves…

Getting Back to Town

  • Ganfal Swamp encounter: a group of 7 hobgoblins, not from the dungeon, parlay and persuaded to join their ally Nerulf whom they’ve heard of, instead of attacking the PCs
  • Farmlands encounter: peasants tending their fields
  • Town of Longfelt: the PCs went to High Constable Vandehaut with their report on the state of Gunderholfen and with proofs (body part) of monsters inhabiting the dungeon, received their pay and told to come back next day for next course of action
  • Stayed at the Purple Cloth Inn where they see two women have a fight, each claiming to be an adventurer’s paramour, referring to Bayard, leader of a rival adventuring guild
  • Next day, went to see Vandehaut, now accompanied by High Priestess Evadne and anorther city councilor. It has been decided that Gunderholfen will be officially opened to adventurers. Evadne in particular is hopeful that the Rod of Harvest will be retrieved and brought back at her temple.
  • It is believed that the fact that the Ganfal swamp is now expanding and gobbling up fertile lands north of Longfelt is due to the disappearance of the Rod of Harvest from Longfelt.
  • There’s mention also of payment in exchange of mapping the dungeon (which probably has changed over the last decades since the time of the last frenzy of exploration)
  • Hédralynn tries to convince the three councilors of having the exclusivity over other adventuring guilds but her arguments are turned down

Closing Comments:

  • Fun tactical challenge within the Corridor of Death
  • The fighting after this we just handwaved, the PCs & hobgoblins together were obviously the superior side
  • Hédralynn made good use of the flexibility of the Levitate spell on the goblins’ makeshit barricades
  • Hédralynn’s plan ultimately gave the entire Level 1 to the Hobgoblins which won’t be without consequences in the future.
  • Important Hand Out given by the hobgoblin chief if they ever reach Level 7
  • I chose to put forward the idea of the expansion of the swamp as a kind of looming threat to the civilized world. This also puts an incentive to retrieve a powerful artifact and gives a concrete goal for the players aside from mere dungeon exploration.
  • Marjorie didn’t like the idea of having competing adventuring parties involved but it’s part of the game, the PCs aren’t the only heroes in town. And possible rivalries with other parties can be fun to play, for me at the very least!

Riesending Cave, the Real Undermountain

David Skelector Fantasy, megadungeon, musings, Roleplaying Game, RPG, world-building

Here’s one of the most fascinating thing I’ve ever watched. Seriously. The top-notch production value and absolutely great soundtrack of this documentary makes it a unique experience. I don’t know much about speleology or spelunking but there’s something so strange, so visceral to these underground environments…

The Entrance at the top of Unterberg Mountain:

Sites translation:

  • Ursprungcanyon = Origin Canyon
  • Hochsammler = High Collector
  • Sammler = Collector
  • Lange Gerade = Long Straight
  • Sechs Schächte = Six Shafts
  • Auenland = Shire

The Sleeping Emperor’s legend:

I would be remiss not to mention that (like so many caves) there’s a legend attached to Riesending, of course! The Sleeping Emperor, sometimes Charlemagne, others Barbarossa. with their retinue of dwarves (Untersberger Mandln). When the Emperor will finally awakens, this will signal the end of the world as he’ll lead his army for one final great battle (presumably for the good guys but this is debatable imho).

Takeaways:

  • An arduous trek to reach the entrance and then days or even weeks of underground exploration, or logistical concerns cranked to 11
  • Semi-permanent bivouacs placed at safe (relatively) spots that need to be replenished regularly
  • The hugeness of the place would translate into a mix of point-crawling and proper dungeon-crawling into the megadungeon
  • The Underground Lake! (1:00:45)
  • The Really-Uncomfortable-You-Cross-it-Riding-Bridge! (58:25)
  • The Sleeping Emperor!

A note on Troglodytes

David Skelector Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Monsters, Roleplaying Game, RPG

Been a while since I’ve done « A note on » post, but it’s been slow on the ttrpgaming front over here those last few weeks so I’ll put out this little filler.

Troglodytes in Heroes 3

I’ve been playing the venerable computer game Heroes 3 with my sons for the last few weeks and we’re having great fun. My youngest is fond of the Dungeon faction, mainly for their strongest unit, the dragons unsurprisingly. Their weakest unit, the troglodyte, is MY favorite though. I love their design!

They don’t have eyes!
or the « improved » stronger version

Contrast it with the current D&D version:

Not bad but it looks like some kind of ugly lizardman, nothing special here.

The one thing that differientate troglodytes from other monsters in D&D is their horrible stench. It’s okay, I have nothing against it but I think I can offer alternative features that are more interesting.

Now, troglodytes, as befit the name should be a mostly subterranean species. Making do without eyes could actually make a lot of sense (pun intended).

damn, the stuff we can find on the internet

New features for D&D

Anyway, yeah, I think eyeless troglodytes should have echolocation like dolphins or bats for that matter. The adventurers would hear the eery screams of the troglodytes coming for them, wouldn’t it be scary/cool? That could be a fluff thing or it could also means mechanically that Trologodytes are simply immune to anything that need eyesight to be affected (i.e illusions, or blindness obviously) AND would be vulnerable to silence effects (would be effectively « blinded »).

Now, a more audacious feature I would give troglodytes is darkvision camouflage. As in modern D&D something like three quarters of people have darkvision for some reason, what about the one species that would have evolved to mess with this sense? Be it low body temperature à la Predator, or some special skin pattern, the Troglodytes are basically invisible to darkvision users.

You hear the screams of those awful troglodytes adventurer? Hope you didn’t only banked on your darkvision and brought ye ole torch!

Gunderholfen – Bug Squashing – Session 5

David Skelector Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, jeux de rôles, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, RPG

I’ve mentionned last session that I thought that the boys relied a bit too much on their aunt when we play together so here’s a session with only the group’s two younger players, my sons, just to remind them how to be more active in the decision-making process.

short session, 1hr

Player Characters (PCs):

  • Aracyne (Isaac), Elf Hunter, Guild Leader
  • Forka (changed his name), (Edmond), Dogman Knight
  • Alfred (Me), Hobgoblin Fighter

Last time we ended up with the party having explored a good chunk of Level 2 and standind beside another flooded area. Three adventurers (I’ll be playing Alfred the Hobgoblin to help them a little) will continue to explore while the two others are resting or something.

Level 2

  • They can see another passage beyond the water but don’t have an easy mean to get across without getting wet. Whilst they think about it, two Walking Puffballs come on sight from the other side ot the water but Aracyne quickly dispatch them with two arrows.
  • They decide to backtrack a little and explore more to the south.
  • They get to the passage where they’ve fought a rats swarm, a Fire-Beetle is busy devouring a fireballed-crispy rat. The insect monster is kind of blocking their way so the PCs decide to attack it. Forka miss with his big hammer but Alfred plunges his dagger in a weak spot and kills the Fire-Beetle. Forka remoces its hard chitin carapace and takes it with him, not without some difficulty.
  • They get past the glowing mushroom area and take the south-east passage. They’re in a small room with crystals on the walls reflecting purple light. There’s a sense of calm in the place but the adventurers are worried that they’ll fall asleep if they linger. Aracyne takes one crystal and they move on.
  • They go further south in a large rooms with boulders here and there. Once they take a few steps in they’re suddenly ambushed by three Vilstraks.
That’s a Vilstrak in case you don’t know what it is. I didn’t.
  • These bipedal insectoids are not very strong but they’re well-armored. Forka misses his first swing and bend his hammer on the hard rock floor. He’ll have to fight with a weird-angled weapon from now on. Alfred slays one foe with a well-placed dagger hit. Aracyne dodges on attack. Three more Vilstraks get out from behind the boulders and several others within the next rounds. Fortunately, Forka, despite his damaged weapon (or because of it we’re joking), is very efficent and smash one foe after the other. Alfred hits more often than not and kill his share of opponents. Aracyne has to focus more on dodging as he’s already wounded from earlier. The last two foes try to flee but are quickly cut down.
  • « Hey boss » Alfred says, « we bleedin’ all over the place, might be a good idea t’make a strategic retreat? » Aracyne takes notice of their many wounds and gives the order to start their way back to safety.
  • They get to the grand hallway’s door without incidents but they can hear the humming of the stirges behind the door. They open the door, shoots down a few flying stirges and then dash to the stairway and upstairs into Hobgoblin territory.
  • The PCs made some dealings with the Hobgoblins. Aracyne paid a 10 gp fee to stay one more day in the territory (plus a room to rest). Forka paid a weaponsmith to unbend his hammer. They also learned that the hobgoblins don’t have food stocks for very long and are worried about that. The fact that they’re cut off from the outside (by the goblins) and don’t have easy food sources inside the dungeons is problematic.

Closing comments:

  • Fun session. There was one dangerous fight against the Vilstraks. Armor in Dragonbane substract damage, something that I’ve always preferred to the usual making you harder to hit. Combat is very fun in Dragonbane, I’m happy with it.
  • Edmond was very happy of his character’s martial prowess with his 2-h hammer. He kept hitting his target despite having a disadvantage with his damaged weapon.
  • Having more than one weapon become a lot more important in a system when damaging one’s is possible.
  • Isaac has thought of a clever plan to help the hobgoblins go through the goblin barricade. That’ll be interesting to see!

Gunderholfen – Stirges & Rats- Session 4

David Skelector Delicious in Dungeon, Dragonbane, Fantasy, Gunderholfen, jeux de rôles, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG

Short session ( 2 hrs). Isaac is mapping as usual. Edmond has decided that he’s taking notes, so he writes furiously in his little notebook. Olivier is mostly waiting for fights to happen. And Marjorie works hard to solve non-combat challenges.

Player Characters (PCs):

  • Aracyne (Isaac), Elf Hunter, Guild Leader
  • Malique, (Edmond), Dogman Knight
  • Hédralynn (Marjorie), Elf Mage
  • J. Lebeau (Olivier), Dogman Fighter
  • Alfred (Olivier), Hobgoblin Fighter

We start in hobgoblin territory (level1C). The adventurers had permission from chief Nerulf to rest before going to Level 2 and that’s what they do.

Hobgoblins accompany them until they reach the stairs that goes down. They tell them that the grand hallway that they’ll soon get into is infested with stirges. They also tell them that the passage after that has some sort of powerful magical wind activated when walked through.

Level 2

  • Down at Level 2, inside the grand hallway, the light of their torch doesn’t reach the ceiling above. The PCs eye suspiciously the dark corners but don’t see any stirges so they advance tentatively and inspect the double doors at the end of the hallway. There’s an inscription, it’s in old dwarvish and Hédralynn only manage to comprehend the general sense of the words – something about welcoming, politeness and cleanliness she thinks. Acting on that, she remove her boots and tell her companions to do the same but as they do they begin to hear a humming sound coming from the north-east corner. The stirges are coming!
  • The PCs hurry up and push the heavy doors together, quickly get in and close them behind them. They can see a stone visage carved that looks like a dwarf with puffed-up cheeks on the opposite door. Nothing happens, they get to the other side, opens the door and put back their boots on.
  • A bit further they see a stone mouth carved on the wall with its tongue sticking out. They mess with it for a while and discover a small coin-sized depression on the tongue. After losing a few gold pieces to it, they discover that it changes copper coin into silver and change a bit more than a hundred coins that way.
  • Thence, in the next room with a small crevice splitting it in the middle, two walking puffballs run towards them. Malique throws his cloak on top of one to cover it as Hédralynn shoots it with an arrow. It deflates with a hissing sound and stay still. Alfred tries the same manoeuver with his cloak but misses, Lebeau shoots it anyway, kills it, releasing a cloud of spores. Aracyne hurries to cover it but inhales some spores and feels sick.
  • After that, they get to a natural cavern filled with murky water. Hédralynn levitates and ties a rope with a grappling hook on the ceiling and then levitate some more to get herself to the other side. Aracyne get to the other with the rope but Alfred falls halfway and splashes into the shallow pool, disturbing four giant toads nearby. The toads miss their attacks and two get kill in no time. The others, wounded, dive back inside the murky water.
  • Now all across, the PCs continue their way in what is now a series of unworked natural passages. They see an old campfire, there’s graffitis on the walls.
  • Next, they get into a room with faintly glowing mushrooms and they try their best not to walk on them.
  • Thence, they get into a passage with three small tunnels on the side. There’s fur and droppings on the floor. Big rats get out of the tunnels and jump on Aracyne who gets many painful scratches. More rats are coming from the tunnels but the Mage let go of three fireballs, one for each tunnel, ending the threat instantly. Aracyne’s other companions help him get rid of his rat problem.
  • TBC…

Closing Comments

  • Edmond’s character has almost all the group’s torches on him, if he had get wet as Alfred did, their expedition would have suddenly getting much more complicated…
  • Walking Puffballs is my first nod to Delicious in Dungeon, more annoying than dangerous (on this level).

Dungeon Rats (gritty fantasy prison break)

David Skelector computer game, megadungeon, review, Roleplaying Game, RPG

I think that video games have now too prominent an influence over tabletop rgs, often to the point of denaturing the latter. But if we stay clear of what works for crpgs but should absolutely not be imported to ttrpgs, we can absolutely borrow some great ideas from one to the other.

Now the game I’m gonna talk about I can’t say it’s a great game, I would not even recommend it except for a very specific kind of gamers, those who like punishing turn-based tactical games, like say Darkest Dungeon or Battle Brothers.

Dungeon Rats by Iron Tower Studio is kind of an annex to the more complex Age of Decadence game, both set in the same ancient Rome-like world. If the latter offers a full immersive rpg experience, the first only focus on tactical combat with some (very well-made) crafting on the side.

The premise is quite interesting to me: we’ve been sent to a special kind of prison, a deep and nearly depleted mine, we’ve arrived at Rock Bottom… As we’re the fighting type we’ll be spared the back-breaking work and have a few missions until we’ll be facing a hard choice: live our the rest of our miserable, short life in the oppressive darkness or… try to escape.

Now, as we’re in the aptly-named Rock Bottom, to see the light of day and gain our freedom we have to go up!

But in order to do so we first have to go through gang territory:

And that’s where I said to myself that this game would be highly interesting as a ttrpg conversion. DR is a pretty limited game, mostly linear, from one fight to another without a lot of choices. Converted into a proper tabletop dungeon and with faction play with the above-mentionned gangs? And with the fascinating crafting/alchemy system (i.e. you can make liquid fire, or craft The Claw, a spear made with a scorpion pincer). There’s a lot of potential there methinks.

There’s more to fight than fellow prisoners though. From giant ants, scorpions, carnivorous plants, giant spiky worms to… demonic metal-skinned beings! Hmm, yeah, there’s a weird turn into sci-fi in the later part of the game, that’s a matter of taste I guess if one would keep the abrupt theming change or not.

Just for fun, the levels/sub-levels are thusly arrayed in DR, note that the whole thing is more horizontal than vertical (maybe 4 Levels, 5 counting the Fort):

  • Rock Bottom, where the latest prisoners are dumped
  • Deep Caves, below Rock Bottom, full of critters and lava but somewhat less depleted in ressources
  • Old Town, neutral ground, I would imagine, of the upper level
  • The River, fast underground river, access to precious fresh water, controlled by the Dredgers
  • Crystal Caves, eerily-glowing minerals
  • The Mines, labyrinthine, controlled by the Molerats
  • The Forge, soot-blackened, controlled by the heavily-armored Praetors
  • Ancient Factory, sub-level, sci-fi, robots
  • Old Cellblock, « proper » prison, home of the Emperor, ex-gladiator, inhumanly enhanced
  • Fort, above the dungeon, sunlight at last! but we’re not out of danger yet, a century of legionnaires is between us and freedom