Next session: D&D 5E, Temple of Fire

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign, session prep

Our next gaming session will be this weekend for Marjorie’s birthday. She tells me she’s eager to play her 10th level wizard again, and feel powerful, that’s what she said, so we’ll be back in our 5E campaign. We’ll return to the Château des Faussesflammes/Castle Xyntillan soon enough though as the kids much prefer it.

Anyway, last time we played the characters had entered the volcanic lair of fire-loving pterafolks. Their goal is to find the survivors of the Star Princess, an airship that crashed in the area a couple of weeks ago. They managed to enter the lair with stealth and immediately had a choice: turn left into a dimly lit area and explore discreetly or turn right and have a fight against a pterafolk leader and two dozens firenewts guards. They chose to fight. They pretty much decimated their opponents without much resistance and not long after, past a secret door, found the lair’s treasury.

Right there, after like 4 or 5 keyed areas, on a 3 levels, mid-sized dungeon.

That’s because I’m using Gygax’s Hall of the Fire Giant King layout:

The main concept is pretty neat in my opinion; the fire giant king, the « Dungeon Boss » and his treasure is accessible at the very start of the lair. But is it worth abandoning discretion so soon? The players have to make that choice and as designed, it will have a huge impact on how organized or not will be the dungeon’s defenses afterward. Because the goal of the adventure isn’t treasure this time around, it’s to find information (who united the giants in this case), attacking the Boss (and looting the place) can be actually detrimental to their mission.

So, I’m not actually running this adventure mind you, I just needed a map (I’m lazy with maps), but then I liked this idea and decided to use it. It’s a similar setup, in our game too the goal is to find someone, or clues at least. And as I said, my players chose to fight and loot, so our upcoming session will be combat-heavy as the defenders, who are intelligent and had time to organize, will try hard to repulse the invading adventurers. It’s fire-themed, with the aforementionned pterafolks and firenewts will be a variety of monsters that I didn’t use at all in the campaign until now. Including magma oozes, I have this great mini… I just have to use magma oozes!

Play report here.

Clark Ashton Smith – Averoigne: vol 2, excerpts

David Skelector Books, Fantasy , ,

There’s only one Averoigne story in volume 2 but it’s a great one, very evocative:

(A Rendezvous in Averoigne)

« Somewhere in this wood, there was the ruinous and haunted Château des Fausseflammes; and , also, there was a double tomb within which the Sieur Hugh du Malinbois and his chatelaine, who were notorious for sorcery in their time, had lain unconsecrated for more than two hundred years. Of these, and their phantoms, there were grisly tales; and there were stories of loupgarous and goblins, of fays and devils and vampires that infested Averoigne.

[…]

Gérard surveyed his environment with a cautious eye; and the more he looked the less he liked it; for some new and disagreeable detail was manifest at every glance. There were moving lights in the wood that vanished if he eyed them intently; there were drowned faces in the tarn that came and went like bubbles before he could discern their features. And, peering across the lake, he wondered why he had not seen the many-turreted castle of hoary stone whose neared walls were based in the dead waters. It was so grey and still and vasty, that it seemed to have stood for incomputable ages between the stagnant tarn and the equally stagnant heavens. it was ancienter than the world, it was older than the light; it was coeval with fear and darkness; and a horror dwelt upon it and crept unseen but palpable along its bastions. »

[…]

« Raoul », said the troubadour a little sternly,  » you must gather all your strength and come with me. Amid the gloomy walls that surrond us, the somber ancient halls, the high towers, and the heavy bastions, there is but one thing that veritably exists; and all the rest is a fabric of illusion. We must find the reality whereof I speak, and deal with it like true and valiant Christians. Come, we will now search the castle ere the lord and chatelaine shall awaken from their vampire lethargy. »

He led the way along the devious corridors with a swiftness that betokened much forethought. He had reconstructed in his mind the hoary pile of battlements and turrets as he had seen them the previous day, and he felt that the great donjon, being the center and stronghold of the edifice, might well be the place which he sought. With the sharpened staff in his hand, with Raoul lagging bloodlessly at his heels, he passed the doors of many secret rooms, the many windows that gave on the blindness of an inner court, and came at last to the lower story of the donjon-keep. »

Clark Ashton Smith – Averoigne: vol 1, excerpts

David Skelector Books, Château des Fausseflammes, Fantasy , , ,

As I’ve stated many times already on this blog, I’m a big fan of CAS. I’ve put Castle Xyntillan (of the eponymous adventure module) into Averoigne, CAS’ fictional France setting. I’m already using some of its characters and places in our rpg game and I’m planning to add a few other things inspired by those stories too. Can’t say too much at the moment but here’s some excerpts to help vindicate my choice:

(The End of the Story)

« [Gérard de Venteillon] found his way to the ruins of the Château des Faussesflammes, which stands on a hill opposite the Benedictine abbey of Périgon.

Now these ruins (said the manuscript) are very old, and have long been avoided by the people of the district; for a legendry of immemorial evil clings about them, and it is said that they are the dwelling-place of foul spirits, the rendezvous of sorcerers and succubi. But Gérard, as if oblivious or fearless of their ill renown, plunged like one who is devil-driven into the shadow of the crumbling walls, and went, with the careful groping of a man who follows some given direction, to the northern end of the courtyard. There, directly between and below the two centermost windows, which, it may be, looked forth from the chamber of forgotten chatelaines, he pressed with his right foot on a flagstone differing from those about it in being of a triangular form. And the flagstone moved and tilted beneath his foot, revealing a flight of granite steps that went down into the earth. Then, lighting a taper he had brought with him, Gérard descended the steps, and the flagstone swung into place behind him.

On the morrow, his betrothed, Eleanor des Lys, and all her bridal train, waited vainly for him at the cathedral of Vyônes, the principal town of Averoigne, where the wedding has been set. And from that time his face was beheld by no man, and no vaguest rumor of Gérard de Venteillon or of the fate that befell him has ever passed among the living… »

(The Satyr)

« The couple [Olivier du Montoir and Comtesse Adèle] had wandered beyond the limits of their customary stroll, and were nearing a portion of the forest of Averoigne where the trees were older and taller than all others. Here, some of the huge oaks were said to date back to pagan days. Few people ever passed beneath them; and queer beliefs and legends had been attached to them by the peasantry for ages. Things had been seen within these precincts whose very existence was an affront to science and a blasphemy to religion; and evil influences were said to attend those who dared to intrude upon the sullen umbrage of the immemorial glades and thickets. The beliefs varied, and the legends were far from explicit; but all agreed that the wood was haunted by some entity inimical to man, some primordial spirit of ill that was ancienter than Christ or Satan. Panic, madness, demoniac possession, or baleful, unreasoning passions that led them to doom, were the lot of all who had trodden the demesnes of this entity. There were those who whispered what the spirit was, who told the incredible tales regarding its true nature, and described its true aspect; but such tales were not meet for the ear of devout Christians. »

Château des Faussesflammes (Castle Xyntillan): Session 5

David Skelector Château des Fausseflammes, Fantasy, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG ,

Still at our cabin, still raining, the boys keep pestering me to play another session. I mean, I’m glad that they like it, I am, but we’re here to enjoy the great outdoors aren’t we? Of course they’re having none of it and they use their ultimate weapon to make me agree, they send 8 yo Edmond to beg… Large-eyed Edmond saying « pretty please » with his cutest voice, my heart of stone melts, no one could resist…

Castle Xyntillan, by Gabor Lux. https://emdt.bigcartel.com/products

System: Worlds without Number, by Kevin Crawford

Adventurers – Player Characters (PCs)

  • Paul Neref (Olivier), friend of the numerous Jean clan, Warrior lvl 3
  • Paul-Jean Paul (Olivier), a cousin of the Jean, Warrior lvl 2
  • Noah (Isaac), loves throwing knives, Expert lvl 2
  • Monmon (Edmond), has a powerful antique spear, Warrior lvl 2

Retainers:

  • Hercule (Isaac), Caravan Hand (hvy), nervous, Morale 7
  • Alphonse (Edmond), Crusader (hvy), has a ring of false keys, Morale 9
  • Pierre Laroche du Rocher, mason (lgt), contrarian, Morale 6
  • Constant Jean, of the numerous Jean clan, daytaler (hvy), healthy, Morale 7

Crypt

  • Zachary, Elementalist, electrocuted in front of the Anteroom (corpse in castle)
  • Jean-Paul Jean, Man-at-Arms (hvy), ripped apart by stuffed animals (RIP)
  • Pierre-Jean Pierre, Man-at-Arms (hvy), clawed to death by a dark monk (RIP)
  • Edgar, Man-at-Arms (hvy), throat slashed by a dark monk (corpse in castle)
  • Charles, Man-at-Arms (hvy), skewered by a drunken skeleton (corpse in castle)

Previous Infractions:

Eliminated Tristano Malévol the Love-Lost. Eliminated Merlerik the Ancient.

Smoked the Ruined Quarters. Angered a werewolf washwoman. Stole the Reliquary of Bygone Kings. Failed to convince Jean-Honoré the butler of their lies. Stole a treasure chest full of gold from the Lake Grotto treasury.

Infractions rating: 3

Rumors:

  • Gilbert Malévol the Fox and his merry men lurk near the Castle. Watch your belongings!
  • There’s really no monsters in Malinbois, just brigands.

We start in Vyones. Paul Nereff recruits a pair of new henchmen. He’s not very fond of Pierre Laroche du Rocher’s personality but he’s very glad that Constant Jean seems like a robust specimen and equips them accordingly (nothing for Pierre, good hauberk for Constant).

Dungeon Level:

  • Another go through the lake cave entrance.
  • Unfortunately this time the/a lake monster interrupts their short crossing: Poor Hercule is seized off the raft and disappears underwater.
  • They go through the flooded vault and on to the room of prophecy. A rather ridiculously anemic « swarm » of 4 (out of 64) crawling hands is easily dispatched.
  • Pierre is convinced (through his contrarian nature) to not-not taste the water from the basin of prophecy… He speaks nonsense for awhile aftrerward.
  • A bit further, standing in front of another inundated grotto, they ring a bell and here comes Charon the Ferryman himself on his barge! They pay 3 gold pieces each and get aboard. They go through dense fog and disembark not very far it seems.
  • They encounter a strange creature with human legs and the upper body of a cockroach. They can’t make heads or tails of its mandible clicking but they let it follow them.
  • They get into the Service Tunnels area. They go through an amphitheatre with a skeleton (the unmoving variety) at a ticket booth, otherwise empty.
  • In a small room, they see an hovering hatchet splintering an animated table that acts like its in pain. Monmon catches the hatchet middair and shove it in a nearby drawer to spare the agonizing table. They find a collection of valuable polished crystals.
  • The adjacent door leads to a taproom with a sinister bartender but is otherwise unoccupied at the moment (that’s a random thing, like much of the module). They leave but not without taking a deck of cards that was left on a table. A very special deck of cards indeed…
  • They backtrack a little and stumble into 4 zombies that they kill quickly. The cockroach man still following.
  • A stuck door, they bash it open and interrupts some kind of occult ritual! The adventurers quickly kill half a dozen cultists still on their knees. The master though, wearing an antique crown, is already on his feet and use dark sorcery: Paul Nereff averts a most gruesome fate with a feat of will. He’s wounded but not, huh, inverted (!), by an Invert the Inwardness spell. They thrust and slash at the crowned cultist but the latter simply lifts a hand and is absorbed away in some kind of weird vortex.
  • After the fight, they go down a few corridors, a set of stairs, more corridors and get into a chapel inside the Understores. There’s some statues of monks, a bas-relief, moss everywhere but the adeventurers also hear dogs barking, getting closer. The cockroach man, still following, is gueninely gleeful.
  • Monmon readies his spear and soon skewer one of the Huntsman’s hunting dog jumping at him.
  • A chaotic melee ensues as 15 spiked-collared hunting mastiffs are pitted against the fortune seekers. The latter get the upper hand but the Huntsman himself intervenes whilst his dogs are getting killed and kills Pierre Laroche du Rocher with 2 arrows. Another arrow hits Paul Nereff who manages to resist a deadly poison. With most of the dogs killed, the adventurers turn their attention to the Hunstman but he simply vanishes with a blow of his horn, again.
  • They leave poor Pierre Laroche du Rocher behind and get back at the lake grotto, call Charon the Ferryman once again and continue exploring the Lake Grotto area.
  • They get into a dressing room and find a fool’s garb and a regal outit into a locked cloakroom that Alphonse managed to open with his set of false keys. They can also see, through a grille, a praying man into another room with no doors. They leave him be.
  • They encounter Sybille Malévol who offers to sell them some of her potions. They decline. Spiteful, before vanishing she tries to change Paul into a toad but luckily he resists the transformation.
  • At the end of another passage arrayed by incense burners they see another chapel. Paul Nereff , notices that the floor tiles aren’t mortared over there. They remove the tiles and start digging but they have few shovels betwen them and its hard work.
  • They’re interrupted by a dark-clad, elegant man holding a glass of « wine »: « I’ve never liked this place… » he says, looking at the chapel. Red eyes appear behind him. « Children, do dispose of these va-nu-pieds! » Wolves attack them.
  • The adventurers are getting ready to use their wooden stakes on what they suppose is a vampire but the dark-clad man turns into mist (vindicating their not-so wild guess) and let his « children » fight. This time the battle isn’t going so well… Alphonse is downed by the wolves’ ferocious attacks, and then Constant and Paul-Jean Paul, and Monmon soon after. Noah and Paul Nereff, both severely wounded, manage to slay the last wolf. Both then try to apply first aid on their dying comrades. They do a great job and sucessfully save Constant and Paul-Jean. Monmon doesn’t need saving as he’s tough as nails but Alphonse, survivor of the crusade, succumbs to the Château des Faussesflammes…
  • The survivors, sporting bloody bandages, get out of the castle the way they came in as fast as their wounds allowed. Fortunately the lake monster doesn’t appear this time.

Wrap up:

  • XP: Participation: 1 Treasure: 2 Secrets: 1
  • Treasures: polished crystals, regal outfit
  • Crypt: Hercule, eaten by the lake monster. Pierre Laroche du Rocher, pierced by the Huntsman’s arrows. Alphonse, savaged by Count Giscard’s Children of the Night.
  • Quote:
  • New Infractions: Interrupted Runcius Malévol’s pagan ritual. Slightly annoyed Count Giscard while he drank « wine ».
  • Paul Neref free of his phobia after another trip at the sanatorium

Château des Faussesflammes (Castle Xyntillan): Session 4

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

This play report, and the next one, comes from game sessions played at our cabin with the boys. This summer has been incredibly rainy here in eastern Quebec so we had to stay indoors more than usual. Its unfortunate – I hope that’s not a climate trend that will settle, though it could be a lot worse of course, like the fires that are STILL raging west. But let’s switch to a lighter subject…

Castle Xyntillan, by Gabor Lux. https://emdt.bigcartel.com/products

System: Worlds without Number, by Kevin Crawford

Adventurers – Player Characters (PCs)

  • Paul Neref (Olivier), Warrior lvl 2
  • Noah (Isaac), Expert lvl 1
  • Monmon (Edmond), Warrior lvl 2

Retainers:

  • Paul-Jean Paul (Olivier), in training to be a full-fledged Warrior, cousin of deceased Jean-Paul Jean, Morale 8
  • Hercules (Isaac), Caravan Hand (hvy), nervous, Morale 7
  • Alphonse (Edmond), Crusader (hvy), has a ring of false keys, Morale 9

Crypt

  • Zachary, Elementalist, strangled by Malvina Malévol and electrocuted in front of the Anteroom
  • Jean-Paul Jean, Man-at-Arms (hvy), lackwit, ripped apart by stuffed animals
  • Pierre-Jean Pierre, Man-at-Arms (hvy), clawed to death by a dark monk
  • Edgar, Man-at-Arms (hvy), throat slashed by a dark monk
  • Charles, Man-at-Arms (hvy), skewered by a drunken skeleton

Previous Infractions:

Eliminated Tristano Malévol the Love-Lost. Eliminated Merlerik the Ancient. Smoked the Ruined Quarters. Angered a werewolf washwoman. Stole the Reliquary of Bygone Kings. Failed to convince Jean-Honoré the butler of their lies.

Infractions rating: 3

Rumors:

  • It is said that the Hero Roland himself was buried under the Castle, and a great relic with him.
  • The goats are not what they seem.

Through the Cave Mouth

  • The group, smaller than usual, decide to search for the cave mouth entrance that they’ve heard about. They build a raft with the help of artisan Noah’s knowhow. It’s a bit fragile but it’ll do to get them on the castle’s lake side.
  • They disembark in a garden area with unkept vegetation and an outdoor chapel. There’s a fountain in the chapel with copper lambs with topaz for eyes. Paul can’t enter the chapel for some reason. Monmon wanted to pry off the topaz eyes but changed his mind and went against it. Noah takes the white clothe from the altar.
  • There’s stairs leading down to the lake surface. Paul notices a small cave entrance hidden behind vegetation. Here it is, the entrance to the Lake Grotto, the rumor was true! They go inside, water to their thighs.
  • Bats fly out of the passage. The adventurers find objects in the water, amid bones, a golden comb and a decorative sword.
  • The passage leads to a larger grotto but Paul finds a secret door and they get to a flooded vault with 7 submerged sarcophagi. Another secret door, hard to find, leads them to room with a treasure chest. They’re happy with their find but at this moment they hear the dead coming at them. The fight doesn’t go too bad, except for Noah that is nearly dead the others only have a few light wounds. They resume pillaging the treasure chest. There’s a lot of gold and also, a mummified bird that squawks: « X marks the spot« .
  • With bags full of gold, the adventurers decided to call it a day.
  • They’re back in the flooded passage but between them and the exit are 7 headless manservants. They’re weaponless and not much of a challenge though and the adventurers cut through them and get out.

Wrap up:

  • XP: Participation: 1 Treasure: 2 Secrets: 1
  • Treasures: 5000gp!
  • Crypt: None
  • Quote:
  • New Infractions: Stole a treasure chest full of gold
  • Paul Neref still mentally shaken after 3 visits at the sanatorium

Château des Faussesflammes (Castle Xyntillan) – Session 3

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

This session’s goal (as stated by Olivier), is to retrieve henchman Jean-Paul Jean’s corpse so that his cousin can bring him back to the family. Olivier has really taken this to heart to Marjorie’s utter befuddlement… I think it’s hilarious and awesome. Jason could not be with us so no healer this session but fortunately for the players my random encounter rolls were very light, no dangerous Malévol specter this time around.

Castle Xyntillan, by Gabor Lux. https://emdt.bigcartel.com/products

System: Worlds without Number, by Kevin Crawford

Adventurers – Player Characters (PCs)

  • Cordélia Lenoir (Marjorie), Necromancer lvl 2
  • Paul Neref (Olivier), Warrior lvl 2
  • Noah (Isaac), Expert lvl 1
  • Monmon (Edmond), Warrior lvl 2

Retainers:

  • Eudes le Bâtard (Marjorie), Man-at-Arms (lgt), Comte de La Frenaie’s young bastard son, Morale 9
  • Paul-Jean Paul (Olivier), in training to be a full-fledged Warrior, cousin of deceased Jean-Paul Jean, Morale 5
  • Hercules (Isaac), Caravan Hand (hvy), nervous, Morale 7
  • Alphonse (Edmond), Crusader (hvy), has a ring of false keys, Morale 9

Crypt

  • Zachary, Elementalist, strangled by Malvina Malévol and electrocuted in front of the Anteroom
  • Jean-Paul Jean, Man-at-Arms (hvy), lackwit, ripped apart by stuffed animals
  • Pierre-Jean Pierre, Man-at-Arms (hvy), clawed to death by a dark monk
  • Edgar, Man-at-Arms (hvy), throat slashed by a dark monk
  • Charles, Man-at-Arms (hvy), skewered by a drunken skeleton

Previous Infractions:

Eliminated Tristano Malévol the Love-Lost. Eliminated Merlerik the Ancient. Smoked the Ruined Quarters Angered a werewolf washwoman. Stole the Reliquary of Bygone Kings. Infractions rating: 2

Rumors:

  • You can get in through a cave mouth from the lake if you don’t care for a frontal approach.
  • Périgon’s monks had their faith shaken really bad recently, some of them aren’t devout christians anymore…

Retrieving Jean-Paul Jean

We start in Périgon. Loic the Healer is unavailable. Louis the Man-at-Arms promptly retired after seeing 3 companions die horribly in last foray. Bruno the Man-at-Arms didn’t show up, reasons unkown. There’s only a pair of recruits to hire but both have seen action before and are capable fighters. Paul Neref spent some time at Ste-Zénobie’s sanatorium trying to restore his sanity, wasn’t done with his treatment and still went back with the other into the cursed château.

  • The adventurers decide to enter at the Grand Entrance instead of the Gatehouse, a bit odd as it’s farther away from their chosen objective, the Ménagerie.
  • The two statues bordering the double doors react at their approach, one erupts in maniacal laughter, the other flicks its fingers. Nothing else happens.
  • They open the heavy doors and find themselves into the Vestibule. There’s a ghostly butler weeping softly in a corner. The PCs ask him why he cries but he simply denies and ask whose names he shall announce. Cordélia thinks on her feet and answers « Claudette Malévol ». The butler, Jean-Honoré, seems unsure but tell them to sit down and wait for his return.
  • The PCs bolt away as soon as he turns the corner, open the nearest door and get into another part of the Servants’ wing.
  • First room is a simple maid’s room but they do find a silver dagger under a pillow.
  • Next door opens into the Stables. Through their rummaging they manage to find a lucky horseshoe.
  • They then open the door to the kitchen where 5 horrible cooks (ghouls), are busy hacking henchman Charles’ corpse. The PCs react first and Cordélia do a powerful Smite the Dead and kill 4. Monmon finish the last one with a spear thrust but then he opens another door and a guillotine trap hurt him severely. Cordélia heals him with a balm.
  • Paul hears Jean-Honoré in a nearby room talk to others about the « visitors ». The PCs hurry up further away. They get into a corridor and then another and finally get to a place they already visited, the entrance passage leading to the garden area.
  • They find henchman Pierre-Jean’s corpse in a wheelbarrow with ravens pecking at his face. They leave him there for the moment.
  • From there they open the same side door they did in their first visit, hesitated at the propect of crossing the corridor of the phantom steeds and looking at their maps decided to go the long way.
  • Heard the werewolf washwoman singing and they hurried away.
  • They finally get to the Ménagerie, once again the Huntsman on the throne blows his horn and disappear along with his dogs. They see the stuffed animals on their pedestals, To their dismay they can see that Jean-Paul has been added to the display, dressed as a hunter!
  • Cordélia tries something, a Command the Dead spell on stuffed Jean-Paul and it works, he’s under her command! She wishes to use him to shoot the Huntsman if he gets back.
  • They wait.
  • And wait some more.
  • Still no Huntsman.
  • But 6 undead aristocrats, alerted earlier by the butler, found them: « you misérables mécréants, surrender! »
  • The adventurers attack. Cordélia use her wand of the marshland, points the moss tapestry, and vines immobilize one undead fop. Paul and Monmon charge side by side and kill 2 in no time.
  • The stuffed Lion chooses this very moment to come to life and jumps on Cordélia but he only graze her with a claw attack. Stuffed Jean-Paul shoots the lion but misses.
  • Eudes bravely attacks the stuffed Lion and slashes it with his sword. Monmon gets over there and pierce it with his magic spear.
  • Meanwhile, Noah and Hercules kill an undead aristocrat together and Paul Neref another one. The remaining one tries to flee but Paul is swifter and ignoring his pleas for his unlife, slays him.
  • Eudes finishes the stuffed Lion with another good slash. Alphonse cuts the head of the undead aristocrat bound by vines.
  • They get out of the castle, Jean-Paul Jean in tow, looking creepy with glass beads for eyes…

Wrap up:

  • XP: Participation: 1 Treasure: 0 Secrets: 0 Special Mission: 1 Total: 2
  • Treasures:
  • Crypt: None
  • Quote: Marjorie: « I’m Claudette Malévol, a, er distant relative… »
  • New Infractions: Failed to convince Jean-Honoré the butler of their lies.
  • Retrieved Jean-Paul Jean and Pierre-Jean but left Charles all hacked up on the kitchen’s table.
  • Paul Neref still mentally shaken after 2 visits at the sanatorium

Worlds Without Number rpg – almost a review

David Skelector Fantasy, jeux de rôles, review, Roleplaying Game, RPG, science fantasy

Edit 2024-04-09: I’ve refined a bit my thoughts after more sessions of play.

Edit 2024-06-25: idem

Worlds Without Number (WWN) is a 396 pages book by Kevin Crawford. It’s origins lies in the Stars Without Number sci-fi rpg system by the same author. This time the default setting « Latter Earth » is a science fantasy world in the vein of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun or M. John Harrison’s Viriconium (those are my own references, sadly the author doesn’t cites his inspiration sources).

What the book claims to offer is nothing less than everything you need to run a sandbox campaign, or about 2/3 of the book on worldbuilding, mostly in the shape of random tables. The worldbuilding part seems well done to me but I’ve only skimmed through that part, I might use some of this content some day but as of yet I didn’t. The reason why I’ve bought WWN is for the rpg system it offers – so my comments for today will focus on this (much slimmer) part.

What the WWN system is all about?

  • It’s a hybrid system. An old-school D&D chassis (i.e roll 3d6 in order for your six attributes) combined with a modularity (i.e foci (feats) that let you be an expert at something, combat or otherwise that also have hydrid classes) that you don’t find in most standard old-school systems.
  • It has only 4 main classes: Expert, Warrior, Mage, and the Adventurer (that lets you combine with one of numerous « part-classes » with something like 80 combinations). There’s sub-classes for the Mage: the classical High Mage, the Necromancer, Elementalist and many more. To be frank, I’m on the fence with this whole part-class thing, it offers a lot of options for customizing a character but it also feels a bit wonky. It’s like two systems of character creation instead of one, maybe not a bad thing per se but not the most elegant piece of design either IMO.
  • Human-centric world. You can play an elf or dwarf or WWN’s own brand of fantasy races, but only with a bit of fiddling.
  • The spells have Vancian names like: « The Coruscating Coffin » or « The Jade Palanquin of the Faceless God ». The magic-users have very few spells per day (only one at 1st and 2nd level!) but again, they’re a lot more impactful than your regular magic missile, i.e. Invisibility at level 1. Magic isn’t risky (like in DCC for example) but you have to choose your moment carefully for maximum impact. Aside from the spells, mages have Arts, lesser magical abilities, most of them utilitarian in nature (read magic + darkvision combined as one example). Each magic specialities have a good list to choose from.
  • Combat is d20 based but skill checks use 2d6 + attribute mod + skill level (1 to 4) to beat 6, 8 or 10 or more depending on difficulty. With this less random formula, the characters skill’s competency feels a LOT more relevant.
  • On the character’s sheet there’s a list for « readied items » based on the encumbrance capacity (strength-based) of the character. It’s great and efficient.
  • Combat is fast and deadly and in my impression it feels more chaotic than tactical (not necessarily a bad thing) unless you pay very close attention to the list of combat options provided i.e. screen ally, snap attack, etc.

Some things unique to WWN:

  • There’s a « Shock » mechanics in combat – martial melee weapons will often (except against an opponent with high AC or with a shield) do damage, even with a miss. It’s a bit conterintuitive but characters that are built for combat (warriors in particular) can do potent damage without ever succeeding with their d20 fight checks…
  • There’s a System Strain mechanics that put a limit (your constitution score) on the number of time you can be healed before having to recuperate in a safe place (i.e in town).
  • Levels are capped at 10 at which point you may (depending on the type of campaign) become a « Legate » and have access to new powerful abilities.
  • A lot of character features to mititgate randomness, including automatic hits, sucesses on skill checks, balancing of hit points the more you level up, etc.

So here’s a few from the hip comments after we had several sessions of play, this might change with further experience:

  • Overall WWN characters are as fragile (edit: not quite true, they have several options to mitigate damage) as your standard old-school one but feel a lot more capable.
  • The list of part-classes and foci available ensure a great customisation but that comes at a cost: if a player wishes to examine all the options then creating a character in minutes like in simpler systems would be impossible.
  • My players are a bit confused with the Shock thing. A low hit points character can easily die from just the shock damage and that seems a bit excessive. But overall I think it makes more sense than wooshing weapon swings half the time.
  • My brother Jason played an Adventurer (part-Expert, Part-Healer) and can do magical healing all the time, like every frikin round. He even calls his character a « healing tower » like in these tower defense video games… It’s an odd design choice, in stark contrast with the full Mages who have one big moment per session and I’m still on the fence on what to do with this character. (edit; removed the character)
  • The system strain is, as far as I can tell, designed to be implemented within an expedition of several sessions’ worth of play. With how we’re playing now with the PCs always back in town after their session of dungeon-crawling (and with downtime), it doesn’t come close to being relevant. I think I’ll have to adjust that.
  • My sister’s Necromancer have wiped out 20 out of 24 (1 HD) skeletons with her Smite the Dead spell in last session. Her unique spell of the day but certainly well-spent. The magic system is still fairly close to D&D but its tweaking of limited-use but POTENT spells is interesting. But don’t expect your main villain to fare well in this environment!
  • If most of the WWN system is perfectly okay for generic fantasy, the crafting system notably is pretty much designed with science fantasy in mind.
  • The Intelligence attribute isn’t linked to magic-using this time around so I guess you could have a dumb as a rock Mage? It feels wrong to me. Intelligence is linked with « efforts » which are used to fuel the « Arts », the lesser magical abilities.
  • The book lacks a proper bestiary, (edit: it has some creature base stats as well as options/powers to add but that’s it, creatures have to be « built », they are not ready to use). Edit: That’s still my biggest complaint to date.

All in all, WWN has some weaknesses and I might tweak a few things but I like it. It offers a solid core, with its main strengths being the handling of skills, character customization and idiosyncratic magic system. The main character classes are well thought out and you can easily create whatever you have in mind if you invest a bit more time. A D&D-adjacent game that has a pretty unique feel.

Not an Oathbow, a Hatebow

David Skelector D&D 5e, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, Ruins of chult campaign

I’m still committed to our D&D 5E Ruins of Chult campaign in case anyone wondered with our recent foray into OSR. Proof is in the pudding as the English say (I love these kind of silly sayings), here’s a little post about something that happened not too long ago.

I’d messed up badly with a magic item that the players looted in their last dungeon-crawling. I had put an Oathbow in the Master Archer’ sarcophagus fittingly enough; the fight was difficult and warranted a good reward. Sooo, I read the description of the Oathbow a bit too fast and ended up involontarily boosting it a lot. The Oathbow gives a potent bonus to damage (3d6) to an opponent that its wearer chooses as its « sworn enemy ». There’s an important drawback: as long as your enemy lives you have disadvantage on attack rolls with all other weapons (if an enemy ever succeed in fleeing you’re in for a rough time). If your enemy dies, you can choose another next dawn. And that’s the last part that I’d skip. Félix’s character, the owner of the Oathbow switched from one dead enemy to another continuously for a few fight at least, until I realized my mistake…

I could have just corrected it, adding the limitation I forgot earlier but it felt kinda wrong as it was my mistake and not the player’s. But then I had an idea, what if it’s not really an Oathbow but an Hatebow, its more powerful but cursed (homebrew) version?! The Hatebow causes its wearer to be so full of hate that he sees enemies everywhere! Use it too much and you won’t distinguish between friends and foes…

I LOVE cursed items.

Anyway, we have had similar situation earlier in the campaign with Rufb’s berserk axe and the players broke the curse with a suitable quest. This time I just told the player, Félix, that his character felt the danger posed by the Hatebow, that he had to be careful less he succumbed to the dark side so to speak. No mechanics, just roleplay, as long as the character behave accordingly. And young Félix was excellent all along, limiting himself and roleplaying an increasingly morose character when he did use it. It proved to be a very good decicion I think.

Château des Faussesflammes (Castle Xyntillan): Session 2

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

Short session, 2 hours only and the players did some shopping and recruiting first so not a lot accomplished. Still, they went to a new section of the castle, found a few trinkets, had a dangerous fight and lost a few people…

Castle Xyntillan, by Gabor Lux. https://emdt.bigcartel.com/products

System: Worlds without Number, by Kevin Crawford

Adventurers – Player Characters (PCs):

  • Loic (Jason), Adventurer lvl 1 (partial expert/partial healer)
  • Cordélia Lenoir (Marjorie), Necromancer lvl 1
  • Paul Neref (Olivier), Warrior lvl 1
  • Noah (Isaac), Expert lvl 1
  • Monmon (Edmond), Warrior lvl 1

Retainers:

  • Eudes le Bâtard, Man-at-Arms (lgt), Comte de La Frenaie’s young bastard son, Morale 9
  • Bruno, Man-at-Arms (lgt), dreamy-eyed, Morale 9
  • Paul-Jean Paul, Man-at-Arms (hvy), cousin of deceased Jean-Paul Jean, Morale 5
  • Pierre-Jean Pierre, Man-at-Arms (hvy), escaped friar, Morale 9
  • Louis, Man-at-Arms (hvy), scrounger, Morale 7
  • Edgar, Man-at-Arms (hvy), have a pet hawk, Morale 8
  • Charles, Man-at-Arms (hvy), scrounger, Morale7

Crypt

  • Zachary, Elementalist, strangled by Malvina Malévol and electrocuted in front of the Anteroom
  • Jean-Paul Jean, Man-at-Arms (hvy), lackwit, ripped apart by stuffed animals

Previous Infractions:

Eliminated Tristano Malévol the Love-Lost. Eliminated Merlerik the Ancient. Smoked the Ruined Quarters Angered a werewolf washwoman. Stole the Reliquary of Bygone Kings. Infractions rating: 2

Rumors:

  • Fausseflammes? I would rather go to Malinbois, a much better place!
  • Wearing red will keep away the Scarlet Specter… for a while.

We start in Vyônes. The adventurers have a buyer for the Reliquary of Bygone Kings. Fortunately they found its secret before selling it; a hidden compartment held an antique spear tip. They sought a capable artisan to assemble the spear tip into a potent weapon. The artisan, Noah, joined them thereafter. They also recruited a few other Men-at-arms, amongst them is the cousin of deceased Jean-Paul Jean who wants to retrieve his corpse. Cordélia decides to triple their hiring fees (she has now 4 retainers by herself).

Gatehouse:

  • Dozens of ravens perched on the gatehouse.
  • They go at the double doors, two skeleton sentries are quickly dispatched.
  • Past the double doors is an entrance passage with murder holes, door at their right is stuck, Monmon kick it in.
  • There’s loud singing coming from further away but first they stop by an ominous statue depicting a zombie or leper. Cordélia notice a hidden compartment in the pedestal. Inside is a brain in a jar, she breaks the jar and turn the brain into a pulp.
  • Next there’s a mess hall full of cobwebs with singing skeletons acting like they’re drunk. Cordélia destroy most of them with a Smite the Dead (necromancers can be potent undead hunters in WWN). But the remaining skeletons pick up their rusty swords and charge. New retainer Charles is slain in the ensuing melee.
  • The PCs search the mess hall but are interrupted by the sounds of rattling chains, a red specter appears, barely visible, demanding a blood sacrifice! Most weapons they have don’t seem to work against it. He inflicts a terrible wound which bleeds profusely on Monmon but Loic heals him with magic. Monmon counters with a stab of his powerful spear and hurt the specter. Paul hit it with his magical dagger. The PCs hears the chains fading away, they follow.
  • They’re now in a chapel with a strange procession of monks. The red specter already waiting for them goads the monks in taking a « blood toll ». One monk points the PCs with a clawed hand. Combat ensues. The adventurers managed to slay the dark monks but have lost Edgar and Pierre-Jean to their sharp claws. Fortunately the red specter did not join the fight.
  • On an altar, Paul finds a fossilised ammonite and as he takes it he gains primordial insights (xp) at the cost of his sanity…

Wrap up:

  • XP: Participation: 1 Treasures: 0 Secrets: 1 Total: 2
  • Treasures:
  • Crypt: Charles: skewered by a drunken skeleton, Edgar: throat slashed by a dark monk, Pierre-Jean Pierre: clawed to death by a dark monk
  • Quote:
  • Infractions:

Château des Faussesflammes (Castle Xyntillan)- Session 1

David Skelector Fantasy, megadungeon, OSR, Play reports, Roleplaying Game, RPG , , ,

Introduction: The Beast of Averoigne has finally been slain. During its month-long rampage, many believed its lair and origins laid in the accursed Château des Faussesflammes. Armed townsfolk broke through its decayed gates but when they found themselves in the gloomy interior, their courage soon faltered. The Beast may be dead but the Château des Faussesflammes and its many horrors is still there…

Castle Xyntillan, by Gabor Lux. https://emdt.bigcartel.com/products

System: Worlds without Number, by Kevin Crawford

Adventurers – Player Characters (PCs):

  • Loic (Jason), Adventurer lvl 1 (partial expert/partial healer)
  • Cordélia Lenoir (Marjorie), Necromancer lvl 1
  • Paul Neref (Olivier), Warrior lvl 1
  • Zachary (Isaac), Elementalist lvl 1
  • Monmon (Edmond), Warrior lvl 1

Retainers:

  • Eudes le Bâtard, Man-at-Arms (lgt), noble, Morale 9
  • Bruno, Man-at-Arms (lgt), dreamy-eyed, Morale 9
  • Jean-Paul Jean, Man-at-Arms (hvy), lackwit, Morale 4

Rumors:

  • Don’t believe everything you hear about the castle. There is nothing dangerous about the gazebos.
  • The ancient incantation « FOE GYG » will keep the lesser undead at bay… well, usually. For a while anyway.

First Foray:

Weather: mainly sunny

  • Gathered in the city of Vyones, the adventurers bought some supplies and then left for the town of Périgon in the South
  • They recruited 3 Men-at-Arms in Périgon.
  • A pair of brothers from Périgon guided them to the Château des Faussesflammes, a few hours away, at the fringe of Malinbois. Dreamy-eyed Bruno said it would be better to go inside the castle at night.
  • In front of the castle Cordélia said they should first go check the smaller structure they could see by the lake. The others overruled her and they all entered at the main gate into a garden area.
  • Entered a smithy, heard noises in the adjacent barracks. A hammer worked by itself, sparkles flying, the forge was lit. Cordelia tried to order the hammer to forge a weapon, the hammer tried instead to smack her head but missed. Zachary fetched water at the pond to cool down the forge, hammer attacked but Paul managed to snatch it mid air. Kept the hammer hoping it’s magical.
  • Went to barracks, skeletons training on dead adventurer. Jean-Paul Jean runs away. Cordélia blasted them all with a very efficient Smite Dead. Poster on the corpse, « Wanted: Claude Malévol, dead or alive. Preferably dead. »
  • Jean-Paul Jean came back convinced by Loic that all will go well (it won’t).
  • Paul and Zachary wanted to see the pavillon at the garden pond. Joined by Monmon, others waited. Opened the sarcophagus, four-armed skeleton sat straight up. PCs won initiative, all hits, and that was it for Tristano Malévol the Love-lost.
  • Paul took Tristano’s rose and put it inside the hand of the statue of the comely maiden, was rewarded with a wedding ring. He resisted the soporific flowers.
  • Cordélia still suspicious of what seemed to her as the main entrance so they chose to enter the castle at the rose garden’s side door. Before that they opened a gardener’s shed and found magical dancing beans.
  • Inside, in a corridor, fat monk Reynard Malévol sitting on floor drinking from a wine skin and singing lewd songs. He cheers when Zachary and Paul are trampled and almost killed by phantom steeds.
  • Z and P healed by Loic.
  • Paul, Zachary and Monmon ran and got across the corridor, nearly getting trampled again. The others chose to open another door to try to avoid the phantom steeds.
  • That right there effectively split the party for the rest of the session…

Paul, Zachary and Monmon

(It’s notable that the 3 kids got together, extricating themselves from the group at the first occasion. My 2 sons led by a reckless teenager Olivier. I did not try to dissuade them on their course of action, this is very much a push-your-luck game, and push they did… )

  • Inside a weird menagerie with ape statues and taxidermy stuff. Leper-face Huntsman on a throne with a dozen of hunting dogs around but just blew his horn and disappeared along with the dogs.
  • Went straight to next door (Storerooms aisle), opened another, heard thumping noises, followed by the appearance of the baleful specter Merlerik Malévol. The specter misses all his attacks and is soon eliminated, leaving a strange shadow on the wall. (wasn’t a +1 or better to hit, not sure what the incorporeal trait does)
  • Storage room, found a moldy corpse skewered by a sword beaneath a pile of rags, Monmon took the sword.
  • Another storage room, coffin in the middle, inside is a woman with a dagger through her heart. Paul remove the dagger, keep it for himself, a geyser of blood erupts from the woman’s body and screams from nowhere in particular. (nothing on encounters check)
  • Inside a nursery, hairy woman in nightgown teach young children how to eviscerate on a dummy. PCs leave discreetly.
  • A corridor, stairs going up. PCs go to second floor (Maze of the Occult) and arrive in great hall with red plush carpets. Eerie children singing, portraits along the wall. Magic runes on a door. Singing stop abruptly and ghost of Malvine Malévol the Strangler appears. This time the adventurers’ weapons don’t seem to hurt their opponent at all. Malvine strangles Zachary. As he sense his life leaving him, in a last desperate act, he touches the nearby door’s handle, activating the runes and a powerful lightning bolt strikes both Zachary and Malvine, dissipating the latter. (lightning supposed to be inside the room but heck!)
  • With Zachary dead, Paul and Monmon decide to call it a day. They left their companion’s corpse behind after looting him.

Meanwhile; Cordélia, Loic, Eudes, Bruno and Jean-Paul Jean

(The 2 adults wanted to find a way to get the group reunited but instead got confused and explored a bunch of rooms in the Ruined Quarters aisle.)

  • First door to the right was locked, next room was full of rotting banners. Next corridor with a mini-whirlwind going on, could see garden area through arrow slits to their right. They were getting farther from their companions, that was obvious.
  • Open a door, fat woman is doing laundry. Cordélia and Loic convince her that her masters asked for her. She leaves hurriedly. Nothing here but linen.
  • Next door is stuck, they backtrack.
  • Corridor full of leaves on the ground and fresh air. Room with mushrooms, they leave.
  • They enter a room with a broken beam leaning on a statue, more leaves, moss and vines. Vines shoot on the PCs, they escape and throw a torch on the dry leaves. Bonfire. Lots of smoke, beam and furnitures blackened. Painting of an automnal landscape damaged. No more vines.
  • Loic, with help, remove the beam from the statue and get rewarded with a wand of the marshlands. gave it to Cordélia. They got out of the room.
  • And then the fat washwoman was upon them: « You lied to me! Made a fool of meself to the Mistress! And what’s all that smoke?! » she shouted with a bloody handkerchief in one hand. Was she that hairy before? She proceeded to whip the hell out of them with her bloody handkerchief but when she got hit by Bruno’s sword (no silver, no damage) she fully shafeshifted into a Werewolf and almost bit his arm off. Loic healed him with magic. Jean-Paul Jean cried, useless. In panic mode Cordélia tried the wand of the marshlands and vines immobilized the Werewolf washwoman and they scrambled away as fast as they could. She let them go, fortunately.
  • They found themselves in the other side of the menagerie, the stuffed animals that were there started to attack! Jean-Paul Jean got hypnotized by a Giant Owl and then stabbed by a Killer Bambi’s poisonous antler, white foam frothed from his mouth. The others fled into the adjacent display room. Trapped into a room with no exit they snatched the copper bowl and precious silver reliquary they found and then dashed out while poor Jean-Paul Jean was savaged by the stuffed animals.
  • They traced back their steps and left the castle, Eudes covered their exit and managed to get out alive somehow.
  • The two separated groups assembled at the gatehouse and left le Château des Faussesflammes.

Wrap up:

  • XP: Participation: 1 Treasures: 3 Secrets: 1 Total: 5
  • Treasures: wedding ring, copper bowl, Reliquary of Bygone Kings: all sold in Vyones thereafter
  • Crypt: Zachary strangled by Malvine Malévol and struck by a lightning bolt from the Anteroom, Jean-Paul Jean ripped apart by stuffed animals.
  • Quote from Olivier: « The flaws, and there were many, of Jean-Paul Jean made him someone special and endearing, I’d say. He’ll be missed »
  • Infractions: Eliminated Tristano Malévol the Love-Lost. Eliminated Merlerik Malévol. Eliminated Malvine Malévol the Strangler (temporary). Smoked the Ruined Quarters and angered a werewolf washwoman. Stole the Reliquary of Bygone Kings. Infractions rating: 3