Take-aways from running quick pick-up games

Occasionally, when I have a free-ish evening and the urge to play, I run an impromptu pick-up game over at the OSR discord server. The first time I ran the Secret Hide-Out of Glaxorzis, that Sorcerous Creep! for a party of three players, the second time The Outpost of Stone & Silver for a single player controlling two characters, and the most recent game was a delve into A Single Tomb, Unplundered for three players. UPDATE: one of the players wrote an in-character session report!

The games were all ran on a super short notice – announced circa 30 minutes before starting time (the server has a pick-up-gamer role you can ping).

The setup is quite simple, so that we can get to the good stuff right away:

1. Searchers of the Unknown

a. Again and again, SotU proves to be the best lingua franca minimalist D&D for such quick games. If a person has played any kind of D&D, they are able to pick up right away. Of course, on the DM-side, it requires an experienced judge, who already has a bunch of rulings and tools and procedures memorized.

b. A little extra thing I introduced this time was MAGIC WORD based spellcasting. It worked quite well, although no combination spells were attempted, only single-component magics.

2. Pregens!

a. Pregens are a must for such quick games. I guess you can also do the Flailsnails thing and let the players bring in any character they want (esp. if the “setting” is kitchensink), BUT, and this is my next point:

b. PREGENS ARE THE SETTING! A lot can be conveyed about the game’s broader setting by the roster of pregens. If the pregens are “elf magic-user”, “dwarf fighter” and “human thief”, that’s a vanilla D&D sort of world. SotU doesn’t use classes, so instead I add a randomly generated two-word description to each character: “ruthless hero”, “vampiric acolyte”, “wild nymph”. They confer the vague vibe of the setting, help the players get into it + I also let them use these descriptors for in-game bonuses and in-setting knowledge. The equipment list is another setting-conferring element (“broadsword” and/or “energy rifle”? “chain armor” or “Kevlar vest”?)

c. In case of character death, left-over pregens can be used as backup.

3. Dungeon crawling (using a dungeon I already have), starting at the entrance

a. That’s where it’s at.

b. I use my own dungeons, so prep is minimal.  

4. Short session, aiming for 90 minutes (usually ends up being closer to 100-120)

a. Enough time to crawl through 4-5 rooms, have a fight, screw around with some stuff. You have to run a tight ship, sometimes cut down on random encounters to highlight the keyed stuff, but, overall, a satisfying amount of fun game stuff can happen in this timeframe.

5. Tech: Discord voice chat, tldraw for shared whiteboard 

tldraw has everything you need to quickly map stuff, record marching order, etc. Very handy tool.

Low-level games are fun. But so are mid-level games! This third time around, I went for levels 4-5 and gave the pregens more power and some cool toys. Good change of pace.

Below is how I explain the rules and the list of pregens from the third game:

The Bloodsoaked Gem Caverns in action

Vance A from Leicester's Ramble ran my dungeon, Bloadsoaked Gem Caverns. You can read the actual play report here! 

They used Shadowdark. The PCs definitely lucked out on the Reaction rolls!

The dungeon can be found here. It's an abandoned mine (overtaken by monsters) that the party can explore and even start exploiting.

[Actual Play] The World of Tomorrow, Session 12: I’m going deeper underground / there’s too much panic in this town

Back to dungeoneering!

 

• Psamtek, the psionic Grey pilot (Halfling 4)
• Keteus, the dark prophet or something (Magic-User 4 with Space Age Sorcery spells)
• Ugazum, the gladiator (Fighter 3)
• Phireus, priest of the Mountain Mother (Cleric 4)
• + Rex, riverboat captain (Fighter 3, NPC follower)

 

The party waited for the next anti-light phase, then moved out. Rex led them up the south ziggurat. They just barely avoided a Black Sun paladin patrol and reached the top platform. Here, nestled between a bricolage of latter-era habitats, they found a large round concrete platform and a small concrete building (which looked like the creepy abandoned building where Demi Moore picks up her doses in The Substance). They forced the door, cleaned out some rubble, then forced another door (its code lock without power) and found an elevator. This too was without power, so they opened a hatch in its floor, climbed down and managed to reach the ladder in the side of the shaft.

The descent was LONG, at least 500’. At one point, they disturbed a flock of small flying creatures, and Ugazum fell off the ladder. Keteus saved him with a Wand of Flying (they had picked this up back in the Spire of Iron & Crystal, an ivory wind with wings carved into it, they thought it might be for flight, but weren’t sure…).

At the bottom of the shaft, they dropped into a concrete-walled complex. In the first room, they flipped a switch and restored auxiliary power (small red lights along the corridors and door keypads online), but decided not to bring on full power just yet.

They explored the west-bound corridor and ran into a closed door marked “Workshop”. They tried 1312 (ACAB!) at the keypad to no effect.

They turned around and took the stairs at the intersection. At the upper level, the north-bound corridor was closed off with yellow-black “Danger!” tape, so they went east to another door.

They examined the keypad to see if any of the buttons were particularly worn: yes, 1, 2 and 4.

[For the keypads, I generated the codes by rolling 4d10, one for each digit. For this door, I rolled 1412 :D So I handwaved it that if they put in 1312 again, it would be close enough]

They entered the room, a storage area for tools, equipment, spare parts, etc. The north wall of the place had caved in, opening into a moldy underground tunnel.

Psamtek picked up some weird psychic vibrations from one of the crates. He managed to commune with a hive-mind. They opened the crate and found a formicarium with psionic ants! They decided to leave them be for now and marched into the moldy tunnel.

[Actual Play] The World of Tomorrow, Session 11: Seriously, who needs a SIXTH ziggurat?

We’re back in the World of Tomorrow, baby! Can’t stop the science fantasying. 

• Psamtek, the psionic Grey pilot (Halfling 4)
• Keteus, the dark prophet or something (Magic-User 4 with Space Age Sorcery spells)
• Ugazum, the gladiator (Fighter 3)
• Phireus, priest of the Mountain Mother (Cleric 4)

Soundtrack: The Hologram People

So, back in Cryopolis (proud city of the five ziggurats, sixth under construction), the party found a lot had changed in their absence.

Investigating their storage container, they found that it was entered through a ventilation shaft, by a clawed creature.

They found a place to stable the Stegosaurus for a month.

They spent some downtime identifying magic items: Ugazum’s ring-mail shirt (with electric circuits) has actually bonded to his body, but at least it provides ample protection and DOUBLE healing rate. The crystal tablets found in the dragon cave have genetic sequences encoded on them, which can be fed into a machine to cause targeted beneficial mutations.

More Moebius! Because OF COURSE.

Next, they went to the market to find replacement armor for Psamtek (we blamed the loss of the previous armor on the draconic acid breath, but, turns out, it was lost in a battle with skeletons – stop blaming the dragons for everything!!). Luckily, the market had a shop with kids’ size flak jackets (which says a lot about the state of this world). While getting Psamtek’s measurements, the armorer was ready to engage in some light banter: rumor has it that Zalter made a pact with the Black Sun Cult, and convinced the cultists to get rid of his rival, Ayesha.

Ugazum was still in debt to Zalter, the zombiemancer crime-lord, so the party went over to Zalter’s HQ at the north ziggurat. Only Ugazum and Psamtek were let in (and only because Ugazum said Psamtek is his servant/weapon-bearer). They were led to Zalter’s office to meet the big man himself. And he is big indeed, and not just a man, but also a giant toad thing. Ugazum paid up the 100 sp. Zalter proved to be quite well-informed, and kept asking weirdly pointed questions about Ugazum’s recent exploits, where he is staying in town, and especially whether he works for anybody in particular.

At Zalter’s place, they saw one of Ayesha’s men – turned into a mindless zombie drone…

After leaving, the party suspected that Zalter will surely have them followed.

So, instead of going back to their storage/home, they went to a fancy hotel and got themselves two rooms. On the rooftop terrace, they chatted with incense-trader Ipy of the Purple Sea, who shared some tasty “Turkish delights” and more rumors. He also shared info on the two main caravan routes (the North and the West). When asked about any places with constant thick fog covering a caldera (this had been shown to them in a vision, as the hiding place of the arch-enemy of the god-computer ETERNAL 6000). Ipy ventured that this might be in the dangerous volcanic mountains to the north-west.

Later, to shake off any potential tails, the party used ropes to climb off this rooftop, instead of exiting through the main door.

And they went back to their storage container.

Here, a mysterious figure was waiting for them: Rex, river barge captain, one of Ayesha’s trusted men (see Session 3). Rex told them that most of the gang was captured and imprisoned – they are likely to be sacrificed to the Black Sun during the next great constellation. Ayesha evaded capture and is on the run. Earlier, she had told Rex about an underground tunnel system under the city, and that in case of shit going down, that would be the place for the gang to reconvene.

The party agreed to go and explore these tunnels.

To be continued!

[Actual Play] The World of Tomorrow, Sessions 4 – uh, like, 10?

I’m hopelessly behind on session reports for our science fantasy campaign, The World of Tomorrow! The thing is, we played two more online sessions, then we met up, holed up in our summer house for four days, and PLAYED A LOT OF D&D. A LOT. “Sessions” flowed into each other. So here’s a non-comprehensive re-cap of where the campaign’s at right now.

Session 4 was still online.

The party delved into the Salt-Encrusted Shrine of the Immortal Wave Cult (AKA Dank Cave of the Immoral Weed Gang), a cool little dungeon I wrote. They explored the main hall, caught a glimpse of a red glowing idol, encountered a giant crab, then met with the local cultists, decided NOT to join the cult just yet. They explored the complex, deciphered some reliefs, found the magical Seaweed Orb, then a secret door too, which gave them access to a hidden room. In this chamber, they found the high priest of the cult, dormant in a stasis pod. With a countdown timer set to about 60 years or so. They also gained access to the main temple. And they found a way to lower themselves into the idol chamber: gathered most of the loose treasure, but shied away from grabbing the large crystal from inside the idol. They fled the complex and went back to the city of Cryopolis.

Session 5 was for downtime and city crawling. They managed to hide some of the loot from their boss and divvied up the rest. Then they gathered some rumors. And rented a storage container for their stuff. They went to the Fighting Pits and gambled, winning some money on the gladiator fights. But their main reason to go there was to hire one of the gladiators. So that they have more muscle. They hired Ugazum the Fighter. Then, back at the Atomic Kitten, they got a new quest from their crime boss Ayesha. To go and find a weird dungeon complex in the Thunder Mountains. She assigned a guide and a porter with a pack Stegosaurus to them.

Ultimately, we ended up generating two more player characters: the gladiator and the guide.

So now the party consists of

• Psamtek, the psionic Grey pilot (Halfling 3)
• Keteus, the dark prophet or something (Magic-User 3 with Space Age Sorcery spells)
• Ugazum, the gladiator (Fighter 2)
• Phireus, priest of the Mountain Mother (Cleric 2)

 

Then we had all those long sessions of live play. IT IS SO GOOD TO PLAY D&D FACE-TO-FACE WITH YOUR FRIENDS. Ugh!

 

So, the party of four plus the Stego and the porter went on a big wilderness track through the labyrinthine canyons of Thunder Mountain. There were dangerous pits, undead dragonflies, etc. Then they reached a valley with tour giant crystal eggs.

Cue THE SPIRE OF IRON AND CRYSTAL by Matt Finch.

[Actual Play] The World of Tomorrow, Session 3: Exploring Cryopolis

We continued our science fantasy game. Session 1 was a dungeon crawl, session 2 was a trek through the wilderness, so it is only fair for session 3 to concentrate upon hanging out in the big city!

The characters are:

Psamtek, the psionic Grey pilot (Halfling 3)

Keteus, the dark prophet or something (Magic-User 3 with Space Age Sorcery spells)

Soundtrack: "Nuits de Printemps Avec Abdou El Omari" by Abdou El Omari

At the end of the last session, they reached, via ferry, Cryopolis, the city of the five black ziggurats. Their entry point was at the docks near the southern ziggurat. So instantly they were plunged into the bustling cosmopolitan atmosphere of the harbor quarter. As this was just the beginning of the light phase, there were a lot of dock workers carrying stuff, loading barges, merchants disembarking, etc.

The other passengers of the ferry (the zombies and the school field trip) all headed north towards the center of the city.

Keteus and Psamtek decided to hang out here a bit, find a place to stay, pick up some rumors, maybe find a job to earn money.

The architecture of the area proved to be quite eclectic. The main feature, the black three-tiered ziggurat, had clearly been built during an earlier period and was now covered with newer buildings: shacks, towers… So the levels of the ziggurat became like city streets. The river partially flows under the ziggurat.

Moebius... Why, what did you expect?

They headed towards the local watering hole, the Atomic Kitten tavern. Which is a two-storey metal building: Psamtek identified it as the repurposed habitation module of an ancient generation ship.

The Atomic Kitten at this time was rather underpopulated, as most of its patrons were busy at the docks. So Keteus and Psamtek ordered some drinks (Keteus can drink through his mouth, Psamtek has suckers on their fingers to suck up liquids from a sponge).

They chatted with the bartender and expressed a wish to get some sort of a job. The bartender took them up to the second floor to introduce them to his boss. He knocked at an inconspicuous door.

Psamtek managed to overhear a door opening and closing in that room. However, once in the room, they couldn’t see any other exit, so they surmised that there must be a secret passage here somewhere.

They met AYISHA, an older lady with rust-red hair and creepy fangs. Turns out, she is the boss of the whole harbor area.

[Actual Play] The World of Tomorrow, Session 2

The science fantasy campaign continues! (see the session 1 write-up here)

 

The characters are:

Psamtek, the psionic Grey pilot (Halfling 3)

Keteus, the dark prophet or something (Magic-User 3 with Space Age Sorcery spells)

 

After exiting the sanctuary of ETERNAL-6000, the duo took some time to examine the World around them, using the binoculars pilfered from the stocks of the sanctuary.

Off in the far-far distance, they noted a floating isle, a large chunk of earth with mountains and perhaps ruins on top of it. It seemed to move on its own volition.

They tried to scout out the way down to the city, but that was not easy. They did get a better understanding of the valley below, though: a river flows through it from east to west, empties into the sea. The city stands on the river and is made up of five large ziggurats/step pyramids: one in the middle, four on each corner.

After this reconnaissance, the party started their descent. Pretty soon they got lost between the rocks and in the narrow canyons.

After some time, they reached a larger flat area with an interesting feature: a GIANT SKULL embedded in the cliff-face! Small offerings (flowers, cups, simple pieces of jewelry) had been lain out before the skull on a stone platform.

Psamtek threw up a grappling hook and climbed up to the left eye socket. Beyond, they saw a small grotto with a pool of water inside. They climbed in and noticed many inscriptions carved into the inside of the skull. Keteus joined them and read the inscriptions: most of them were vows and prayers to the MOUNTAIN MOTHER. They didn’t touch any of the offerings and continued the way down the mountain.

They were still quite lost, and couldn’t find a way directly down towards the city. However, this off-the-beaten-path journey led them to another interesting discovery.

They noticed the sounds of metal against rock and soon reached an open-air quarry. The workforce was about 30 people, who chipped away tirelessly at the black basalt. The chunks of stone were then collected by a giant robotic walker and loaded onto a double-tracked vehicle… PULLED BY GIANT QUADREPEDAL LIZARDS! These brontosauri had some sort of mechanisms attached to their heads, probably for control.

Dinotopia!

Psamtek and Keteus descended into the quarry.

The workers didn’t seem to notice them. The robotic vehicle, however, turned towards them, opened its back hatch. A large, tattooed, four-armed person got out from inside.

[Actual Play] The World of Tomorrow, Session 1

I ran a game yesterday for my best friends. Hopefully the start of a casual campaign?

The pitch was dead simple:

“moebius jodorowsky tangerine nightmare oranssi mutant pazuzu heavy metal barsoom carcosa acid police surf”

Moebius, duhh

I asked them in advance to create a 3^rd level LotFP character each: just the stats, class, skills and hp. No name or concept. They rolled up a Magic-User and a Halfling.

At the start of the session, the characters were woken up from a long formless darkness by a distant, glitchy voice. The voice told them that “there has been an accident… but your personality, memories and body will soon be re-integrated… please watch these short promotional videos and signal if you see anything you recognize as your own memory…”

In the memory fragments, the Magic-User saw themselves:

1. Hurriedly grabbing everything from a library with crystal books, storing all the treasure in a vault (and remembering how to open it again!); then emerging to the surface only to see the ideal city swallowed by the ocean
2. Putting on a mask and conducting human sacrifice on top of a black pyramid; only for the gift of the dark gods to be stolen by an interloper
3. Performing elaborate magic tricks on a stage in a 1920s theater, feeding off of the adoration of the audience; getting sawn into two halves, but emerging again from behind the curtains, while the mutilated body was carted off-stage.

The Halfling saw themselves:

1. Riding through an ice age wasteland atop a woolly mammoth, controlling the beast with their mind; then a small flying lizard landed (hunting hawk style) on their outstretched left hand
2. Piloting a spaceship, exiting hyperspace, crashlanding on a blue planet (remembering the place of the crash!); only to be taken captive, probed, interrogated by men in white coats; then blowing up their brains with psionic powers
3. Crawling through underground tunnels, in total darkness, but seeing everything perfectly, breaking through to a large hall of the sewers, and knowing that the dwellers of the depth will rise again and they are to be their leader.

The Magic-User picked the sacrificial priest option and became KETEUS, a mummified sorcerer. With spells from Space Age Sorcery. The Halfling picked the Roswell option and became PSAMTEK, the psionic pilot. With psi powers cobbled together from various sources (Carcosa, LotFP, Realms of Crawling Chaos).

Thus Keteus and Psamtek emerged from their cryo-pods and found themselves in a depressing concrete room. There were old decorations hanging from the ceilings and walls, little festive flags, and a sign that read “WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF TOMORROW!!”, with a couple of letters already faded.

One other cyro-pod contained a dead body… And a fourth cryo-pod’s glass top was broken, with clawmarks on the inside of the pod.

[Solo] The Prussian Infantry Marches to Carcosa, Turn 3: Dinner Invitation

Continuing the adventures of the Prussians on Carcosa. See Turn 1, Turn 2.

The Detachment:

• Captain Friederike “Freddy” Krüger, a woman who entered service disguised as a man, but is by now accepted as she is
• Brother Paul, Augustine monk and scholar
• Dr. Krowitz, field surgeon
• 20 disciplined Infantrymen with muskets

Turn 3

Day 2, dawn

Location: Hex 0410, Forest

Weather: 7, Neutral

Encounter: 1, Daytime: 58, 3 Mummies. Party surprise: 1, yes. Encounter surprise: 1, yes. Encounter distance: 100’. Encounter reaction: 7, Neutral

                    Soundtrack: "Mummified Fragment of Everyday" by Zofie Siege

With sunrise, the blackness of night first shifts into an indescribable blue iridescence, then into a purple haze. Light filters through the black leaves. The infantrymen lay wrapped in their cloaks, huddled together for warmth.

Four sentries sit, leaning on their rifles. The last shift was trying, the alien forest full off invisible insects and bizarre whispers. But they persevered – driven by discipline… or fear? 

///

But something else stirs in the forest.

Three dark, gaunt, sickly thin figures stalk between the trees. Their joints seem bloated, yet their movements are fluid. Ribbons and thin veils float behind them. Their gazes are trained downwards. From time to time they examine the leaves of certain trees.

[Solo] The Prussian Infantry Marches to Carcosa, Turn 2: Prussians in the Mist

Continuing the adventures of the Prussian on Carcosa. See Turn 1 here.

The Detachment:

• Captain Friederike “Freddy” Krüger, a woman who entered service disguised as a man, but is by now accepted as she is
• Brother Paul, Augustine monk and scholar
• Dr. Krowitz, field surgeon
• 20 disciplined Infantrymen with muskets

© Helene Schmitz. Alabama Fields. Digigraphie, 108 x 134 cm

Turn 2

Day 1, dusk to night

Location: entering Hex 0410, Forest

Weather: 7, Neutral

Encounter: 11, None

                    Soundtrack: "Aqua" by Edgar Froese 

Time seems to move in an unnatural way. The march towards the forest takes much longer than anticipated, the dark mass of vegetation seems just a few steps away, then snaps back into the unreachable distance the next heartbeat. Strange mirages flicker and the air vibrates around the Detachment. Perhaps a trick of the uncanny light emanated by the multitude of celestial spheres that chase each other through the sky.

Finally, the violet sun sets. The skyline lights up with an orange glow, then goes black. One of the twin moons rapidly wanes into just a narrow segment. The air grows colder and moist.

It is under the cover of this sudden darkness that the Detachment reaches the forest.

But what a strange forest it is. Lush, dense. Roots, branches, vines. The abundance of growth doesn’t feel healthy and natural: it’s a forest choking under its own weight. And this is only the edge of it; it seems to get denser in the deeper parts, but it is hard to make it out in the darkness.

Friederike leads the way, slashing at vines with her sabre. Her blade gets stuck. When she grabs the branch to pull back the weapon, the bark feels spongy and rugose.

However unlikely that seems, they eventually reach a clearing. For some reason, the trees don’t grow in this depression, just crowd around it somberly like mourners around the uncovered grave.

A fine white mist covers the ground.

“Careful, men. Probe ahead of you with your rifles,” Friederike warns her troops.

But it’s too late. The silence is broken by a scream as one soldier slips and disappears. There is an audible crack of bone breaking… Then the screams resume, coming from deep down.

[Solo] The Prussian Infantry Marches to Carcosa, Turn 1

I played a solo session today. A Prussian infantry detachment is somehow transported to Carcosa circa 1810. I was very much inspired by this cool session report by Underground Adventures: an Into the Odd one-shot for a single player, about a group of Napoleonic soldiers on Carcosa.

The Detachment:

• Captain Friederike “Freddy” Krüger, a woman who entered service disguised as a man, but is by now accepted as she is
• Brother Paul, Augustine monk and scholar
• Dr. Krowitz, field surgeon
• 20 disciplined Infantrymen with muskets

(Carcosa art by Rich Longmore)

How I play:

I rolled a random starting hex (0311).

Procedure: 1 Turn = 1 Day

For weather: 2d6 Reaction roll

Wandering encounter: 2-in-12 chance, 1 is daytime, 2 is nighttime

Turn 1

Location: Hex 0311, Wasteland

Weather: 7, Neutral

Encounter: 11, None

...Once the electrified mist disperses, the Detachment finds itself in a strange landscape, a purple wasteland. A violet-crowned sun hangs menacingly above and twin moons race through the light blue sky. The soldiers are nearly blinded by the alien hues.

Friederike checks her compass. The needle whirls around like a madman. It’s useless. So Friederike tries to get her bearings by the strange celestial objects.

[Actual Play] Secret Hide-Out of Glaxorzis pick-up game! (Searchers of the Unknown)

I ran Glaxorzis as a quick pick-up game on the OSR Discord server yesterday! Around 90 minutes, for three players – a nice group of chill folks, two of them I’ve interacted on the server before (but haven’t played together) and one new person – so, overall, a great time!

We used Searchers of the Unknown. Great ruleset for quick games. “Think D&D without the ability scores. Do you know how in Basic you can write down the scores of a monster in a single stat line? This game just uses that for player characters as well”.

I whipped up some pre-gens using my trusty science fantasy frankentable (a gigantic ever-growing generator I maintain in Inspiration Pad Pro).

The players picked these characters:

 

Baron Chosroes the Purple (enterprising mercenary)

 • Stats: Leather, AC 7, MV 9, HD 1, 8 hp, #AT 1

 • Arms: laser pistol (d8), shield (-1 AC, -1 MV), axe (d6)

 • Equipment: hand-torch, chalk, small sack, electric lamp, holodisk

 

Timo (holographic golem)

 • Stats: Plate, AC 3, MV 3, HD 1, 8 hp, #AT 1

 • Arms: energy pistol (d6), shield (-1 AC, -1 MV), sling (d10)

 • Equipment: 50' rope, hand-torch, 6 rations, 50' wire rope, backpack, moldy looking glass, with the power to make the material immaterial

 

Europa (shy hero)

 • Stats: Chain, AC 5, MV 6, HD 1, 4 hp, #AT 1

 • Arms: shield (-1 AC, -1 MV), grenade (d10), polearm (d6)

 • Equipment: musical instrument (loud synthesizer), water bottle, hand-torch, candle, grappling hook, bedroll, decaying book, acquired from the frightening tower

 

We bumped them up to level 2.

Then the players came up with their motivation to go after Glaxorzis, that sorcerous CREEP!: Timo the golem had been created by Glaxorzis and now wants to take revenge; Baron the mercenary was cheated out of a promising contract by Glaxorzis, and Europa (who joined 30 minutes into the game) was the heroic type who is generally out fighting baddies.

 

The session was enough to cover most of the first level.

• The group explored the passages, got into a fight with the Orange Goblin guards, routed them, took and interrogated a hostage (“Bingus”), then let it go free.
• They went back to free the imprisoned giant. They gave him rations and started working on bending the prison bars.
• The goblins returned with back-up and their leader, striking from two directions, and another fight ensued.
• But in the meantime one character managed to free the giant (using that randomly rolled dematerialization device). The giant (“Chungus”) went berserk – well, it couldn’t do too much, as he is a 15’ tall dude in narrow cave passages. So he crawled through with great fervor, sometimes blocking the passage, which added an interesting element to the fight.
• After defeating the goblins, the party explored some more. They steered clear of the lake with mist, got the giant to clear the passage blocked by the collapse and went round. They found the shaft to level 2, descended, and this is where we finished.
• They left three rooms on this level unexplored (which is where the treasure was…). However, they did grab the goblin chief’s Scimitar of Unhealing Wounds!

Glaxorzis, you sorcerous creep, they are coming after you! AND THEY ARE GONNA FEED YOU TO CHUNGUS.

Actual play report for Parallel Dungeons by Starmonkey

Starmonkey ran my adventure PARALLEL DUNGEONS in Into the Odd (great fit!) and posted a session report. It's great to see other people using (and enjoying!) my work.

Parallel Dungeons, if you haven't seen it, is a free adventure that has three dungeons on a shared map; they exist in parallel realities and the player characters can jump between them using an arcane device. It's fun.

Just a Crab Monster. By Erol Otus, from White Plume Mountain

[Solo] The Magnificent Adventuring Circus, Session 5: The Wolfman’s Turn

Introduction and links to other sessions can be found here.

The cast of characters:

• Julia Maxima, the Bearded Lady (Dwarf Cleric 1). Stern leader and cook of the circus.
• Pointy Kid, the Knife Thrower (Halfling Thief 1). Sly acrobat with a pipeweed addiction.
• Callisto, Master of Illusions (Human Magic-User 1). Archmage of the Highest Order, Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge. Obviously, he has a creepy ventriloquist dummy.
• Sheila, the Odalisque (Elf Fighter/Magic-User 1). Exotic dancer and all-around cool girl. She won’t agree to be sawn into two halves.

Day 6 [travel from 3508 to 3408 (barren hills on west bank, lightly forested hills on east bank), weather worsening, no random encounter]

The terrain on the east bank of the river becomes less rugged, more of a hill than a mountain. The weather, however, becomes worse: the first cold of Mid-Winter sets in. The first snowflakes also appear – early scouts of the oncoming storms and impassable roads. So, the Circus tries to pick up speed.

They get their hopes up when they see the outlines of buildings in the distance at the bend of the river – but as they get closer, they notice, that there is no smoke rising from the chimneys. It is just the ruins and remains of an abandoned hamlet, half a dozen empty, dilapidated buildings. Most are beyond repair. Some might be restored to livable conditions.

The deserted place gives everybody the creeps. It’s that uncanny feeling, when a place that should be “lived in” instead stands empty. “I feel like we are being observed,” shudders Callisto, and glances backwards, but can’t see anybody. The party decides to not search the buildings, and instead roll on towards a hopefully populated settlement.

+ [travel from 3408 to 3509 (barren hills on west bank, densely forested plains on east bank), weather worsening, random encounter: the Lycanthropes, party not surprised, creatures surprised)

The terrain on the east bank evens out, but the forest gets thicker. The snowfall intensifies. The branches of ancient trees look like skeletal arms outstretched against the gray, clouded sky.

Pointy Kid drives the wagon. Griswold volunteered to be on watch – which means sitting on top of the wagon – not the most pleasant position in the winter. The others huddle in relative “comfort” inside the cabin.

“I tell you, I don’t like this Griswold fella,” Callisto grumbles. “His words are pleasant, but his eyes are just not right. I recognize this type… He is a liar and a con-man, that’s what he is.”

“Birds of a feather, aye?” Julia pokes him in the side.

“First of all, I’m not a con-man, I’m a con-artist, and a master of illusions, not a liar. But yes, I’ve seen people like him before. I bet that tale about his traveling companions getting killed by monsters is a great big lie. They are either following us, or, hell, for what we know, he killed them himself and will do the same to us! And why did he volunteer for watch duty?! In this damn cold?”

“All right, all right, I’ll check on him, just stop nagging me!” Julia Maxima gives in.

A little trapdoor built into the ceiling leads to the top of the wagon, the “sentry post”. Julia Maxima climbs up the ladder, and emerges from the hatch, but not completely yet. She looks around.

Griswold kneels on the roof of the wagon, with his back to the trapdoor. And he is… waving? Gesturing? Signaling to somebody in the distance behind the wagon! Julia Maxima barely makes out three figures trotting after the wagon. Three dark figures… Wolves? WOLVES!

Julia drops back into the wagon and secures the trapdoor below.

“You were right, Callisto. I’m sorry. To arms, everybody! There’s a pack of…”

Her words are interrupted by a blood-curdling howl from above --- which is answered by a choir from the distance.

“…wolves. Or something worse,” Julia Maxima finishes the sentence and starts donning her chain shirt.

There’s another howl, and the sound of claws scraping against the roof of the wagon.

“POINTY! Pointy, look out! Behind you!” Sheila screams, hoping that her voice will penetrate through the wall of the wagon.

Pointy Kid turns around just in time to gaze into the gaping maw of a gigantic wolf perched behind him over the driver’s box… Instinctively, he hits it with his only weapon at hand – the whip! The leather strap would scare any other creature – but this monstrosity doesn’t even flinch – and it lunges forward – and misses! The sudden movement brings the creature dangerously close the edge, but it stays on top of the wagon. Pointy throws the reins and stands up to face the monster. Bamboo the horse needs no urging by this point, as she feels the horrible smell of the werewolf. She strains to go as fast as possible.

Meanwhile, below in the wagon Julia Maxima is still struggling with her chain shirt. Sheila grabs her scimitar. “I cannot let Pointy fight that… thing… all alone!” She opens up the back window of the wagon, crawls out, and pulls herself up onto the top. As a trained dancer, she manages this little acrobatic feat alright… But she also sees that the three wolves are gaining. Callisto watches in horror at the pursuers and tries to come up with a clever idea.

Up top, the monstrous wolf prepares for another attack. But first, Pointy Kid lashes out with the whip once more – this time he tries to hook it around the creature’s leg, but only causes some mild annoyance. Luckily, he doesn’t lose his balance. Griswold (or rather, “Griswolf”…) charges again – but Pointy Kid sidesteps, and the wolf jumps straight off the carriage!!

Callisto tries to use his only trick, and “throws” his voice, towards the approaching wolves. On a hunch, he imitates Griswold’s monotone speech: “Fall back! This prey is no good!” And, to the Grand Illusionist’s great surprise… the trick works! At least, the three pursuing wolves stop and look around in confusion.

Sheila and Pointy look below and try to find the wolf.

At the same time, Griswolf “resurfaces” from under the speeding wagon and snarls at Callisto (who is still standing at the open back window). And then the monster jumps, tries to latch onto the vehicle – his vicious claws miss the window just by a couple of inches.

Pointy climbs back into the driver’s box and takes up the reins. Sheila stays on top of the wagon to see how things unfold.

Griswolf snarls angrily, shakes himself – and turns back into a person! “You haven’t seen the last of us, carnies!!” he shouts after the wagon, then, butt naked, runs off into the snow-covered forest to find his pack.

Julia Maxima finally finishes putting on her chainmail. “I’m never taking this off again,” she says.

The wagon speeds on, pulled by the panicking Bamboo, in an unknown direction…

Cool Michael Stroganoff wolf encounter diorama by Taipeh

[Solo] The Magnificent Adventuring Circus, Session 4: Carnies in the Mist

 Introduction and links to other sessions can be found here.

The cast of characters:

• Julia Maxima, the Bearded Lady (Dwarf Cleric 1). Stern leader and cook of the circus.
• Pointy Kid, the Knife Thrower (Halfling Thief 1). Sly acrobat with a pipeweed addiction.
• Callisto, Master of Illusions (Human Magic-User 1). Archmage of the Highest Order, Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge. Obviously, he has a creepy ventriloquist dummy.
• Sheila, the Odalisque (Elf Fighter/Magic-User 1). Exotic dancer and all-around cool girl. She won’t agree to be sawn into two halves.

Day 4 – continued [camping in 3507 (river flowing from north-east to south-west, swamp on northern half, barren mountain on southern half), weather worsening, random encounter: Lycanthrope: Werewolf, party not surprised, creature not surprised]

Cold Fore-Winter rains make the life of the Circus worse. Pointy Kid is on lookout duty, Callisto cooks, Sheila and Julia Maxima work on the broken wheel. The party has the tools and some spare materials, but lack the expertise. It quickly becomes obvious, that even if they manage to finish the work today, they have to camp here in the wilderness.

Dusk sets in. The wagon is complete, but it’s too late to move. The troupe huddles around the fire.

“Somebody’s coming!” Pointy Kid points towards the rocky slope of the mountain.

“Greetings,” the approaching person waves from a distance. “Can a weary and unfortunate traveler warm himself by your campfire?”

The characters exchange a couple of words, then invite the stranger over, as it has been the way of Circus-folks for centuries. Only Callisto eyes the stranger with some slight suspicion.

He is a middle-aged fellow, with greying unruly hair, torn dirty clothes, a sword on his belt and just a small bundle of stuff. “My name is Abil Griswold,” he introduces himself. “I was traveling with three companions through the mountains, but we were ambushed by monsters – I was the only one to get away.” He speaks in a monotone voice. Grieving his companions, Sheila thinks.

“Where are you headed?”

“To Tabriz first, then Turachow,” Griswold explains.

“Come travel with us, it would be safer. Of course, you’ll be expected to contribute something to the performance or the running of the circus – that’s the Circus custom – do you have any talents?” Julia Maxima asks.

“I might have a couple of tricks up my sleeve,” says Griswold, and for the first time his voice becomes lively. He even smiles a little. “I can imitate the sounds of wild animals. Children love it,” he says, and does a pretty good growling dog impression.

“We could use that as the sound of the troll, too, what do you think, Sheila? Maybe in Tabriz, he can play the monster instead of you,” Julia Maxima offers.

“Yes, I guess I could become a monster,” Griswold nods. “But let us rest now…”

Watches are set – the night passes uneventfully.

Day 5 [travel from 3507 to 3407 (river makes a bend, barren mountain on east bank, lightly forested hills on the west bank), weather neutral, no random encounter]

In the morning, a light mist blankets the area. Callisto is almost sure that he spies a couple of shadowy figures in the mist… But perhaps that’s just his imagination running wild, or a bit of contact high from Pointy Kid’s morning pipeweed.

The Circus (with new temporary member Abil Griswold) continues its journey along the river. The swamp on the other bank ends and the river now runs in a valley between lightly forested hills and mountains.

The wheel holds – although one particular bump gives the whole party a scare – but nothing scary happens. Investigating, they find that they ran over a slab of stone, half-sunk in the ground: an ancient grave marker… Now this sends some chills down their spines, especially that the mist hasn’t lifted yet. The name is unreadable.

But these small things don’t hinder them much.

The river takes a strong bend towards the east, where more lightly forested mountains loom.

+ [travel from 3407 to 3508 (lightly forested mountain), weather worsens, no random encounter]

Further progress is hindered by cold rain. The troupe soldiers on. Just before darkness, they happen upon a cabin – built atop a tall tree! There are no lights in the windows, nor smoke from the chimney. Nobody answers their calls. So Pointy Kid throws up a grappling hook, then climbs up to the little platform at the cabin’s entrance. Knocks – no answer. He opens the door. A small living room: all furniture and implements cozy and halfling-sized, but covered by dust. There are books and scrolls, all of religious and philosophical content. Most of them are signed by a certain Glomol Glomolkan Glomolklari – the owner of the cabin. A little silver sea-shell is displayed in a prominent place: proof that the inhabitant of this cabin made the pilgrimage to the holy site of the Birth of the Goddess, far up to the north-east [5001]. Glomolklari must be a hermit. But where is he?

Pointy Kid doesn’t want to disturb the stuff of a hermit, so instead he just climbs down and reports to the others.

They park the wagon under the tree, and camp. Julia Maxima rations the food pretty strictly tonight: with an extra mouth to feed (Griswold lost his bag), the Circus is running low on supplies…

The night passes uneventfully.

To be continued!

[Solo] The Magnificent Adventuring Circus, Session 3: Wheels & Waterfalls

Introduction and links to other sessions can be found here.

The cast of characters:

• Julia Maxima, the Bearded Lady (Dwarf Cleric 1). Stern leader and cook of the circus.
• Pointy Kid, the Knife Thrower (Halfling Thief 1). Sly acrobat with a pipeweed addiction.
• Callisto, Master of Illusions (Human Magic-User 1). Archmage of the Highest Order, Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge. Obviously, he has a creepy ventriloquist dummy.
• Sheila, the Odalisque (Elf Fighter/Magic-User 1). Exotic dancer and all-around cool girl. She won’t agree to be sawn into two halves.

Session 3: Wheels & Waterfalls

Day 4 [travel from 3606 to 3507 (river flowing from north-east to south-west, swamp on northern half, barren mountain on southern half), weather neutral, no random encounter]

The Circus leaves Abazar early in the morning. Nobody begs them to stay for another show… The plan is to follow the course of the river until they reach the town of Tabriz. A sound plan, but who knows what dangers await along the way?

The weather is… fine. A bit cold, but most importantly it’s dry, so the circus wagon rolls at a slow, but steady speed along the river. By midday, the party exits the dense forest, and enters an equally wild, but very different terrain.

Here the river runs in a valley. On its north/north-western bank, the swamp continues. On its south/south-eastern bank, stands a tall, barren mountain peak. Even this late in the year, water flows off the peak. It forms a magnificent waterfall, almost 500’ tall, and connects into the river in the valley. An awe-inspiring view!! But also, a hindrance for travelers: coming down this direction, one must either cross the fast-flowing stream, or circle around, wasting possibly many days among rocky hills.

Julia Maxima, the de-facto leader of the troupe, hands out ropes and commands everybody to prepare for crossing. Julia herself and Pointy Kid remain on the wagon – the stream is definitely too deep for the small folks. Sheila and Callisto begrudgingly tie themselves to the wagon, and take point, leading their horse into the ice-cold water.

They slowly make the crossing. In the middle of the stream the two adventurers are almost up to their chests in the freezing water. Callisto curses, Sheila suffers silently. The worst part is that they cannot see the bottom under the fast flow, and there are rocks everywhere. They pull through, and the wagon’s front wheels are already out of the water, when suddenly…

*CRACK!!*

Treacherous underwater rocks! The vehicle slumps backwards. Pointy Kid and Julia quickly jump down, and everybody starts pulling --- and they manage to pull the wagon out from the stream, but realize that a spoke on the wagon’s right back wheel is broken! It must be repaired before they can proceed!

To be continued…

[Solo] The Magnificent Adventuring Circus, Session 2: Well- or Ill-met in Abazar?

Introduction and links to other sessions can be found here.

The cast of characters:

• Julia Maxima, the Bearded Lady (Dwarf Cleric 1). Stern leader and cook of the circus.
• Pointy Kid, the Knife Thrower (Halfling Thief 1). Sly acrobat with a pipeweed addiction.
• Callisto, Master of Illusions (Human Magic-User 1). Archmage of the Highest Order, Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge. Obviously, he has a creepy ventriloquist dummy.
• Sheila, the Odalisque (Elf Fighter/Magic-User 1). Exotic dancer and all-around cool girl. She won’t agree to be sawn into two halves.

Day 3 – continued [downtime in 3606, the settlement of Abazar]

On the third day of the journey, the Magnificent Adventuring Circus reaches the Abazar. They are received neutrally – the Abazarians natural grimness is mitigated somewhat by the presence of Julia Maxima (a Dwarf). The garishly painted circus wagon parks in the main square, next to “The Sleeping Ogre” tavern, and is converted into a makeshift stage by opening down one of the sides. Torches are lit when the evening comes, and a small group of 20 tired lumberjacks gathers around.

The Show

The show usually opens with the sword dance of Sheila, but the troupe decides that a semi-naked Elf lady swirling around with a sharp scimitar might aggravate an all-Dwarf audience… So Julia Maxima takes the stage first, with the stand-up comedy routine she practiced along the journey. At first the audience needs to time to adjust to Julia’s mountain dwarvish dialect, but gradually they warm up, and laugh wholeheartedly at the mining terminology puns and a couple of mandatory “elves smell!” jokes (Sheila allowed Julia a grand total of three). Next, Sheila puts on a “troll costume” (a dusty crocodile-skin and googly eyes) and prances around on stage. Then Pointy Kid bursts in, dressed as a knight. The two of them dance around a bit and put on a mock fight, as Julia Maxima narrates the events. On the one hand, the audience laughs at the Elf-Troll, but on the other hand, the troll is a very real danger around these parts. The lukewarm reception of this number makes Callisto very nervous, and he stutters while doing his Ventriloquism act. The audience boos and two out of three rotten tomatoes hit Callisto. Julia Maxima tries to save the situation by inserting a few jokes on the stuttering illusionist’s expense, but the evening is ruined.

The hat is passed around, and returns disappointingly light. Tough audience! But at least the troupe is treated to a free meal in the spirit of the approaching Harvest Festival.

The party retires into the wagon for the night. They would rather not carouse in this hostile town. Their plan is to reach a bigger, human-dominated town by the day of the Harvest Festival, and cash in on the festive mood of the populace… Julia Maxima goes out for a bit to mingle. She learns that there is a town called Tabriz on the river, about 30 miles southwest. Abazar sells lumber to them. This is where the Circus will head next.

Quick house rules: 

The circus is in town! List the numbers that the troupe puts on (3-4 will suffice). Describe them.

For every number, make an Audience Reaction roll.

Keep a running total of the numeric value of the rolls as well, and at the end of the show, that total x 50 is the base amount of copper coins gathered when the hat is passed around.

As a circus show is like a fight with the audience, experience points are gained as if the party has defeated every fifth member of the audience.

Roll	Reaction	Effect
2	Outright hostility	Make a Reaction roll at -2 to see if the audience attacks or just tells the troupe to get out of town. No money gained, obviously.
3-5	Dislike, heckling	-1 to next Reaction roll
6-8	Lukewarm reception	Nothing
9-11	Success, warm reception	+1 to next Reaction roll
12	Standing ovation	Number must be repeated, might override future performances. Double the amount of money earned.

 

1^st number: Julia Maxima’s Dwarven standup comedy [Reaction roll: 10]

2^nd number: mock fight between Pointy Kid and Sheila (dressed up as a troll) [Reaction roll: 7+1=8]

3^rd number: Callisto’s rope tricks and ventriloquism number [Reaction roll: 4]

2200 copper pieces

20/5=4, 100 experience points