[Actual Play] A Delve into the Outpost of Stone & Silver [Carcosa / OD&D]

Yesterday I ran the Outpost of Stone & Silver for two players (as a quick and dirty one-shot when the regular game was called off). They grabbed two characters each from R. Sivaranjan's generator and off we went!

Kahlo (He of the Fabulous Eye-Brow), Red Fighting-Man 1

Steel of Woe, Green Fighting-Woman 1, one-armed and psionic

Luu, Orange Fighting-Man 1

Ranko (She of the Superior Hit Point Pool), Brown Fighting-Woman 1

Our ragtag group of adventurers, all outcasts of their respective tribes, learned about the existence of a sorcerous or scientific outpost, with shining metal walls built into the purple rock. They set out with high hopes: perhaps their tribes would take them back if they came bearing treasures...

They arrived to the place with their pack-lizard and cart. They saw two entrances: one set in a niche, and another set between two tower-like edifices. The bravest, Luu, approached the first one, and noticed that it had no door - but the passage was barred by a flickering curtain of light. He threw some objects at it, trying to match his projectile with the on/off phase of the curtain, but learned that all objects just bounce back, cause electric discharges, and overheat when connecting with the field.

He was about to head back, when he noticed some sounds from beyond the curtain, but he couldn't see the source, as the corridor was only slightly illuminated by the twin suns.

To his surprise, he received an answer in a child-like voice. The friendly creature on the other side invited him to join a knife-throwing contest. Luu was wary, and called a group meeting. In the meantime, they could hear that the contest commenced inside. There were sounds of knives hitting the wall, and the disappointed murmurs of a small crowd. And then, finally, a cheer -- and, to their surprise, together with the cheer, the curtain of light dissipated! 

"Folk Hero" random advancement table

1d12 random features your folk hero type character can gain when leveling up! Made this for a friend's setting. Inspired by Russian folk-tales.

1. If you wear a simple linen shirt, it counts as chainmail for AC purposes, but remains a non-encumbering item.
2. Your save against Magic with a +2 bonus if you are standing barefoot on ground.
3. People tell stories about your exploits. Commoners and simple folk roll Reaction twice and keep the better result.
4. The longer your hair and beard, the stronger you are! You can gain up to 3 points to Strength over time. However, if you go bald, you lose twice the amount.
5. Slayer of monsters! You gain +2 to hit creatures over HD 6 in melee combat.
6. Wandering hero… You get +1 on all your saves, but if you sleep in one place more than once, you lose this benefit forever.
7. Your Hit die for this level is one higher than your class would provide (d6<d8<d10<d12).
8. Feats of strength! Double your Open Doors/Bend Bars skill.
9. Your fame attracts followers! You gain a henchman, whose Loyalty is rolled on 1d6+6.
10. Brotherhood of heroes: ancient heroes you encounter roll Reaction twice and keep the better result.
11. Human to the core: you gain +2 bonus to resist vampiric charm, hypnosis, and similar effects. You are also always moved to tears by folk music.
12. You learn the location of a fabled magic sword buried underground! To claim the weapon, you must defeat a guardian or pass a test. Roll on the sub-table to see which weapon awaits you:

Magic weapons sub-table (d5):

1. Mech-samosek. The holder of the self-swinging sword always fights as if under the effect of the spell One Man Army.
2. Mech-kladenets. When this sword strikes, sparks fly in all directions, illuminating a 20’ area and revealing invisible creatures for a split second.
3. Luk-samostrel. This bow always has the advantage of targeting (+4 to hit).
4. Aspid-zmey. Once per day, this sword can turn into a giant snake at the command word and fight for the hero (HD 2, AC as leather, Move as unencumbered, 1 attack: 1d3 damage, save against Poison or incapacitated for as many rounds as the damage rolled)
5. Kolchan ognennyj. Arrows stored in this magical quiver become fiery bolts of destruction. They ignore 5 points of armor and do 1d8 damage.