OSR: 3 Rival Adventuring Parties

Very much inspired by Arnold K.

Assume the first one in the Cast section is their boss (+1HD), and that each member of the Cast has HD equal to the average level of the PCs. Roll or pick the party that best suits your campaign best. Assumed for B/X rules (Knave, OSE, LotFP).
Also note: there are Molekin here. Replace by Goblins, Halflings or Gnomes if those fit your game's setting better.

Scroll to the end of the article for a long ramble on Rival Adventuring Parties.

1) Auriola and the Crows

Capable, Divided, Versatile, Brass.

Truths:

• Auriola will accept any sword duel. And throw one to solve any disagreements.
• The group is divided. The Buttercheeks see Auriola (and the young Amusko) as too bold. Serafin and Brosco are doing their own thing. Changing the group's composition will tip the current balance.
• Serafin will kill ANYONE to have his voice back. If he believes his cords can be restored, he will betray whoever.

Cast:

• Auriola Yudego, the Dancer. Hair short, silver nose ring. Black leather and a rapier. Wants to be the best swordswoman in all of Maienstein. And she's pretty damn good. +2 to hit and damage if wielding a sword. But she's currently training her left hand (so no bonus). If a fight looks serious, she'll switch hands.
• Serafin "Birdsong". Young human wizard, with an untended beard and a red scarf. Had his throat slit once, but lived to tell the tale. Kind of. Now he can only speak through his crow familiar. Knows two spells: grease and glue. Wields a trusty repeating crossbow of his own invention (attack again on 19-20; gets stuck at 1 and needs d4 rounds to repair). Dreams of recovering his own voice.
• Amusko the Thief. 15 young human lad, with an innocent smile. "Secretly" in love with Auriola, will do anything to impress her. Brass, impulsive. Wields two sharp knifes. Keeps jewelry of his victims, which he aims to offer to Auriola when the hoard is significant enough.
• Zoila & Sorospen Buttercheeks. Thief halfling sisters. They regret every single decision that brought them to this point in their lives. They use bows, bear traps, ropes and bells with efficiency. Despite their nihilism, they carry on with the group.
• Brosco Ironheart, the Fighter. Halfling with ginger muttonchops. Short guy with a bad temper. Wields a hammer and a shield, and he will fuck up your kneecaps real bad. Morale 12. When he would fall to 0HP or below, he instead regains d6HP. Adrenaline that wears off after the battle, only applies once per day.

Tactics:

• Preference: outside, with the cover of trees or elevation for the Buttercheeks and Serafin to pepper with projectiles. A narrow pass works wonders for them. Under parley, Auriola will demand a one-on-one duel with the best fighter on the other side to resolve disagreements. Or just test/show her skill.
• Preparation: Serafin's raven will scout ahead. The Buttercheeks will prepare a couple bear traps, and put some rope with a bell hanging from a tree as an alarm in the selected spot. Serafin will conveniently "glue" the area, making it tough as nails to flee. Amusko will hide in nearby bushes to get the flank.
• Action: Auriola will march forward with Brosco to meet the enemies, whilst the Buttercheeks and Serafin loose projectiles. Amusko will wait for a window to sneak attack, fiercely protecting Auriola if the need arises.

2) Bookyn Nine-Nine

Boisterous, Fighty, Numerous, Reckless.
 
Truths:

• More a warband than an adventuring group, they all come from the moot town of Bookyn. Itzai used to be the constable there, until a series of unfortunate events forced him to leave the town with his lackeys and whoever had the guts to follow him.
• There's 18 (!) of them. The 9 that compose the adventuring group, plus the 9 animals: 3 mastiffs, 3 mules, a warhorse, a black cat, and a yellow parrot. The mastiffs fight if Alvin commands them to do so.
• They're into adventuring for the carousing, plain and simple: fight hard, get rich, die young. Will drink any liquor, try any drug. Playing with their egos is a valid proposition.

Cast:

• Itzai, the Constable. A human of law turned barbarian. Sword and shield and mohawk. Wearing his old constable uniform, and on the warhorse whenever possible. Charismatic, jovial leader as long as he gets what he wants. A monster if he gets denied. Has to play the macho role to keep leadership of the group, and is particularly weary of Vivian.
• Pimple, the Cleric. A limping molekin wearing black leathers, with a shield and a sickle. Worships Rotwurm, the Blind Hunter. Has a hard time patching everyone together after a battle. Surprisingly stealthy, has a collection of worms in a jar and is into rare herbs.
• Diofantos, the Scout. Is a human with a hunched back and a lot of finesse, who likes to be on his own. He only speaks in sentences one word long. Diofantos is a God in opportunism: arrives at the perfect and most critical moment. Has the exact item to overcome the challenge (and yes, he has it all in his sack). Most remarkably, he's an excellent bow shooter, and skilled with the shortsword. Has mirrors, caltrops, fake jewellery, disguises, smoke bombs, and much much more.
• Alvin, the Beastmaster Scout. A gnarly dwarf. Shaved, short ginger beard, arms full of bite-marks, ears full of rings. Is the only one really taking care of the animals: inventory, feeding, etc. Wields a whip and a spear to poke at the dogs and make them excited for battle.
• Eleder Jamjar, the Fighter. Halfling, failed alchemist in Bookyn, joined the group picking a spear and a shield, and has learned a trick or two from the others. Has a bag of flash powder that when lit emits a blinding flash of light, as well as several bottles of strong, fast-drying dye in a variety of bright colors. Can be used to stain objects, clothes, and even skin in different hues. Eleder applies warpaints on his compadres before battle.
• Torkild, the Barbarian. This dwarf will drink about anything offered. Either his blackened liver absorbs it, or it gets puked immediately. Has a 2d6 acid breath weapon. Obsessed with liquor, death, and crows (wants one for the party).
• Vivian, the Über-Barbarian. BATTLEAXE. SHOUTS AND COMMANDS. TORKILD'S AUNT. THIS DWARF LADY USED TO BE A PORK PIE BAKER BACK IN BOOKYN. NOW SHE HUNTS WHATEVER BEAST IS IN FRONT, COOKS IT AND GIVES IT TO THE BOYS. MOTHERLY, PROTECTIVE, AND LOUD.
• Nuño, the Berserker. Human in his mid-thirties. Mustache and pipe. He's cool. And the shortest temper. "Why are you looking at me?" "Why aren't you looking at me?" "You got a problem?". Shortswords and daggers galore. Quick. When the little patience is gone, he's vicious.
• Justino, the Second Fighter. A human with a wide grin, horse teeth. Scars on the face, seems to have been used like a chopping board. Was a woodcarver. Resents Eleder, who's half the size, but twice the fighter.
  

Tactics:

• Preference: They are a fucking mess, and a mix of warcries and showing off. But they're tough as nails, and have good numbers. Anyone who perils is quickly replaced, to keep the Nine-Nine name.
• Preparation: Diofantos might set some clever tricks: caltrops cutting an enemy's exit, a hidden pit, bear traps, etc. He will appear in the best possible moment (for the Nine-Nine), and finish whatever is already wounded. Nobody knows where he came from, but he's a lethal sneaky bastard. The rest of the gang doesn't prepare, at all. Pimple tries to avoid a mess, but fails every single time.
• Action: WAAAGH!

3) Jackson Five

Religious, Scheming, Meticulous, Secretive.

Truths:

• Will try to immobilize and interrogate all enemy priests/clerics/scholars. Ulrik can tell them apart, and Jackson will record every detail spoken in his keen mind.
• Can be bribed with religious texts. Fermin and Itzalle get to split all the loot (that's why they've stayed so far), since the zealots care little for other treasure and coin.
• Jackson can alter his form with spells (excluding his clothes), and impersonate any humanoid convincingly (he's a good actor).

Cast:

• Jackson, the Wizard. Stocky dwarf with grey beard in a braid, and a brown robe. Speaks in whispers, and prefers to listen first. Has arm-sleeve tattoos of snakes that animate under his command (2 poisonous snakes, 2HD each, bite attack deals 1 damage + 2d6 poison). Deals in secrets and is obsessed with religious texts and The Game. Tries to please Agent Daximona, and have contact with that deity. He's failed so far.
• Fermin, the Hafling Fighter. Straw hair covered by a red bandana, mace and shield. Fights as dirty as it gets: spits, bites, goes for the nuts; you name it. Gets to attack + do a stunt each turn. Has a treasure map sewn inside his bandana, which he's hoping to find one day (but keep from the others).
• Itzalle, the Scout. She's a scarred human that should've retired long ago. Covering for 14 grandchildren with her share of the loot. Cooks an excellent stew. Uses a crossbow if needed, and has smoke bombs. But she's here mostly to crack doors open and disarm complex traps.
• Ulrik, the Cleric. A dwarf that can smell any cleric or man of faith. Can't stand his own stench. Plate, shield, and hammer. Worships Sin, the Enigma of All, so he will use any situation to laugh and cheer, no matter how untimely.
• Stye, the Torchbearer. Old molekin with a crooked back. Joyfully carries all the equipment, food, and loot for the others. He's useless in combat, and will beg and hide. Has a pet mastiff called Pitt (2HD, bite attack d10 damage + knocked prone on hit), which is far more capable and protective of his owner. Ulrik spared him once, so Stye ows his life to him and will blindly follow the Cleric.

Tactics:

• Preference: will try scouting, subterfuge, espionage or parley. They're the bunch that promises help and acts the way until they steal your treasure while you're sleeping. If all fails, they attack with surgical precision. Will concentrate on enemy priests and clerics first. And they'll retreat or negotiate if things look sour.
• Preparation: Jackson will use a disguise or illusion spell to scout the enemy days ahead. Posing as a beggar on the road. Or a helpful merchant. Will learn as much as it can about them. Itzalle will prepare her excellent stew and offer it (poisoned). She will bury smoke bombs in retreating points, activated on pressure if they need to flee. Fermin, Stye and Pitt will hide as a last resort.
• Action: Combat is not favored by the Jackson Five. They will have no interest in it if the scale isn't properly balance in their favor. They do their homework, and do it thoroughly: will know the weak links of the enemy, their composition and relationships, if they have any Clerics or Wizards, etc. and use it to their advantage.

Ramble on Rival Adventuring Parties

Goblin Misfits, by Anthony James Rich

Avoid at all costs. I'm being serious. There are several problems associated with using a Rival Adventuring Party (RAP from now on). Here a few:

1. There's a big chance to overshadow the PCs. Or that the players think you are in a power trip. We don't want that.
2. They are complex to roleplay. This is a group of misfits as rich as the PCs, and it's hard to make them justice.
3. They are hard to play in combat. They should have abilities, spells, magic items. This adds up, fast.

Why even bother then? There are several reasons, and things could go in any direction.

• A RAP doesn't have to stay in the antagonist corner forever. They could team up with the PCs, eventually. Roleplaying and interactions can become very rich.
• To show contrast. The party is careful and meticulous, taking no risks? Make the RAP fast, brass, violent. And vice versa. Are half of the PCs magic users? You bet your ass the RAP will be full of inquisitor clerics wanting to burn their spellbooks and cleanse their souls.
• To introduce competition and timers. What happens if several RAP are after the same McGuffin at the temple of Jon McLich? It means the players have to be fast in their goal. It means they could arrive to only see the dragon slain, the gold sacks being carried by the RAP. Change of plans! But we came prepared to fight a dragon, not a RAP! Yeah...
• For verosimilitude. If the game is a heavily focused megadungeon chances are that several groups are trying to plunder its riches. In OSR games the PCs rarely play The Chosen Ones, and this helps to reinforce that idea.

But I cheated. The disadvantages I listed before can be circumvented, or at least mitigated. See, we should:

1. Foreshadow and use standard OSR procedures. Reaction rolls. The full deal. Making recurring obstacles and antagonists are hard in TTRPGs, but in the case of a RAP, it can pay off immensely. What if the RAP was sponsored by the local authorities?
2. Make a member of the RAP mute. Or speak alien languages that can only be understood by other members of the RAP. Or add some beasts and animals (dogs, elephants, basilisks, you name it). It also helps if you have a strong RAP theme, and a clear leader/face that will be interacting with the PCs.
3. Ditch the idea of making N character sheets, or giving them templates (for the GLOG). All they need is one or two distinctive abilities each, because of how long a combat will take in general. Do go nuts with the tricks if needed; RAPs are bosses in their own right.

OSR: The Owl's Nest

There's this project that's been bloody stuck in my mind.

Imagine a brewery turned inn that's been putting out the best damn ale in the region. Not only that, but almost any liquor you can imagine. They produce it in the best quality, and no time. If the local ruler asks for a hefty tax mark, no problem. They are swimming in gold and revenue.

Where does all this fine liquor come from? Why is nobody looking into this?

Krzysztof Maziarz

What the @$!*ck is this, Hammer?

Scope is always a problem with these things, but I think I have an exact idea of what I want. In a pinch:

Inn for Downtime + Toolkit + Underground Cellar/Brewery Pointcrawl Adventure

This serves several purposes and goals.

First off, the idea that a lot of adventures start in a tavern. Or have a recess in one. That's true, be it for gathering rumors, meeting NPCs that can turn into hirelings, carousing, or generalized shenanigans. Even in the OSR space, I think it does serve a purpose for in-between adventures for the "what to do in town".

Second, it provides context and a list of interesting NPCs.
Be it recurring ones, or simply random tables of "who's here at the moment". These are great to gather rumors of what's been going on whilst the PCs were out of town. They also provide services and quests the PCs might need.

Third, it's seeds to build your own adventures. This is not described here, and ties to the second point. By having a handful of clear stated NPCs and their agendas, or clear adventure elements, this is an opportunity for the referee to build their own adventures directly from the inn.

Fourth, the inn connects to its own dungeon. This means we can control when the PCs find about this by making some rumors clear. Or they can start asking themselves questions. Where does all the alcohol come from? Why is it of best quality? A pointcrawl requires low prep, and the aim is to provide an unprepared referee with a dungeon locale they can run as-is with minimal preparation.

Nothing too innovate here, just my take. The Yawning Portal has been around for ages, and is basically the same concept of inn+dungeon entrance. Here the second part is a secret fact though.

There's also the Night Wolf Inn adventure module. Full of great ideas, rich with gonzo material oozing from every single page. A gold mine to plunder. But this is DENSE. It's also too rules heavy for my tastes. A more system agnostic version of this module, trimmed and edited, would be a killer. Mandatory Bryce review.

Gestalting The Thing

The thing is, I've never done something like this by my own. First step was to fire an excel document and start writing down ideas and sections for this thing. What tables would I need? What sections? Are there related articles, books, or media I need? Many are obvious and expected just by the premise of inn + cellar dungeon.

Raw, ideas without filtering. No mechanics or discarding yet.

Semi-sorted Section List

• [Inn] Inn Description and Fluff
  Everything going on and obvious before the PCs enter the inn. And if they don't act, how/why it remains in this state.
• [Inn] Inn Map
  Hire a cartographer. Making it abstract or isometric is completely valid (even preferred).
• [Inn] List of Named NPCs
  Relevant NPCs that are always here. The innkeeper family (dwarfs), the resident bard, some of the NPCs that inhabit "Rooms at the Inn". Some provide hooks to underground adventure. There should be someone who can buy and sell magic items. And someone who can provide healing services: a surgeon, or a priest/cleric of a God of pleasure and drink.
• [Inn] d66 Random Inn NPCs
  Random table for generation on the fly. Name, ancestry, quirk, what they want. Brief.
• [Inn] d66 Hirelings (Optional)
  Price per day. Good variety. Ready to go.
  
• [Inn] 6-10 Rooms at the Inn
  Have 3-4 rooms occupied by adventure sprawling NPCs. The inn is famous, so there's a reason why they'd stay here.
• [Inn] The Menu! (Optional)
  A tactile handout for the players to check what they can eat or drink at the inn. Cookie points if it has some hidden clues?
  
• [Tools] Carousing Table
  There are a lot of these. Good ones! I did a downtime one a while back. Base on B/X gold quantities.
• [Tools] List of Inn Games (Optional)
  Self explanatory non-sense, unrelated to anything else.
• [Tools] dX Table of Alcohols and Drugs
  Can provide interactivity, traps, etc. Requires an ad-hoc system for consumption. Certain areas (in the dungeon adventure) experienced differently depending on the amount of drink consumed?
• [Adventure] Locations and Details
  This is a 2 page spread with the table to roll for, with a 1-line description (key words) to give the referee an image whilst they flip to the relevant page of Location and Detail.
• [Adventure] Locations Expanded
  Actual meat of what the PCs are meant to explore. Unique and expandable with the Details + Encounter. Aim for 20 of them.
• [Adventure] Details Explained
  Brief, punchy, distinctive.
• [Adventure] Set Pieces Explained
  Each more of a "boss" encounter. It is the lair of some of the major factions/agents in the adventure. They help to break the entropy and change the dungeon generation procedure. 6 Set Pieces.
• [Adventure] d100 Encounter Table
  Bigger threats the deeper into the dungeon. Maybe combine with Overloaded Encounter Die? Encounter and Omen. Also hazards: tunnels collapsing; lights going on; underground gas bags exploding; etc.
• [Adventure] I Search the Body
  Should be more interesting crap and clues rather than gold. If gold, make it dependent on HD of the slain creature.
• [Adventure] Bestiary/Denizens
  Like the stocking notes below, but expanded. Easy stats, but provide context as to why they are here. Lengthy section.
• [Commentary] FAQ
  Commentary to ease the referee's life based on playtest feedback. Advised rulings, etc.

Underground Cellar/Brewery Pointcrawl Adventure

A procedural generated dungeon adventure of the underground cellar and cavern system below and around the inn. Similar to the very popular (and by me beloved) Gardens of Ynn and Stygian Library, but with Set Pieces. These read as more static locations that advance the whole adventure, and where basically PCs can really fuck things up and change the status quo.

The rearranging bit of the pointcrawl is harder to get than in an infinite garden or a library in cavernous tunnels. But there's a bit about it: the Worm. It creates and collapses new paths at will.

Pointcrawl Generation Mechanics

It takes a turn (10 minutes) to move from one Location to another.
Whenever PCs want to move to a new unexplored Location (therefore expanding the map), roll:

• d6 for Overloaded Encounter Die (encode to d100 to avoid extra rolling for Encounter?)
• 1-2: roll for Encounter -> when they enter new Location that's what's there.
• 3: roll for Encounter (Omen) -> when they enter new Location that's what's there.
• 4: Dungeon Effect (tunnels collapse, gravity reverses, traps reset, etc.)
• 5: torches
• 6: torches/lamps
• d12+Depth for Location (if you roll a 12, consult a Set Piece instead based on the result of the Overloaded Encounter Die)
• d20 for Details

Dungeon Stocking Notes completely raw form 

Devil Management
-Probably the most powerful thing down here.
-Someone got their True Name, and now they're a servant. They resent that and want to see it  changed.
-Will toy with the PCs; finds them amusing and a tool.
-Makes constructs at his service, the Golems. They are soul-infused.

Golems
-Tankard/Bottle/Keg Golems, soul-infused by Devil Management.

Molekin Workers
-Have a contract by Devil Management to keep expanding the place, greasing and restoring the traps, etc.
-Led by a dwarf NPC.
-Take drugs to keep the insane work pace. Imagine "kobolds on cocaine".
-Think the Giant Worm/Centipede is a God "Mama"

Giant Worm
-Creates and generates most of the tunnels here (at least 10ft wide). Very important: if it's killed, dungeon becomes static?
-Very powerful, tons of HD.
-The Molekin worship it calling and call it "Mama".

Caelan Stokkermans

Yeast Elementals
-Think of themselves as gods.
-Myconids as minions?
-The excellent brew producing creature is a dwarf wizard hooked in symbiosis to a humongous Yiest Elemental. (with tubes coming out from the body, etc.)
-Sentient, clever, not too powerful (doable), and has the True Name of Devil Management.

Vinegar Elementals
-Want to take over the status quo and privileged position of the Yeast Elementals.
-Could team up with the PCs. To then stab them in the back.

Antlings/Giant Ants?

Schnapshund
-Scary and powerful. Or pet-able and interesting
-Independent
-Probably the first "big" monster the PCs will meet.
-From unlawfulgames

Corrupt Underground Dryads
-Look like socialite from ancient Greece.
-Want to drink and fornicate, so they're quite happy with Yeast Elementals.

Priest of the Brew God
-Loner; came down here to get the secret ale recipe from the Inn.
-Seeing the truth of the decadence down here, is loosing faith by the second. Understands The Game, hence the desperation.
-Worships Zisdarger, the 'Drinker of Hours' (a drunk God that can reverse/advance time).
-Could still get a miracle going, time related.

Gods, Clerics, and The Game

What qualifies as a God?

Imagine playing N-dimensional chess on a board as big as the solar system. Gazillions of cells. Your adversaries as numerous as sand grains on a beach, each with their own unique winning condition. The Game advances at snail pace, but is constantly moving.

A mortal soul is a mere piece on the board. A speck of dust in the Universe. Insignificant to you and the other players. Yet, you need to beckon the attention of souls, since as an instrumental part of The Game, their cooperation (or consumption) is needed to come further ahead in it. And advance it to your advantage. Without pieces, there's no game.

Winning is a gargantuan task in such a complex play; out of the question. Just advancing The Game in the next favorable move in the foreseeable horizon is enough for any player like you. And remember, time is just another dimension of the board, so The game is NOT linear in that sense. Nobody even remembers what the winning price was. But you bet it must be HUGE. Or the best joke ever perpetrated: a game to keep everyone busy without any cause, effect, or end. Nihilism at its best.

That's it. A God is simply an alien creature playing a game of power against other such entities. The Game. Mortal souls are just oil for the engine, wood for the fire. An Avatar is just a manifestation of a God made simple enough so that a mortal soul can comprehend and interact with it, without having their brains immediately exploding.

Some players (Gods) prefer to keep more active and engaged. Others are more distant. Some are direct on how they interact with the souls. Others act in whispers and shadows. The chances of a playing Avatar/God to pay any mind to a mortal soul is directly proportional to how much they think acting will bring them further in The Game.

Weirdo Gods, Tim Molloy

A mortal soul may ask: how do I become a God? How do I get to take decisions in The Game, and stop being a coin to trade, a resource to burn and consume by the decision-makers? See, unfortunately despite its quasi-infinite vastness, the number of player agents is decisively finite. Quasi, remember?

Not only that, but the number of players has to remain constant. Any perished Avatar/God has to be immediately replaced by an eager side-liner. Failing to do so hastily breaks an essential equilibrium, and such a blasphemy echoes through existence, past present and future. That's why, despite insane competition in The Game, everyone is happy to see a new face replace the old one. A God has to be completely forgotten to die. Its pieces on the board completely removed, passages on tomes and writings fully erased. It takes eons for such a happenstance. But as just an additional dimension, time is an afterthought in this whole business. So a God dying does comes up.

The Cleric

There are priests, proselytizers, lecturers, moralists, atheists, and a full plethora or other individuals devoting a considerable amount of effort studying The Game, its implications, and how mortal souls interact with it (hint: as victims). Then, you have Clerics. They GROK exactly the irony of their position. Collecting thought, praise, and worship to a God that sees its devout and pious zealots as ants it ultimately has to consume (fuel-providing ants, then).

But an Avatar/God does need the work of a Cleric. Or at the very least it facilitates their position on The Game considerably. A conduit of mortal souls, a Cleric's work is greatly appreciated. Their worth unquestionable. Hence the concession of occasional Prayers to lure those juicy souls like mosquitoes in a swamp going after the lamp.

Inter-cosmic symbiosis with abysmal unbalanced power dynamics. But at least both agreed to play.

Good luck, pal! A. Shipwright

The Magic User?

Magic-Users (wizards, mages, sorcerers). Joke is on them. Their magic and powers come from the exact same source as for Clerics. The Game. And its players. A MU just ignores being part of play. Denies the possibility by principle and philosophy. Approaching everything like a black box. Taking short-cuts, trying to bend the rules of The Game. Poke it, and see what works, without fully rationalizing or understanding.

Whenever a summoning circle is laid out, pentagrams and candles on the floor, a MU is doing the exact same work as a Cleric would do. They just don't understand the consequences and price of what they're asking for. Gods will chuckle at their board, seeing that speck of dust sparkle for a second. Bless the ignorant fouls.

OSR: Running Maienstein / Stonehell

Why Stonehell?

It's tough to assemble a game. My aim is to prepare one where the goal is clear, the rules are light and streamlined, and there's a big enough player base interested in playing games. This will be my first megadungeon run, and I choose Stonehell. Here's why:

• It's dirt cheap. ~6$ for a 138 page megadungeon PDF. ~13$ for the softcover version (the first half of Stonehell, that is). I got both. Good and to-the-point writing. And if we get through that? There's a second tome detailing lower levels with the second part of the dungeon.
• Layout is praised. And I can see why. It follows the one-page dungeon format. Seems like it would be fairly easy to run out of the book, with minimal page-flipping or rewriting.
• Familiarity and gradual descent to strangeness. It covers the "trope" monsters and challenges one expects from a D&D game. This is good to introduce new players to the hobby. But it also gets weirder the deeper we get into the megadungeon. I like this design choice to not go full gonzo from the beginning.
• It's got decent coverage on reddit/blogs/discords to the point that I can seek advice and guidance from the great minds on the internet.

I started running two tables of low frequency play-by-post through Discord.

This thing contains spoilers (duh..) to the Stonehell module. If you're sensitive to them, stop reading and go do something else.

 

Backdrop Setting

The premise for the game will be that player's are in an outpost town (let's call it Priebe), a good 2 days travel away from the biggest city, Maienstein. Region is full of dwarves, Maienstein being originally ruled by them. The city has contracted the Gold Griffon Curio Corporation to recover treasure from Stonehell, to finance their upcoming war against the rival port city of Seciras.

This gives me the chance to introduce an alternative for players bored of the megadungeon, and reaching a high level to go off rails. Joining a mercenary company in the upcoming war, abandoning Stonehell altogether, going into the politics of Seciras. And more importantly, a strong motivation of why the dwarves of Maienstein don't take care of plundering the riches of Stonehell themselves.

I will keep the distance from Priebe to Stonehell at 1/2 a day, and have a random encounter check to get there and back (x-in-y chance). This should be a mutating random table reflecting interesting humanoids, bandits, beasts or simple travelers, that spice up the game. Objective is not to keep the game out of Stonehell (that would be an error), but paint a picture of the setting (without front loading!) and that traveling is dangerous.

Minor Change

Level 1 of Stonehell features Kobolds and other staples of low-level adventuring. I'm fine with that focus on tropes, and will embrace it. But I will replace Kobolds with Molekin, and make them a deal more organized and unique. I dislike the 5e kobolds as little dragonkin. And it's a way to imprint the Ancestries I decided for Maienstein. Why kobolds? Choose the cute disgusting little buggers instead.

Molekin evolution, by Manuel Castañón

Rules

For ease of entry, rules will be my Knave hack, Knave++.

Keeping a reference document  available online at all times for the players is extremely important. With the rules, table etiquette, tone, and expectations too. This can be referenced during game (price lists, rules), used for character creation, etc.

There's no better advice than to eat your own dog food. At least 2-3 mechanics I want to tweak already. Inconsistencies can be ironed out. Players and friends can give excellent advice. I'm glad and blessed we can work on the game as we go.

I'm also putting together a Referee's Guide for Knave++. Which is nothing else than a compilation of my favorite mechanics and practical advice on how to run a game. Overloaded encounter die, mechanics, etc.

In this discussion we get some advice on tracking turns for depleting resources and random encounter checks when exploring a dungeon complex. Food rations, water, torches, lamp oil, etc. This is very important for this type of game. Luckily, Stonehell already has encounter tables for each section of the dungeon, and I will be using the overloaded encounter die mechanic.

Learning to Megadungeon

 

... one level at a time

Cohesiveness is important, and frankly seems to be the selling point for such a campaign. Especially when comparing to a fun-house dungeon or a smaller dungeon. Levels should have themes, in its inhabitants, architecture, and current state.

Restocking tables, to keep things fresh. If the PCs explore and clean of monsters an area, it should remain alive. Don't want to keep the PCs "cleaning" the same level over and over again, but the environment changes and mutates.
Pg 9 of Stonehell has some basic guidelines on how to restock the dungeon, and remain it an ever-changing environ.
Each level can have its own theme, but there should be a cross-section. Short cuts. Loops. Vertical connectors.

This article is a good write-up with advice on how to run these kind of games. Key takeaways are:

1. Decide on grid vs loose mapping (and more importantly, who is doing that, the players, the referee?).
   This point is the one that's biting my ass at the moment. The game will be fully online, using Discord as the platform of choice.
   It would be fairly easy for me to clean the dungeon maps from the PDF, remove room keys, and use fog of war or similar.
   But that might be too forgiving for the players.
   So if we want to draw a map (and account for a PC or hireling doing so!), what best? I doodle the map? Should the players draw my painstaking descriptions? I have no answer.
2. Make sure there are enough loops, and branches present informed choices for the players.
   Stonehell design leans to this structure already.
   During the game, I have to remind myself to present choices to the players.
   An interesting trick is to provide maps/rumors, and the mole market of level 1 could be excellent for that.
3. Random encounters should be more interesting than "2d6 kobolds molekin".
   Maybe tying them to factions in the megadungeon?
   Additional roll for flavor/situation and lookup on separate table?
   How much content can I generate on the fly without over-saturating?
4. Traps should be interesting enough to encourage interaction, but safe enough to avoid skipping them be the default behavior.
   This link provides additional traps for the megadungeon.
• ... on a similar note, secret doors should be explained in the environment, and another opportunity for interaction with the environment. 
• ... there should be an obvious benefit for trying to interact/overcome the trap.
  Be it treasure, a door, a key. Show 'em the carrot!

Certainly there's a lot more to learn about the fine art of running a megadungeon like a boss.
But baby steps, these 4 pointers (+ tracking of player resources via turns) seem like an ambitious but logical first goal.

Given the price of the softcover, I will use it as a workbook, and just go all crazy on it. Color-mark entries (monsters=yellow, traps=green, treasure=blue) on each dungeon section page. And add post-its for each major section. This will help me reference the material when running, and spotting rooms quickly.

Take them markers out, pal!

Logistics

Justin Alexander has a series of great articles about running an open table.
They provide a great framework for me to phrase and write down the logistics to this campaign.

• Quick Character Creation & Easy Access Systems: Knave is perfect for this! Sprinkling a couple extra random tables (Ancestry for instance) to bring forward even more OSR
• Open Group Formation: not really the case here. But megadungeons are great it a player decides to drop off the game. Knave characters are mostly defined by their equipment (and in our case, an Ancestry and couple Knacks). So no big issue if the thief is sitting out this delve, just purchase the right equipment and cover for them.
• Default Goal & Default Action: get treasure. Get it from Stonehell. Spend it for XP. Simple. Clean.
• Regenerative / Extensible Content: Stonehell comprises two books, at about 280ish pages of megadungeon to explore. Pg. 10 mentions there are several opportunities to add extra custom levels/rooms (which I could do if I wanted). Restocking too. Frankly, there's plenty of game in here. Running out of content is not within my worries.

We are doing most of the game on Discord, with rolls done with a bot, and we have a game wiki to store the character sheets and most important information.

The biggest pain I have at the moment is with regards to mapping. Roll20 is nice as it lets me share a full blown grid map, but is very overblown for the task, and not mobile friendly (and a lot of times players post on their phones). For now I'm using google drawings, and looking for better alternatives. 

Campaign Time Management and upkeep costs during downtime will be winged, assuming PCs have a place to stay and basic food at Priebe. A 300 day calendar (10 30-day months) seems sensible, and is easy to remember. In-game time during a megadungeon should stay fairly low, so I'm not too worried about continuity. Characters returning to Priebe will be enforced to cash in loot for XP, although I could allow an outpost if the players are really clever and resourceful about it.

Unsorted To Do List

Games are pretty much started, but in early stages. Very early ones. The we-are-exploring-the-canyon stage. But I'm having a blast so far. And the PbP is very suited for this sort of megadungeon play. Content will be added and fleshed out pretty much as we go. So here is a short list of things that should get done (I will link in case any develop to their own post):

• Finalize the Referee's Guide to Knave++.
• Find a bloody mapping solution! For Discord and mobile play.
• Regional hexmap of the Stonehell area in the Maienstein area. Good excuse to finally use HexKit.

EE: Reading Review of Esoteric Enterprises

So Emmy "CaveGirl" Allen published Esoteric Enterprises. Apparently in the workings for at least two full years, this thing is a beast at 247 pages.

This is not at all a thematic genre I generally look into. Having a look at the Appendix N, I've watched most of the TV entries, and about half the comics. But not much else. So thematically I'm not the target audience of EE.

This read-through review might appear overly negative (if counting the amount of Not-So-Good bullets). It's easier to point out criticisms than to stop and appreciate the quality this game packs.

Also bear in mind that I haven't played a single session of the game. I need to test it at the table.

TL;DR: this thing is very good. For 12$, the PDF version is a steal. Even if you never intend to run this, worth it only for the referee facing tables and tools. Pages 104-110 on the section on how to run a (OSR-like) RPG are a concise write-up that I enjoyed immensely. EE could have benefited from an editor's pass.

As a result, I really want to play this. It bumped to the top of my Games I want to Run list. Ping me to get something started.

Contents

You can find the full table of contents in the Drivethrurpg preview.

Esoteric Enterprises can be roughly divided into several sections:

1. how to create a character.
2. the basic rules of the game.
3. spellcasting and magic.
4. about 40 pages of how to run RPGs (including traps and hazards and treasure tables).
5. how to generate the Undercity map and its complexes (dungeons) for the full sandbox experience.
6. about 60 pages on how to roll up factions and the bestiary.

There are 8 classes in the game.
Bodyguards are akin to barbarians or dwarves from other OSR games, Criminals are your Thief/Specialist, Mercenaries are Fighters, Occultists are your Magic User, and Explorers are reminiscent of halflings, with good saves from the beginning of their careers and excellent in Athletics/Stealth.
Then we have Doctors, which have good healing as well as a very loose (ruling based) capability to do medical experiments. Players into body horror or creative minds will benefit.
The Mystic is a mix or cleric and warlock. They ask a patron for spell favors.
And the Spook seems just like a blast, where you can play a mutated humanoid with powers. Wanted to play a werewolf, or a vampire? Now you can. But of course, you have to start from the bottom.

The Good

• This thing is full on packed. 247 pages of content. Random tables left and right.
• The black & white no-art variant is really appreciated. Easy to print out the tables you need at your table. Ditto for the generous preview available at drivethrurpg.
• Highly compatible with B/X. The classes are all in the familiar format. Many similarities with LotFP (1-in-6 skills). There's even guidance on how to make it work at Appendix O.
• Pages 30+31 are golden, and sometime similar should be in every game. Easy to print out and hand to the players (especially newbies will appreciate it), so that they understand what sort of characters they can create and how.
• Lots of tools for running a game. Tons. Random tables galore. Magic items, loot, rumors, grimoires. You name it.
• Random Undercity generator.
• Given Gardens of Ynn and Stygian library, this was kind of expected.
• It follows the dice dropping technique (aka reading the tea leaves), similar to what I saw in Dark Deeds in Last Hope for Shadow of the Demon Lord.
• The dice drop is used to map out the Undercity (a big map where your sandbox campaign will be taking place), the Undercity complexes (dungeons and maps for exploration) and fleshing out the factions.

The Not-So-Good

• There is no character sheet! I get that I can make my own in Word in half an hour. But this is somewhat expected for a full blown game like this one. Here's one I found online.
• The pdf is not bookmarked, slowing down navigation and digital flipping.
• It seems the whole thing could have used a tighter editing phase. There are formatting issues. Capitalization is inconsistent at places (see pg. 8 for instance: "Intelligence" and "intelligence", "mercenary" vs. "Occultist"). Also some typos. Table 13 for example should read "Armour" at the top left-most column.
• There is either a flow problem, or an assumption as to what the reader knows. Example: there are numerous references to a "turn" (in the 10 minute exploration rate), but the term is introduced way into the book. People familiar with OSR games will know what this is. But someone new to these games could have benefited from some extra assistance (this is a minor pet-peeve; I assume almost nobody will run this as their first RPG).
• It could have used some further bolding and highlighting. Take pg 34. The attributes could have been bolded and/or indented.
• At pg 36, where skills get explained, I assume that a 6-in-6 is not an automatic success, but rather the LotFP standard of roll 2d6 and fail only if you roll 6 on both dice. But I didn't see that explained here? Ditto with 0-in-6.
• When Rolling up the Undercity, I would have liked a visual diagram example of the procedure. Luckily, there's a blog post with one.
• The PDF seems poorly optimized. There are no hyperlinks.
• The art and images do pass the desired mood across to the reader, but I get the feeling that contracting some artists, and assigning a bigger budget to this could've had excellent results.

Knave++, my Knave Hack

Knave++ is my Knave hack. I intend to test this system from now on. This is v1.0.

At this point it barely resembles the original game that Ben Milton designed (with a very generous Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license). I added enough bits and bobs to please my taste. And as an exercise, building a hack from the ground up, with the very strong core that Knave provides, has been very educational.

Casque Knight!

Knave++ Player's Guide Doc

Knave++ Features

What follows is a scattered list of changes and additions compared to the "vanilla" Knave.
The solid Knave core remains: ascending d20 rolls tied to the 6 standard ability scores, item slots based on constitution (and a general focus towards equipment), quick character generation, high compatibility with B/X and other OSR games.

• Character Creation
• Classic class features called Knacks. Abilities and powers that PCs can pick up.
• Ancestries as a random table. A light way to imprint the game setting. These are specific to my Maienstein/Stonehell game. List can be replaced with whatever Ancestries tingle your fancy. Or drop them altogether. It's meant for flavor and a minor ability boost and drawback. Differentiation, nothing more.
• Playing the Game
• Healing is slightly modified, and adds the concept of Snacks as quick healing bursts. Additional rules for starvation.
• Combat 
• Alternative initiative system to have individual rolls for each PC and antagonist NPC group. Henchmen always go last. Still rolled every round for extra randomness.
• Easy to use death & dismemberment table when a PC drops to 0 HP.
• Spellcasting
• Keep arcane level-less spellcasting, but replace the original list by the Magic Dice system from GLOG. I really like the MD mechanic as a whole, and it's easy to stick to Knave.
• Add cleric spells, called Prayers, which contrary to Magic User spells have no Miscasts/Dooms. Reduced spell list, but more reliable. Flavor as herbs, bells, tablets, or some similar equipment that eat up Item Slots, called Clerical Implements.
• Advancement
• Advancement and experience taken from LotFP, and with different numbers to use on a currency=XP game.

Changelog

There is no way to get everything right on the first go. This is to keep track of future changes.

• 23.12.19: version 1.0. A baby is born.

Things To Add

• Referee facing rules
• Overloaded Encounter Die
• Wilderness travel
• Summary of rule terminologies: Advantage, Save, MD, turn, round, Knack, Ancestry, etc.
• Fatigue
• Ranged weapons range?
• Cover from ranged attacks

OSR: Castle Nowhere Sessions 1, 2, 3 & 4

Because I'm a busy individual pretending to be an adult, there's been no way for me to get detailed play reports for each of the sessions of this campaign, Castle Nowhere. Insights of the reports. Instead, I will do my best to recollect the first major adventure of the campaign, which we spent exploring Ynn.

The rules are a hack of Into the Dungeon (an Into the Odd hack), and GLOG templates smashed together. As this was a request from the players, idea was to tune the system as we go. So far it's been a breeze to run. Let's revise the characters first.

Barry - a Barbarian with a zealot religious background. Interested in kicking ass and getting loot.
Gwynnie - an Orthodox Wizard, whose sister was deceived by a juvenile man of the rivaling party and helped them destroy her faith's sacred temple. Really keen on learning new spells.
Giovgia - an Orthodox Wizard with a stinky horn, that was exiled from her home in the Itean Empire and now exists on the edge of the law. Reason why she fled to Five Towns.
Evalderer Crouser - a second zealot Barbarian, that likes to play bagpipes before going into a rage, and has a poisoned wasp (that can be thrown as a dart). Only joined the group for the last session, as a reinforcement.

Grimewood Beginnings

Our adventure starts in the city of Grimewood, in the North-Eastern region of Five Towns. Currently seeking rumors and adventure, and with several obvious locales to explore, the group decides to pay Caeldrim of the Silver Sages a visit. Local wizard and scholar, he surely will have something worthy for them? Gwynnie and Giovgia want to present themselves to the powerful wizard.

Caeldrim, more jovial than this portrait suggests, by Bearded Devil

Sure enough, the wizard has an impressive library, which attracts G&G. And a quest. For which he pays meager coin (10sp), but grants access to his library and tomes. Putting the carrot in front of Gwynnie and Giovgia for future spell research. The job?  A door appeared in the Grove of Euphoria in Grimewood. The place being a sanctum of sorts, to reflect and pray to the local deities, the Crescent Sisters. Caeldrim's apprentice, Merrick Oakblood, went through the door seeing its appearance as a sacred omen of the Sisters. Go find Merrick, and bring him back alive. If you learn why the door appeared, even better.

With a suspicious amount of discretion (waiting for nighttime), the characters get escorted to the currently open portal, where two city guards stand post. Purple viscous membrane, Caeldrim wishes them good luck, but warns that in 24-48 hours the door will close according to his estimations!

Barry investigates the area, looking for clues as to what caused this door opening.  A faint yellow chalk marking around the portal. Gwynnie decides to cast Hail to Dave. Pompous noble materializes, winks, and serves as scout through the portals, the PCs too suspicious to follow ahead. They wait. Dave comes back, cocky. "There's more forest ahead. Vegetation all around. And the faint noise of a clockwork? No wine though...". Barry stays true to a barbarian's credo, and opens the way, venturing through the portal.

Through the Overgrown Gardens

The magical gardens are ripe for exploration. The group of 3 looking for clues of the missing apprentice, they leave the door behind and start venturing into these alien gardens. First off, they come across an archery shooting range, pristine, with 3 targets and a cleaned-up skeleton, with several arrows pierced on the target and bones. As Barry starts looking into the bones, and savaging some of the arrows: a fight spills into the shooting range! Blue foxes (more the size of a wolf each...) are ferociously going at a trio of Peahawks (which are basically evolved into some sort of winged velociraptors).

 

At first the battling beasts pay no mind to the PCs, but one of the peahawks gets starts to isolate itself from their group, and sights the wizard ladies and the barbarian. Giovgia quickly casts a Cacophony spell to the group, deafening and confusing most of the beasts, that quickly run away with their feud. The curious peahawk remains, now angry, confused, and goes to attack the group. Gwynnie quickly casts Fire of Judgement on the bird-raptor, giving it a fire crown, and its attacks should backfire. Barry and Giovgia go into melee with the beast, the wizard marches with its stinky horn, hurts the peahawk, that then retaliates, takes 1 point of STR of her, and then has to run away due to the Fire of Judgement spell damage. One momentary victory, the Gwynnie and Barry quickly stabilize Giovgia, they take 2 massive peacock feathers and treasure, and continue their exploration of this overgrown gardens.

Further Exploration Giovgia's player was missing for this session #2

After some wandering around, a neat herb garden with 14 tight rows of overgrown spices appear in front of the PCs. Two of those rows catch Barry's attention, but as he's moving closer to them, a flock of huge parasitic wasps bees come flying from the East! With enough time to hide, the group sneaks behind the nearby bushes, and ultimately flees, leaving the bees working and tending to the herbs behind.

They continue to move carefully, and stumble upon a clearing with a 60ft diameter limestone square of ground. On the center, a fist-sized diamond. Up in a ramp in the ground, 120 or so feet away, a huge log. Half-rotten with the passing of time, and with tiny gems encrusted. A lot of things going on, and more importantly: the promise of treasure!

Of course Barry and Gwynnie decide to investigate separately. Do split the party.

The barbarian runs to the log and starts prying gems out of it. Quickly, the log starts coming to life, a hermit spider the size of a cart looking pissed out of it! In the meantime, Gwynnie decides to prey at that gemstone. Which is of course a trap! She gets imprisoned into a bubble of water that starts slowly floating into the air, like a balloon.

After some struggling, Barry is able to set the log ablaze, pissing the spider off (and more importantly, providing a distraction!). He then runs to aid Gwynnie, and using of the retrieved Peahawk feathers, and with some feat of strength, is able to pull her out of the bubble alive. Gwynnie quickly casts Hail to Dave, creating a distraction for the spider (but also loosing her only magic die).

The trap resets (and the huge diamond resets to where it was at the center of the limestone floor), and the group just makes a run for it, fleeing this bizarre scene.
I should have used the rules for running blindly, where they advance d4-1 layers deeper. They were fleeing the site, and not looking for exact clues and trails to follow. Oh well...

Do check before looting!

After running their lungs out, the PCs arrive at a collection of idealized greek marble statues, right next to a chess lawn. The place is pristine, has a lamp post throwing some light, and sees an ensemble of chess pieces of the White Court arrive. Knights coming on the nighttime, reading themselves for an upcoming game against the statues.

A jovial knight by the name of Sir Ilian turns to the PCs. With a bro-like attitude, he is in a good mood, offers his bottle of rum, and hears what these strangers have to say. Hearing about Merrick, the knight shows understanding, and agrees on giving the PCs general direction if they swear fealty to the White Court, and to bring down the Red Court, a sworn rival chess court. That didn't need much convincing; Barry jumps at this offer promptly. Sir Ilian gifts them with a handy oil lamp to continue their exploration: "Seek the Rose Maidens, not fat to the North. Be careful, they have adopted some odd superstitions".

Merrick Oakblood... seek the Rose Maidens?

As they start traveling North, night fully kicks in, and Barry sets himself in front with the recently acquired oil lamp. The barbarian starts noticing thorns and vines to grow quickly in front of them, a dense forest of razor sharp roses. A rose garden. The PCs will have none of it, and decide to surround the location, sneaking as best they can around it. This might seem counter-intuitive given the recent clues, but the PCs see this as a trap, and decide to avoid it. They are like shadows (all of them excelled at their Dex saves), and even avoid a flock of parasitic bees flying high in the air as they surround the area.
At the time I thought this war an odd choice on their part. Thing is, it wasn't a trap, but the Maidens were meant to have further clues to Merrick's past steps. PCs could have taken a short cut, but at the risk of potential violence. Bypassing this was probably wise.

Continuing North, as instructed, the ensemble travels for a longer time, and they start to cross a dense wood with an enticing and mysterious song in the distance. The deeper they go into the forest, the slower they go (and the easier it is to hide). Eventually they find the source of the singing, a group of 5 molekin that stop on their toes when they see the armored adventurers. "Snot! That's my name goodsir!", offers the boldest of them. "We need to retrieve a key important to us, up there in the tree! It will help us to take over the Myconids and claim their business.". All the molekin look up in unison, towards the top of a wide tree.

Snot, a molekin with a goal, by Manuel Castañón

After the PCs discuss what to do, they decide to help the little rats. Giovgia gets a head start assisted by Barry, and starts to masterfully climb the tree. Her Levitate spell also comes to the rescue. When she's almost on top, the molekin start to grow unrested, sniffing the air. A candle golem is coming! As it's a clearly visible creature, Barry and Gwynnie have enough time to hide in nearby bushes, as do the molekin. The golem behemoth continues scouting the area with heavy steps, in duty and looking for... something? Barry, again with superb skill, is able to sneak around and throw a stone in the direction the molekin hid. They start screaming and screeching, and run away (with the candle golem closely following their steps). The PCs use this opening to flee as fast as they can in the opposite direction, Giovgia taking the stash to herself.

The PCs continue their search, and arrive to a two-story clockwork building. Before venturing any further, they decide to check the retrieved stash: a fan (acts as a regular shield if opened), a letter with clues, and a spell scroll with Obedient Stone.

A pair of knight women leave the building, making their way to the stables behind it, and leave the area on a quick gallop. The dark of night covers most of their features. The PCs avoid them, but are puzzled as to who they are.

After a failed attempt to to sneak into the house, they enter the building escorted by a halfling called Tomek "This is Tomek's Timeless Teahouse, welcome!". Invited by the owner, they enter the property to a welcoming teahouse, with ready pastries, and a banquet. In the far corner, with a group of bookcases, the group finds a limping young man, a bald Merrick Oakblood!

Barry, wanting to investigate the upper floor and with an odd feeling about Tomek, is denied by the proprietor. The whole situation seems too fishy to the barbarian, so he takes his axe out and chops at the halfling! Roll initiative!

How Axe You? Giovgia's player was missing for this session #4, but we had Evalderer join!

Tomek reacts quickly by throwing a boiling teapot to the pastries table in front of the PCs, which summons an Ambulatory Pudding! Now Gwynnie and Giovgia have a pressing distraction. The halfling casts Mirror Image, and now with 4 illusory copies of himself, runs upstairs to the 2nd floor, with Barry at his heels.

Meanwhile, on the 1st floor, the pudding is menacing the three wizards (Gwynnie, Giovgia and Merrick). But lucky for them, a beefy man with bagpipes and a menacing battleaxe enters the building. Reinforcements Caeldrim sent, Evalderer joins the scene.
Over time I've come to waive characters coming/leaving if players join/can't make a session. Sure, sometimes it's not very plausible. But why delay the fun even one bit for "the right moment"?
Evalderer also enters a barbarian rage, but before that the pudding engulfs and severely hurt Gwynnie (dipping into her STR score). It turns into a filthy skirmish, both down and upstairs. But the murderhobos are vicious to no end, and come up victorious and without fatal casualties. They kill Tomek, chop the pudding, and have some time to explore and try to loot the Teahouse before getting the hell out.

Surprisingly cautious, they avoid the most dangerous traps, monsters and hazards in the place. The only encounter results in the PCs petting and feeding the 3 dogs Tomek kept in his lab area (reaction rolls, baby). After snatching 3 potions, some magical ingredients, and a king's ransom worth of gold, it becomes clear that Tomek was associated with the Red Court chess pieces, and that he built candle golems with/for them.

Muffled sound of hooves. The 2 knights return! The party flees in time to avoid being caught.

What follows is a chase back to the entrance door Caeldrim led them to. So we get to see (almost all) locations. The PCs are extremely lucky with their navigation rolls and reaction rolls from the White Court when they break the news of "As instructed, we have brought some combat to your house. Ah, and we killed Tomek.". They even had proof of the deed. Sir Ilian & co are grateful, given them a squire (=pawn) to serve as guide, and stay at the chess lawn ready to kill the knights of the Red (?) Court.

The last encounter happened when the party jumped into 4 Myconid Composters at the herb garden, when the mushroom-people were tending to some soil. They get initially aggressive, but Evalderer has the brilliant idea of just bribing them off with the looted gold by tossing some coins to the ground and fleeing.

With little trouble, the party returns to Grimewood with Merry Oakblood and pockets full of gold.

Referee Commentary / Things I Learned

Orange things above are lessons learnt. Also, ...

• My review still holds after this mid-length adventure in Ynn. Gardens of Ynn belongs to any referee's toolbox. It's an excellent product to generate interesting locations. The random tables are just brilliant (locations, details, events... everything!). They work very well with extra material, like monsters from Into the Wyrd and Wild, or whatever fae-like material you can find.
• In my scenario, I dropped the hint that the door to Ynn could close after only a few days, before the PCs went in. This clear direction made them not want to stay and explore further, or get lost in the place. This might have been a mistake, and a missed opportunity to go deeper into the module.
• Faction play was small (White / Red Court of the chess pieces), but had a profound impact on the final outcome, and the players capitalized on it.
• My criticism of an overabundance of beasts in the initial levels of the Gardens still holds. I tried to mitigate this by introducing more humanoids the PCs could interact with (the molekin, Tomek), to good effect.
• Tighter mechanics on how to sprint through locations or do a chase sequence would have been helpful. The finale felt a bit rushed, and I should have put higher stakes on the table.