Thursday, March 7, 2024

Six Weeks on Zephyrus-2


Six Weeks on Zephyrus-2 - a Space-Western Adventure Anthology compatible with Stars Without Number is now officially for sale on Drivethrurpg.com for $9.99!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/473304/Six-Weeks-on-Zephyrus2---an-Adventure-Anthology-for-Stars-Without-Number




Synopsis

The characters are stuck on the remote mining world of Zephyrus-2 for six weeks. In the meantime, they are offered jobs as local delivery drivers serving the region of Zone-A.

Week 1: The Missing Toolbox

A hydraulics engineer in the small town of Blackrock with a vivid imagination hires the characters to find her missing toolbox. The search leads the characters to an abandoned mine where they discover that rock monkeys did indeed steal the tools —at the direction of a mysterious psychic intelligence that is controlling their actions.

Week 2: The Tomb of the Luminaries

A mundane delivery turns into a bandit ambush. The characters then meet a sketchy geologist with a secret who hires them to help him explore some alien ruins in search of gold. There they encounter traps and guardian creatures made of “hard light”.

Week 3: The Return of Ojorojo

The characters are recruited by a young man to help save his village from an attack by marauding boreai bandits led by a robot gunfighter named Ojorojo.

Week 4: Bounty at Redpole

Natalia Barret hires the characters to arrest a smuggler when he lands in Redpole. The characters must plan and execute their operation using imagination, logistics, strategy, and discretion.

Week 5: Dangerous Contact

The mysterious psychic intelligence is back and has taken over the remote laboratory of Geologist Arno Freese. Freese hires the characters to brave the guardian creatures, haywire sample robot, and deadly laser drill to retrieve his important research.

Week 6: Escape from Zephyrus-2

Monsieur Popeaux hires the characters to carry a data storage module containing incriminating evidence against Director Donahee and the Imperial Mining Consortium to an Orion Federation outpost in the Aeolus system. The characters must storm the defenses arrayed at the spaceport and battle an enemy spacecraft to escape from Zephyrus-2!

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Assassins in Ankar - The Land of Jo'Ril, Chapter 23


The party is attacked while they sleep by the Black Saints. 

We are playing Old School Essentials, which is another way of saying Basic D&D circa 1981.

The Party:

  • Arrn, level 4 magic user 
  • Wumpus, level 4 dwarf
  • Waverly, level 4 ranger
  • Andrew Price, level 4 cleric
  • Gordon Binghampton, level 5 cleric
  • Boots Stavish, level 1 half-elf
  • Litera Hildetrude, a level 1 Halfling NPC hireling
  • Alard Lacey, a charmed NPC man-at-arms
  • Shan Luneer, an NPC scribe in the employ of Gordon Binghampton.

Here's a quick summary of their hex-crawl exploration of the land of Jo'Ril as generated by HEXROLL.

DM Note - Be aware, we are playing full-on tomb plunderers. We are aware of and deplore the real-world issues of colonialism, cultural theft, etc. We are role-playing characters and situations with different cultural mores and norms than our own. This is not an endorsement on our part for such behavior in the real world. 

The session began with an ambush!

Multiple well-armed and heavily armored veterans and acolytes descended upon the party while they slept in comfortable beds in a traveler's hostel. However, they made sure to wake them first, shouting, "This is the revenge of the Black Saints!"

Each of the characters were in different rooms and were forced to deal with their attackers on their own. 

Arrn cast a sleep spell, putting his attackers out of commission immediately. His charmed bodyguard went to work dispatching the incapacitated foes.

Andrew Price said a prayer of Hold Person, paralyzing one of his three opponents.

Gordon Binghampton likewise said a prayer of Hold Person, paralyzing one of his three opponents. As it happened, he paralyzed the most dangerous of the group.

Wumpus was on the latrine when he was ambushed. He fought off his attackers wearing no pants!

Waverly jumped out of bed, throwing the blanket over one attacker while stabbing the other with a dagger. She quickly grabbed her magic flaming sword to continue the fight.

Litera was not attacked, but hearing the commotion she rushed out into the hall to lend a hand with her bow.

Soon all the attackers were killed, save one prisoner. The proprietor of the hostel appeared and apologized profusely. The rooms were locked and only a servant girl had the key. Indeed, the hostel should have been secure. The only way attackers could have gained entry is if a worker at the hostel, someone with the master key, let them in. That person was a servant girl who had gone missing.

They turned to interview their bound prisoner. As it happened, the prisoner revealed that it was a doppelganger. It explained that it was a mercenary hired by the Black Saints to infiltrate key locations around Jo'Ril, looking for potential test subjects that could easily disappear. The doppelganger said it was the servant girl and that it recognized the party. The Black Saints had issued orders to all its agents to assassinate the party on sight for their disruption of the Black Saint's operation at the Shrine of the Feared Order. The doppelganger informed its contact in Ankar and the contact sent the assassins. The doppelganger then let the assassins in using its key.

DM Note- there was also some great roleplaying where the doppelganger taunted them, turning into each of them, allowing me to mimic the players and their characters, as well as issuing veiled threats against the characters using what it could read from their surface thoughts.

Waverly told the others that the Black Saints were capturing and exsanguinating elves, using their blood for awful experiments. They also captured human test subjects. Their goal is to create a potion that transforms the drinker into superhuman immortal warriors known as Varongir. The Black Saints is led by Alviva Nadalberga, former associate of Aleria the Alchemist. The Black Saints was currently looking for the Aclebalda family amulet. The amulet was magical, it read minds and stored memories. It contained the memory of a ritual used to summon a demon known as Amanar, who was necessary for creating Varongir. 

Waverly said that Caloanna Aclebalda's son had taken the amulet to hide it within the Caverns of the Grey Goblin. Alviva discovered this and was looking for the amulet.

The doppelganger laughed.

"You have most of it right but you are SO wrong on several key points. First, Amanar is not a demon, it's a celestial being of Law - a demiurge. It creates life. Second, that was weeks ago. Alviva has likely already discovered the amulet by now! Look, I have no love for these zealots. I can help you. Set me free and I will tell you where you can find Alviva and the rest of her cronies!"

Waverly said, "How can we trust you?"

The doppelganger replied, "What do you suggest?"

Waverly said, "Tell us who your contact is. If that checks out, we'll do what you said."

"Deal. My contact is Dolerama of Valasia. She runs the courier office here in town. She handles all the communication and correspondence for the Black Saints."

Waverly paused, "That name sounds familiar. Wait! I saw her yesterday! I gave her a package to send to our house in Kömür! She knows where we live now!"

The party went to confront Dolerama. Dolerama attempted to flee but was easily caught due to her limp. As she was dragged back to her courier office, she called out for help, declaring she was being robbed and asked witnesses to call the city guard!

DM Note - the city guard, as was previously foreshadowed in last week's session, was draconian. Thieves were impaled on stakes outside of town.

The party had short time to interrogate Dolerama. They asked her where she kept the courier packets. She confidently informed them they were protected by a heavy combination vault!

Arrn said, "That vault there?" and cast a Knock spell. The vault popped open. 

Dolerama sank.

Within were dozens of courier packets addressed to all parts of Jo'Ril. Several had small claw marks scratched into a corner. These were the sign of the Black Saints. Waverly took them. Arrn took the rest and cast a spell of Invisibility, "I'm taking these for later. Handle the city guard, I'll be around."

The city guard arrived before Waverly could examine the packets. Pylae, the captain of the guard, landed astride a magnificent hippogriff. 

Captain Pylae demanded an explanation. Waverly truthfully told her side of events - describing the nighttime attack by the Black Saints and making the claim that Dolerama was their agent. He offered the courier packets as evidence in his defense and told the captain of the guard that they had a doppelganger in custody back at the traveler's hostel. Both the doppelganger and the proprietor of the hostel could corroborate their story. 

Captain Pylae manacled Waverly's wrist to his own and ordered Wumpus, Litera, and Shan Luneer, Gordon Binghampton's scribe, to be likewise manacled. Gordon Binghamtpon and Andrew Price were not manacled in deference to their positions as priests of the Celestial Hieararchy. 

They returned to the traveler's hostel. The proprietor corroborated the account of the attack. When they went to interrogate the doppelganger, they found the servant girl bound to the bed. The servant girl was afraid, claiming that the party had attacked and tied her up. The hostel proprietor admitted he had seen no doppelganger and verified the identity of the servant girl.

Waverly said, "Wait! I can prove this is a doppelganger! Hold the girl's nose and mouth so that she can't breathe, wait until she falls unconscious, she'll revert!"

DM Note- this was based on a flawed memory on the player's part of how doppelgangers worked. 

Captain Pylae did not like this plan but was convinced. He asphyxiated the girl into unconsciousness. She did not revert.

The captain of the guard was livid, "You fiend! You will be punished!"

Waverly, desperate now, drew her dagger with her free hand and stabbed the girl in the throat!

Captain Pylae and another guard struggled against Waverly, unsuccessfully trying to restrain her. Waverly stabbed the girl two more times, red human blood pouring out.

The girl died and reverted back to its doppelganger form. The red blood turned black and ichorous. 

Captain Pylae blanched. 

With her story verified, it was determined that Waverly had killed the men in the hostel in self-defense and that the murder of the doppelganger was justified given the circumstances. Waverly and the others were released while Dolerama was arrested. Waverly and the others were instructed to leave town and not come back. 

Waverly told the others that knowledge of where they lived was heading to Kömür as they spoke. Courier riders could reach Kömür by the end of the day. Their home and anything stored within it was in jeopardy. Their plan was to use the recently discovered teleport gate to get back to Kömür before the couriers could.




The party left Ankar and traveled to the magical teleport gate in Hex 30. They built a bonfire in the circle and tossed in a parchment with the sigil of the destination, Hex 77. They jumped into the fire.

To be continued.

DM Notes-

And that's where we left it for now, on a cliffhanger. 

I had a discussion with the players, asking their opinion of Old School Essentials and B/X. This was both an experiment and an indulgence for me as DM. I had been wanting to run B/X and OSE for a long time as well as use HEXROLL to generate a random hexcrawl setting.

They players admitted that B/X and OSE was fun but not their favorite. They wanted to return to D&D 5E. 

However, they REALLY enjoyed the HEXROLL setting and hexcrawl and wanted to continue the characters and stories they started. 

So we're taking a break from this campaign for a few weeks so I can run a playtest of an adventure I'm writing for Stars Without Number - an anthology of space western stories called "Six Weeks on Zephyrus-2". 

After that, we'll return to Jo'Ril, but using D&D 5E and playing in Roll20. 

I also need to determine the contents of the correspondence that Arrn stole.

Monday, November 20, 2023

Lair of the Corrupted Blades, full dungeon as generated by HEXROLL

Below is the full dungeon that was randomly generated by HEXROLL. I made several adjustments, turning the caverns into a full kobold lair for example, adding kobold traps and defensive positions in the passages, tying some rooms together to make the dungeon more thematic. But overall, I'm impressed with how much thematic continuity HEXROLL is able to create even with random tables. 

 


CONSPECTUS

ENCOUNTERS

 10 Kobolds (area 4) 10 Stirges (area 3)
 Green Slime (area 12)
 3 Rust Monsters (area 7)

TREASURE

3,910 gp in coins. 6,480 gp in gems. 31,100 gp in jewellery.

WANDERING MONSTERS

Every 2 turns, there is a 1 in 6 chance of encountering one of the following wandering monsters:

1d2EncounterStats
1Kobolds (4)Armour Class: 7 [12] Hit Dice: ½ Attacks: 1 × weapon (1d4 or by weapon – 1) THAC0: 19 [0] Movement: 60’ (20’) Saving Throws: D14 W15 P16 B17 S18 (NH) Morale: 6 (8 with chieftain) Alignment: Chaotic XP: 5 (bodyguard: 15, chieftain: 20)
2StirgeArmour Class: 7 [12] Hit Dice: 1 Attacks: 1 × beak (1d3 + blood sucking) THAC0: 19 [0] Movement: 30’ (10’) / 180’ (60’) flying Saving Throws: D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (2) Morale: 9 Alignment: Neutral XP: 13

1 : LAIR ENTRANCE

This passage into the lair is at the bottom of a false outhouse .

2 : CAVE ROOM

FORESHADOWING
  • A few single silver pieces could be found if examining the ground near the entrances to this area.
DESCRIPTION

Dense spiderwebs are stretched between cave columns and the stalactites are covered with claw marks. There are some big chests near the far wall.

  • The chests are trapped. A strong acid ooze was applied on the chests. If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance of touching it. Save vs Petrification or sustain 1d4 damage.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the chests contain:

    • 420 gp

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • Dry remains of food litter the area.

3 : CHAMBER

FORESHADOWING
  • A successful listening roll could detect the sounds that the Stirges are making inside this area.
DESCRIPTION

It is dark and damp here and the ground is scorched with burn marks. There’s something moving inside.

  • There are 10 Stirges inside. They will attack anyone stepping in.

Stirge


Armour Class: 7 [12] Hit Dice: 1 Attacks: 1 × beak (1d3 + blood sucking) THAC0: 19 [0] Movement: 30’ (10’) / 180’ (60’) flying Saving Throws: D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (2) Morale: 9 Alignment: Neutral XP: 13


  • Monster Hoard:

    • 4 gems worth 660 gp in total
  • There’s also a pile of papers in the far corner and some seeds next to it.

4 : CAVE HALL

FORESHADOWING
  • When listening from outside, speaking Kobolds can be faintly heard from inside this area.
DESCRIPTION

Pools of dark sludge are scattered all over the place and the stalagmites are covered with splatters of dark matter. A violent shout in an unknown language is coming from inside.

  • There are 10 Kobolds inside, frantically searching for something. Roll or decide for reaction.

Kobold


Armour Class: 7 [12] Hit Dice: ½ Attacks: 1 × weapon (1d4 or by weapon – 1) THAC0: 19 [0] Movement: 60’ (20’) Saving Throws: D14 W15 P16 B17 S18 (NH) Morale: 6 (8 with chieftain) Alignment: Chaotic XP: 5 (bodyguard: 15, chieftain: 20)


  • Monster Hoard:

    • 9 cp
  • Damp leaves litter the area.

5 : CAVE HALL

DESCRIPTION

Dense spiderwebs cover the stalactites and stalagmites and the canopy is scorched with burn marks. There’s a dead body here.

  • Lying on the floor is a dust covered human skeleton. Searching it will uncover:

    • 30 gp
    • Oil (Unusable)
    • Sling (Unusable)
  • A ring of fist-sized stones can be found in a large basin.

6 : CAVE DIG

FORESHADOWING
  • Traces of something heavy dragged on the ground could be found if examining around the entrances to this area.
DESCRIPTION

This area stinks from excrements and there are some scorch marks on the stalagmites. There is a very big chest near the far wall.

  • The chest is trapped. There’s a small gas-filled vial made of an extremely fragile glass hidden under a pulling ring . If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance of popping it. Save vs Poison or sustain 1d6 turns of uncontrolled spasms.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the chest contains:

    • 1,000 gp
    • Armour +1

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • There’s also an old broken mirror near the wall on the right and some rotting remains of food spread all over the place.

7 : CAVE DIG

FORESHADOWING
  • A successful listening roll could detect the sounds that the Rust Monsters are making inside this area.
DESCRIPTION

Oversized fossilised mushrooms are covering this area and the canopy is scorched with burn marks. There’s movement inside.

  • There are 3 Rust Monsters inside. They will attack anyone stepping in.

Rust Monster


Armour Class: 2 [17] Hit Dice: 5 Attacks: 1 × feeler (rusting) THAC0: 15 [+4] Movement: 120’ (40’) Saving Throws: D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (3) Morale: 7 Alignment: Neutral XP: 175

❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏
❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏
❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏

  • There is no hoard.

  • There’s also a pile of papers in a large basin and some hundred tiny bones spread all over the place.

8 : GROTTO

FORESHADOWING
  • Traces of something heavy dragged on the ground could be found if examining around the entrances to this area.
DESCRIPTION

Oversized fossilised mushrooms are covering this area and the stalagmites are scorched with burn marks. There is a very big bag near the far wall.

  • The bag is trapped. There’s a small gas-filled blister made of lizard’s intestine thrown casually inside . If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance of popping it. Save vs Poison or sustain 1d6 turns of uncontrolled spasms.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the bag contains:

    • 230 gp
    • 1 gems worth 100 gp in total
    • Potion of Delusion
    • Ring of Control Animals

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • A pile of cockroaches can be found near the wall on the far end.

9 : CAVE ROOM

DESCRIPTION

This area is dark and cold and the stalactites are covered with burn marks. There’s a dead body here.

  • Lying on the floor is a rotting goblin corpse. Searching it will uncover:

    • 20 gp
    • High Boots (Unusable)
  • A bouquet of flowers can be found near the wall on the right.

10 : CAVERN

FORESHADOWING
  • A few single copper pieces could be found if examining the ground near the entrances to this area.
DESCRIPTION

The air in this area is dense and misty and the ground is carved with claw marks. There is a large crate near the far wall.

  • The crate is trapped. Loose debris is locked above the crate, released when a switch embedded in one of the wooden planks is triggered. If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance for the debris to drop down. Save vs Petrification or sustain 1d8 damage.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the crate contains:

    • 1,760 gp

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • There’s also a smashed lyre in a large basin and some traces of fur next to it.

11 : CAVERN

FORESHADOWING
  • A few single silver pieces could be found if examining the ground near the entrances to this area.
DESCRIPTION

The air in this area is dense and misty and there are several spots of green rot on the stalactites. There are some large barrels near the far wall.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the barrels contain:

    • 30 gp

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • Feathers litter the area.

12 : CHAMBER

FORESHADOWING
  • There’s a good chance players could sense the vile stench that the Green Slime is emitting from inside this area.
DESCRIPTION

The air in this area is dense and misty and the ground is scorched with burn marks. There’s also a very strong acidic stench here, making breathing almost unbearable.

  • There’s a Green Slime inside. It will attack anyone stepping in.

Green Slime


Armour Class: No hit roll required Hit Dice: 2 Attacks: 1 × touch (consume flesh) THAC0: 18 [+1] Movement: 3’ (1’) Saving Throws: D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (1) Morale: 12 Alignment: Neutral XP: 25

❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏❏

  • There is no hoard.

  • There’s also vomit in the far corner and some shreded pieces of clothing next to it.

13 : CAVE DIG

FORESHADOWING
  • Traces of something heavy dragged on the ground could be found if examining around the entrances to this area.
DESCRIPTION

This area stinks from excrements and the canopy has a few claw marks on. There are some big jars near the far wall.

  • The jars are trapped. There’s a poisoned needle embedded in a handle . If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance of getting pricked. Save vs Poison or die in 1d4 turns.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the jars contain:

    • 60 gp

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • Broken pieces of wood litter the area.

14 : GROTTO

FORESHADOWING
  • A torn canvas bag was left on the ground near an entrance to this area.
DESCRIPTION

Pools of dark sludge are scattered all over the place and the stalactites are covered with burn marks. There is a very big barrel near the far wall.

  • The barrel is trapped. A highly corrosive ointment was applied on the barrel. If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance of touching it. Save vs Petrification or sustain 1d4 damage.

  • The treasure here, if any, was already looted.

  • There’s also a spotted mushroom near the wall on the left and some seeds next to it.

15 : CAVE HALL

FORESHADOWING
  • A torn canvas bag was left on the ground near an entrance to this area.
DESCRIPTION

The cave earth here makes the ground feel sticky and the canopy is carved with claw marks. There are some large jars near the far wall.

  • The jars are trapped. There’s a small gas-filled blister made of rat’s intestine embedded in a handle . If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance of popping it. Save vs Poison or die in 1d4 turns.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the jars contain:

    • 20 gp

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • Torn pieces of clothing litter the area.

16 : CAVE DIG

DESCRIPTION

There are stains of what seems to be blood on the ground and the stalagmites have a few claw marks on. There’s also a colorful glow emitting from the ground.

  • A few green and purple bioluminescent mushrooms are growing from cracks in the ground. Anyone consuming them will be paralized with mind twisting hallucinations for 1d6 turns
  • A pile of papers can be found near the wall on the right.

17 : CHAMBER

FORESHADOWING
  • Traces of something heavy dragged on the ground could be found if examining around the entrances to this area.
DESCRIPTION

Fossils of underwater creatures decorate the formations here and the stalactites are carved with claw marks. There is a large bag near the far wall.

  • The bag is trapped. A highly corrosive ointment was applied on the bag. If undetected, there’s a 2 in 6 chance of touching it. Save vs Petrification or sustain 1d4 damage.

  • There’s a 2-in-6 chance the bag contains:

    • 340 gp

    Otherwise, this place was already looted earlier.

  • There’s also a pouch of dice in a large basin and some torn pieces of clothing next to it.