Elven Star Poppies - The Land of Jo'Ril, Chapter 16

The party travels back to Kömür, do a little shopping in Arkon, and discover some trouble in Sigatona along the way.

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

The Party:

• Arrn, level 3 magic user
• Wumpus, level 3 dwarf
• Waverly, level 3 ranger
• Andrew Price, level 4 cleric
• Gordon Binghampton, level 4 cleric
• Fitzhugh Skitter, level 1 thief - out this week
• Lefsy of Hawkston, NPC, archaeologist and dealer in rare and exotic antiquities

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

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 orcs in my setting were created by the serpentines to wage war against the elven kingdoms in the ancient times. They are a created lifeform that knows only war and violence.

So this week was pretty much all travel and roleplay. 

We picked up where we left off last week, in a hexagonal dungeon chamber filled with red and purple poppies. How do these flowers grow? How are they still alive after thousands of years in an elven tomb?

This was a great moment of cooperative improv. I described how blind albino bees could be seen pollinating the flowers and disappearing into tiny holes in the walls like mason bees. They could see the ceiling was studded with tiny cystals. When Waverly sheathed her flaming sword to put the lights out, the tiny crystals glowed faintly, creating the appearance of a night sky full of stars. 

Wumpus' player called them "Star poppies" and I loved it - so that's what they were. They took a few samples, wrapped up in sacks and inside hats to protect them from the sunlight. 

When they exited the dungeon, it was late afternoon. The tower where the expedition stayed was an hour away. It was too late to bring back Lefsy and her workers, so they sent Waverly and Fitzhugh back to the tower to report on their progress. The party camped outside the entrance to prevent others from entering the tomb. That night, a herd of 20 wild goats entered the valley of the tomb entrance to drink from the puddle of water sheltered in a hollow under a cliff. 

The next day they brought Lefsy and her workers to loot the dungeon fully - removing statues and furniture and decorations. Arrn cast "Detect magic" and did a thorough walkthrough of the dungeon. The flowers were generated mild enchantment magic. So, too, did the dessicated body of the elven king sitting on his throne. Indeed, the elven king was ALIVE BUT SLEEPING!

This gave Arrn quite a start. He withdrew and ordered the others to seal the throne room shut with spikes, instructing Lefsy and the workers not to disturb that room.

Note - the players actually debated whether to wake him or not. The argument being that maybe the elves would welcome their reawakened king. But then they realized they were in the process of looting his resting place and decided it was best to maybe not risk it.

Having filled the caravan with loot plundered from the lost elven kingdom of Elderia, the expedition returned to Arkon, 18 miles away, pushing themselves in order to complete the journey in one day.

The party spent two days in Arkon  while Lefsy arranged a boat to return to Kömür. They spent the first day resting after the arduous journey the day before. 

They spent the second day exploring the city.

Wumpus traveled upriver to do some fishing, encountering a lone structure on the river belonging to a fisherman. The fisherman threatened Wumpus with a crossbow at first, but Wumpus offered to share his wine so the fisherman relented and allowed Wumpus to join him.

Wumpus' player wondered "What's that structure way up there?" I replied, "What do you think it is?" and he said "An old man's fishing shack. I want to check it out!" so I said, "You bet!"

Meanwhile, Arrn, Waverly, Gordon, and Andrew explored the Market District. 

I rolled a random encounter in the Cities sourcebook from Midkemia Press.

They encountered a religious pilgrim, a follower of the Lightbringer, trying to carry a lit candle from the graveyard outside the city to the Temple of Law in the temple district. A group of street kids were pelting the pilgrim with stones and trash, taunting them with epithets. Andrew Price and Gordon Binghampton, both priests of Law, intervened and helped the pilgrim accomplish their task.

At the temple, Gordon tried to acquire healing potions but learned that this was not a service that the temple of Law provided. He should seek an alchemist or apothecary. 

Arrn and Waverly continued their shopping. They stopped at an herbalist, Winmar's Weeds, to inquire about the plants. They learned they were Elven Star Poppies. They shrivel and die when exposed to sunlight. The albino cave bees harvest the pollen and make honey which, in turn, is used to brew a magic potion that allows its imbiber to sleep for thousands of years. As an herbalist, he had little use for them but purchased them for 17 harvested plants for 10gp each. 

They also learned that Lefsy knew someone named Petesia of Darkhold, a woman who claimed to be a student of Aleria the Alchemist. Arrn actually knew Petesia. They had shared a romantic relationship while attending the School of the Arcana!

They went to Germar's Curiosities, a purveyor of exotic wares, only to discover Lefsy speaking with the owner. Germar specialized in items recovered from the Javelin Beaches outside of Sigatona.

That evening, after sundown, they found Milia's Dark Market in an alley. Here thieves could fence their wares. Most items were overpriced. 

Note - this was a mistake for HEXROLL. Normally, individual items are listed because they're bargains. In this case, holy water and holy symbols were listed for 27 gp, 2gp more than their price in the equipment list. 

However, Waverly overheard the proprietess, Milia Wanthilde, complain about the loss of her nephew.

The players groaned and rolled their eyes - ANOTHER lost nephew? 

I improvised a detailed backstory on the spot based on the prompts: Nephew is missing since last week. (Secret: Held captive in the Tomb of the Lost Lich). Recovery reward is a decorated sword.

Waverly asked Milia what happened. A week ago, a strange man, pale and gaunt, wearing regal attire that was out of fashion centuries ago, entered her night market with a retinue of cloaked attendants. The man took an interest in her nephew Fertheorst. She hasn't seen her nephew since that night. She's certain that the gaunt man was the legendary vampire Baron Solomon! Stories tell how Baron Solomon travels from city to city looking for new recruits for his dark army of the damned! She's so worried! She'd be willing to offer a reward - this fabulous sword that she totally acquired legitimately and was in no way stolen! 

The next day they boarded a ship laden with plunder to sail to Sigatona. The wind was good and they made excellent time.

In Sigatona, they visited the Glowing Torch Inn. They had been there before and had inquired about the Black Saints. They were recognized by one of the servers, Dadmar of Sevenhand, who was a collaborator with the Black Saints. After seeing Dadmar give them a suspicious side-eye and disappear into the kitchen, they decided to leave the establishment.

Outside they heard a herald reading a proclamation - the Archon of Sigatona had ordered the execution of a prominent member of the Merchant Guild for conspiracy to commit treason! The hanging would transpire tomorrow at noon. Their ship would be leaving at dawn tomorrow so they would miss it.

Note - this was a consequence of Gordon's interference with the status quo back in Chapter 8. 

Meanwhile, Andrew Price sought out Nelsonanon Bagbradley to purchase more tonics of vitality. He also asked if he had healing potions. Nelsonanon sold Andrew what he guarantied was a legitmate healing potion. Though I told Andrew Price to record it on his sheet as Healing Potion(?).

They slept on the deck of the boat that night. However, the deck watch had too much to drink and passed out drunk during the night, allowing two masked assailants to sneak on board and attempt to kidnap Gordon as he slept. This woke up the party who quickly intervened, killing one kidnapper while the other fled, jumping into the water. Waverly handed Wumpus a throwing axe which Wumpus hurled into the head of the escaping kidnapper. 

The next morning, the wind picked up even stronger! (11- near gale! double sailing movement!)

They sped along the Thousand Shrines Reef. 

I rolled a random encounter - Sea Serpent (Lesser)!! Not only that, the PCs are surprised!  

I set up a whole battle scene in Foundry with the ship, the sea serpent, etc. 

They're sailing along at a good clip, the water choppy with whitecaps from the strong wind. They're making excellent time!

A reptilian head atop long serpentine neck rises out of the water, biting one of sailors on deck, killing him instantly, snatching him off the deck.

I ask the players to roll initiative for battle. The players win initiative.

Arrn: "Oh, that sucks for that guy! I hope he wasn't important!"

Me: "What do ya'll do?"

Arrn: What's the movement rate of a sea monster? We're making great speed! I say we sail on!"

I look up sailing speed of a sailing ship (small). 150'/round, doubled to 300'/round for near gale wind.

I look up the swim speed of a sea serpent. 50'/round.

Me (slightly defeated): "Okay then, you leave a churning red froth in your wake as the sea serpent devours its meal. I guess it can't keep up with you."

Wumpus: "So who was that guy?"

Me (rolling randomly): "He was the ship's cook."

Wumpus: "DAMMIT!"

Oddly, I have defined the prevailing winds for this region (from the northwest to the southeast), and the direction they were traveling (northwest) was into the prevailing winds, so a near gale that would help them would be anomalous. I turned this into a story prompt - a storm is coming! A very low pressure system to the northwest is causing the wind to reverse, indicating a big storm with lots of rain and high winds is approaching from the northwest for several days.

After they, they returned to Kömür, leveled up, and planned the next phase of their adventure. 

To be continued!

The Wand of Dreams - The Land of Jo'Ril, Chapter 15

The party explores an ancient elven tomb that has become a lair for bloodthirsty orcs. 

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

The Party:

• Arrn, level 3 magic user
• Wumpus, level 3 dwarf
• Waverly, level 3 ranger
• Andrew Price, level 4 cleric
• Gordon Binghampton, level 4 cleric
• Fitzhugh Skitter, level 1 thief - out this week
• Lefsy of Hawkston, NPC, archaeologist and dealer in rare and exotic antiquities

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

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 orcs in my setting were created by the serpentines to wage war against the elven kingdoms in the ancient times. They are a created lifeform that knows only war and violence.

O. We pick up where we left off, in the "throne room" of the king of the ancient elven city of Thul'Gorah, attacked by three shadow monsters.

Note- I increased the Hit Die of the Shadow Monsters to 4HD and increased their damage to 1d6 with -1 Strength drain. This made the shadow monsters much more difficulty - resistant to the cleric's turning ability and able to take a few hits from holy water.

Arrn the wizard grabbed the wand off the lap of the dead king and waved it around. I told the player it was a Wand of Illusion, allowing him to cast Phantasmal Force spell. He could create an illusion of whatever he could think of, as long as it fit within 20' x 20' and did not leave that 20' x 20' area. He created a large fountain splashing holy water all over the room. This kicked off a night of trying to figure out what Phantasmal Force could and couldn't create or do and how it worked.

Note: I randomly rolled the Wand of Illusions treasure and thought it was a perfect fit for a dungeon with mirrors and shadows. 

P. They eventually defeated the shadows only to have Grothak Bloodhand, leader of the Bloodfang orcs, order his mightiest orcs to charge and claim the wand! 

The party won initiative so Arrn cast Sleep, putting all but the toughest orcs out of commission, while Gordon Binghampton cast Hold Person on Grothak, paralyzing him. They quickly dispatched the helpless orcs. 

Waverly decapitated Grothak and carried his head.

They searched the chambers, certain of a secret door behind the curtains along the back wall. Note- of coruse there was one - its why I put the curtains there - but they had to find it! 

Q. Gordon, in the hall of statues, was attacked by three orcs (wandering monsters) who were quickly defeated. The final orc, surrounded, failed his morale check and threw down his weapons in surrender. He offered to serve as a guide to the others, so they tied him up and carried him along.

Additional searching found 2500 gp in a chest and the secret door that led to a hidden passage.

R.  The party found two giant spiders. The giant spiders caused a lot of anxiety when they scored hits on both Wumpus and Waverly, but luckily they both made their saves vs. poison. Gordon's player dismissed the concern, "what's the big deal, they just do extra damage right?" and they other players reminded him, "This is B/X, it's save vs. poison or DIE!" 

They found an orc, barely alive, wrapped in a cocoon. They freed him but he lashed out in fear. The  orc was quickly dispatched.

There was much discussion about going north into the unknown or south and looping around through a known passage. They decided south but Wumpus went north anyway, establishing a short cut to the stairs to level 1.

The party, out of spells and healing, wanted to leave the dungeon to rest. I pointed out that carrying the head of Grothak was a valid tactic for forcing morale checks right off the bat, but would only work today. If they retreated from the dungeon, a new leader would be chosen and Grothak's head would mean nothing. So they reluctantly chose to push on, hoping Gorthak's severed head would do the heavy lifting.

S. They climbed the stairs to level 1 and the captive orc showed them a secret door leading to hidden passages. Since no one could speak orcish and the prisoner could not use his hands to gesticulate, I communicated the orc's intentions through facial expressions which proved a challenge for the party. 

T. The prisoner led them to the treasure room where they encountered an orc hunter and four other orcs. Waverly held up Grothak's head and instantly caused several of the orcs to flee in fear. The few that stayed behind were quickly defeated. This lead to a frantic chase as they followed the orcs through the dungeon. 

U. They fled into the great hall. The handful of orcs preparing food joined them in their flight. 

V. Some retreated to the trophy room and formed up behind the one surviving guardian warthog. Others fled north to the subterranean garden to join the shaman. 

The party followed the orcs into the trophy room and encountered the orcs and warthog. Arrn created an illusion of a gelatinous cube but we quickly learned he could only create a monster he had seen before, and that it couldn't leave its 20'x20' area. I let this one stand and the orcs were quickly defeated.

The party regrouped in the great hall and followed the passage to the northeast.

W. They opened the door and found sleeping quarters with a shaman and 12 orcs waiting for them! The orc shaman cast "Hold Person" on Waverly, freezing her in place!

Note- I had the shaman from the garden room take the back way through the secret passage to the sleeping chamber and wake the orcs there.

The party, out of spells, low on hit points, and without Waverly, was ready to retreat - but Arrn had an idea.

He created an illusion of the basilisk he encountered in the Tomb of the Serpent King. The basilisk appeared and used its gaze against all the orcs. 

Note - Arrn's player was in for a bit of a shock. He was not aware that the basilisk from Tomb of the Serpent King was a "nerfed" basilisk for first level characters. Its gaze power took two failed saves to turn its victims to stone! 

There was a lot of debate and looking things up trying to figure out how the illusory basilisk was supposed to work. 

• Did it get an attack roll on its targets as if it were a real monster  or do the targets just get a save vs. spells in lieu of an attack - taking illusory damage on a failed save? 
• Did the orcs get to save vs. spell once or each round?
• Did the gaze attack prompt save vs. petrification or save vs. spell for the illusion?

I made some spot judgements at the time that, upon later consideration, I might rule differently.

The next time I do it, the targets of an illusory monster's "attack" get a save vs. spell, taking illusory damage or effect on a failed save. 

Two brave orcs made their saves AND their morale checks, raced forward and "killed" the illusory basilisk, forcing Arrn to expend a fourth charge from the wand to create another.

Soon, all the orcs were either "turned to stone" by the basilisk, or killed by Wumpus, Gordon, and Andrew.

Upon killing the orcs, frozen by the illusory basilisk, the party searched the chamber, finding a potion of healing. 

They continued searching the dungeon, finding the underground garden of red and black flowers. 

And that's where we'll pick up next week, giving me some time to work out the deal with these mysterious dungeon flowers that don't need sunlight. 

The Shadows of the Bloodfang Orcs - The Land of Jo'Ril, Chapter 14

https://www.deviantart.com/surande/art/Desert-Tomb-583971576

The party explores an ancient elven tomb that has become a lair for bloodthirsty orcs. 

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

The Party:

• Arrn, level 3 magic user
• Wumpus, level 3 dwarf
• Waverly, level 3 ranger
• Andrew Price, level 4 cleric
• Gordon Binghampton, level 4 cleric
• Fitzhugh Skitter, level 1 thief
• Lefsy of Hawkston, NPC, archaeologist and dealer in rare and exotic antiquities

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

We began this week with me making a retcon to a minor detail from last week. The Gem of Elderia Wastes was an ELVEN kingdom, not a snake-man kingdom as I previously said. The only reason for this change was because "Elderia" sounded more like an Elven kingsom than a Serpentine kingdom. 

After spending the night in the defensive tower Lefsy had constructed for her expeditions (something I mentioned last week but forgot about), Lefsy called the party together for an important mission.

Lefsy had discovered the entrance to an ancient tomb. She believes it has recently become the lair for a warband of orcs. She asked the characters to explore the tomb of pacify it of all threats so that she and her assistants could plunder the tomb of its lost treasures in safety. 

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 orcs in my setting were created by the serpentines to wage war against the elven kingdoms in the ancient times. They are a created lifeform that knows only war and violence.

The following dungeon is an OSE adaptation of the Shadows of the Bloodfang Orcs for Shadowdark. Apparently, the module has been removed from DrivethruRPG. 

The entrance to the tomb was a few miles from the tower. Dozens of orcine footprints led into and away from the entrance, confirming Lefsy's assessment. The party descended the steps.

A. Stairs covered in dust, dirt, and mud from orc footprints.

B. Corridor swept clean, no dirt or footprints. Wumpus tapped floor with pole, heard hollow sound under tiles at intersection. Used hammer to break tiles, revealing pit trap. Avoided trap.

C. Trophy room with statues and a large dragon skull guarded by two boars. Rolled reaction - Boar #1 was cautious but became friendly when Wumpus offered some food. Boar #2 remained nervous and kept its distance. It allowed the party through the room but eventually attacked. They quickly killed the boar.

Note - I use the reaction table from the Rules Cyclopedia. 

2-3 Monster attacks

4-6 Monster is aggressive (growls, threatens); roll again in one round with a penalty of -4 to the roll

7-9 Monster is cautious; roll again in one round

10-11 Monster is neutral; roll again in one round with a bonus of +4 to the roll

12 Monster is friendly

I rolled 11 for the first boar and 8 for the second. I rolled again the next round and got 14 for the first boar and 7 for the second boar. Then we got into a conversation and the party moved into the corridor, and I suddenly remembered the other boar wasn't resolved! I rolled again, and got a 5, then boar became threatening, then a 2 - the boar attacked! 

D. Interrupted two orc shamans performing a ritual. Interrupting the ritual caused magic to disperse - polymorphing Fitzhugh into a chicken! The shamans cast Hold Person on Wumpus and Waverly. The party clerics, in turn, cast Hold Person on the shamans. The clerics, both lawful, were unwilling to execute the paralyzed opponents. Arrn, who is neutral, said, "Oh for Fuck's Sake!" became visible, and slit the throats of both opponents. Arrn found a pouch of rare herbs and a parchment that spoke of the "Wand of Dreams", a treasure that once belonged to the elven leader of the city of Thul'Gorah. 

E. Crossbow Trap. Wumpus and Waverly both failed to set off the crossbow trap concealed in the corner. Fitzhugh set it off, taking 3 damage - killing her. I allowed Andrew Price to immediately cast a healing spell to save her character. 

F. Stairs lead down, the sound of battle could be heard below.

G. Two orcs were fighting a humanoid shadow-creature with little success. The shadow killed one orc and injured the other. Andrew Price turned undead and sent the shadow fleeing to the south. 

Note - Okay, here's where I screwed up! I assumed the shadow was undead. Only much later, like the final room in the dungeon, did I read that shadows are, in fact, not undead and are therefore immune to turning and holy water. More on that later.

The surviving orc was at first resentful for the assistance, shoving Waverly in anger. Then the orc crossed his arms and bowed his head in gratitude. Waverly pointed towards the upper level, indicating that the orc should retreat. The orc ascended the stairs, cautiously moving past the party, wary of betrayal. The orc was right to be wary for Fitz loosed an arrow at the orc from the top of the stairs but missed while Wumpus attacked the orc, killing him. 

H. Another hall of statues. The Shadow returns. The clerics hold off on turning it to allow Waverly - the only character with a magic weapon - a chance to kill it. Afterwards, they spend ten minutes resting.

I. A room tiled entirely in mirrors - floor, ceiling, and walls - creating a strange infinite space. A shadow lurks within the reflections. Andrew Price turns the shadow, forcing it into the corner where Waverly can trap it and kill it. In retrospect, I should have allowed the shadow to become ethereal and escape.

J. An ancient scroll library. A giant spider was building a web/nest in the southwest corner. They rush and kill the spider. They spend thirty minutes searching the scrolls for something useful. They give up, figuring they can have all the time to search it later.

K. A large pit in the center of the floor. Upon looking into the pit, Wumpus sees three carrion crawlers ascending, along with gemstones at the bottom of the pit. Arrn casts sleep on two of the crawlers while Wumpus, Waverly, and Andrew Price dispatch the third. Afterwards, Wumpus lowers Waverly down the pit using a rope to retrieve the gemstones.

L. The door to the south is locked. The new thief, Fitzhugh, steps forward to pick the lock. She has a 15% chance. She rolls 16. I allow her to pick the lock but she breaks her picks doing so. The party agrees it's a fair trade. Wumpus opens the door and is attacked by swinging blade trap! 

M. Another locked door - this with a bas relief of an elf, his hand outstretched in stern warning. Fitzhugh unlocks the door. Waverly opens the door and is electrocuted by a Glyph of Warding for 16 damage. She saves vs. Spells for half and takes 8 damage.

N. Another hall of statues inhabited by a shadow which Waverly dispatches with the help of Andrew Price throwing vials of holy water on it. The ceiling is studded with glowing crystals depicting the night sky. Three of the statues hold treasures: a crystal sphere depicting the heavens, a potion of life, and a scroll containing the spell ESP. The potion of life grants +1d4 permanent hit points. They decide to give this potion to Andrew Price. 

Note - the room actually had two shadows but I forgot it, so I added to the next room. 

O. Burial Chamber. They open the huge double doors and find the mummified king of Thul'Gorah holding a magic wand. Three shadows leap to defend the burial chamber. 

TO BE CONTINUED!

Note - I have decided to roll with my mistake and keep these Shadows being undead, and thus vulnerable to turning and holy water. I'll just increase their hit dice and attack bonus for the final fight.

The players complained about the lack of promised orcs in this dungeon. They just happened to take the correct path to ignore the orc section and go straight to the final boss. 

The Gem of Elderia Wastes - The Land of Jo'Ril, Chapter 13

The party escorts a dealer in exotic antiquities to the Gem of Elderia Wastes. We are playing Old School Essentials, which is another way of saying Basic D&D circa 1981.

The Party:

• Arrn, level 3 magic user
• Wumpus, level 3 dwarf
• Waverly, level 3 ranger
• Andrew Price, level 3 cleric
• Gordon Binghampton, level 4 cleric

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

We started this session with a 45 minute discussion/debate about the theological tenets of Gordon Binghampton's made-up religion. It started with Gordon Binghampton reporting to bishop Hedenna of Bazuul, the highest ranking authority in his religious order - the Temple of Lord Farthingham. He donated his extra gp and received information on the activities of an anti-nobility militia known as the Swords of Fire. 

It turned into an exploration of what Lord Farthingham represents. Gordon Binhampton's player created Lord Farthingham as a joke deity - basically the god of elitism.

From Gordon's character bio:

Worship LORD FARTHINGHAM - Divine spirit of the Noble and Lordly.  His primary tenants are to treat your equals with grace and dignity, ladies with honor, show care of your chattel and animals, and to ensure the peasantry doesn't starve.

Lord Farthingham rewards those who show proper etiquette and manners in social situations that involve the rulership of others, and is envoked for the successful conclusion to wars or to raise taxes.

The player has set up a system whereby he donates all his excess treasure to the local Archon (the ruler of a city-state, my setting's equivalent to a baron or count). The idea being that the noble-born ruling class were chosen by the gods of Law, and ordained by Lord Farthingham, as the only persons qualified to oversee wealth and property on behalf of the unqualified commoner, and that the wealth of the nobility will inevitably trickle down to benefit the common-folk. I had to check with the player to make sure this was, indeed, satire and not his sincerely held political belief.

I replied, in character as the voice of the bishop, "Let it be known that the one known as the Dungeon Master is doing his best to pretend to support these tenets for the benefit of the player, but the Dungeon Master personally finds this philosophy antithetical to his own." This got a laugh.

This led to Waverly's player getting involved with some world-building ideas intended to make the idea of Lord Farthingham more palatable, but Gordon's player pushed back. He didn't want to water down his biting satire.

I eventually had to intercede in order to get the session going.

Sidenote: I also complained that "Lord Farthingham" and "Gordon Binghampton" don't really match the pulp sword and sorcery feel I was hoping for with this campaign, but I didn't make a thing about it because it's ultimately the creation of the players.

The party joined Lefsy of Hawkston, a purveyor of exotic artifacts, on an expedition to the Gem of Elderia Wastes. The lands are home to several hostile tribes of orcs so she hired them for protection. 

They boarded a single-mast ship in Kömür and sailed down the river to Ever Reaching Tides. The ship's master was Captain Mere. They sailed along the Thousand Shrines Reef and I described what they could see on the shore - mostly wrecked ships and primitive fortifications. They journey was uneventful (good weather and no random encounters).

They arrived at Sigatona after sunset. Waverly's player suggested they forego spending the night in Sigatona and instead weigh anchor off shore. I rolled a random encounter of like 100+ buccaneers attacking in the night and let the players know that this was why ships didn't do that. The other players, not realizing what Waverly's player had suggested, said, "No! No! We'd dock in Sigatona and just not let the crew leave the boat." I said, "That makes more sense." 

While in Sigatona, the party delivered several prisoners rescued from the Shrine of the Feared Order to their families in order to claim their rewards. One reward was far outside the city walls and it was after sundown. They would be able to leave the city but wouldn't be let back in. So Wumpus volunteered to take the prisoner home to claim the reward. On his return, he was locked out so he just decided to lean against the wall and wait for dawn. 

Late in the night, Wumpus was harassed by a belligerent drunk who accused the dwarf of theft (a random encounter from the Cities sourcebook from Midkemia Press). Wumpus headbutted the lout and gave him the bum's rush.

With the coming of dawn, the rest of the party stalled Captain Mere while Wumpus hade his way through the city with haste. 

The ship sailed along the Javelin Beaches to the city of Arkon, a journey of 10 hours, arriving mid-afternoon.

Lefsy gave them the afternoon and an entire day off as she made preparations for the expedition. The party was to regroup at the Unicorn and the Crying Queen Lodge in the Lower Common District outside the city walls at dawn the following day.

The party had their own business to complete in Arkon. They had learned from interrogating a member of the Black Saints that the leader of the Black Saints, Alviva Nadalberga, had gone to Arkon in search of a medallion belonging to Caloanna Aclebalda. After asking around, they learned that Caloanna was a physician in the Palace District.

On their way to the store, I rolled a random encounter - an assassin running through the streets (another event courtesy of the Cities sourcebook). I integrated it into the story by having a doppelganger being chased by an angry mob - they claimed that the doppelganger had killed the real Caloanna and took on her form and that the doppelganger fled when exposed.

The doppelganger ran into a nearby cooper carrying a barrel. The doppelganger took the form of the cooper and the two spun around. The players couldn't tell which was which. Except one held the barrel and the other didn't. They attacked that one and exposed the doppelganger by killing it. The doppelganger bore the secret tattoo of the Black Saints - three claw marks on a concealed body part.

Sidenote: In retrospect, I should have had the doppelganger still impersonating Caloanna in the shop and have the players figure it out by her lack of medical skills. That's the problem with randomly generated improvised emergent storytelling - I always think of better things later.

After searching the physician's home, they find a hidden diary revealing that the real Caloanna heard that the Black Saints were looking for the medallion, so she gave it to a friend, Wither Overi. While discussing the scene with the town guards, Elsaria and Hillinus - lots of great roleplaying happened - the party learned that Wither was the son of Tedesca the Barber.

They visit Tedesca the Barber and eventually convince her that they are trying to stop the Black Saints. She says that her son Wither took the Aclebalda Family Amulet to hide it in a safe place - the Caverns of the Grey Goblin located beneath a ruined fortress in the Dragonclaw Prairie. If the Black Saints were able to track Wither, then he was in danger and needed help. If he is able to hide it before they catch him, then maybe it was safe. 

Tedesca explained that the amulet had belonged to the Aclebalda family for generations and that it was magical - it stored the memories of each wearer. One of Caloanna's ancestors was a wizard who had learned the secrets of summoning alchemical creator spirits known as demiurges. The Black Saints wished to use one such demiurge - Amanar - to transform themselves into Varongir - ultimate immortal warriors. 

Unable to leave their current job, they bid her farewell and retreat to the Unicorn and the Crying Queen Lodge.

They spend the evening interacting and roleplaying with some guests and learn of another militia - the Hammers of Honor - who wish to abolish all arcane wizards.

They spend the next day purchasing personal equipment and supplies for their expedition and meet Lefsy the following morning. Lefsy had hired a wagon, two attendants, and two camp guards for the journey.

The expedition struck out to the northeast. 

Hex 38 contained a giant statue of a head lying on its side as well as a coastal lighthouse. No random encounter.

Hex 85, a high plateau connected to the mountains in hex 84, contained a hut located between two rocks. Waverly the ranger spotted hobgoblin boot prints in the sand. After a short debate regarding whether to engage the occupant of the hut or not, they noticed that the tracks came no closer than 100 feet. They deduced the presence of a witch and moved on. No random encounter.

Hex 86, their destination, a recently built tower, unoccupied, near an oasis. They moved into the tower and settled down for the night. 

The plan was for the expedition to spend six days exploring this area (hex) in search of the buried ruins of Eldaria, lost kingdom of the Elves, and excavating the relics within. I would roll for random encounters each day. They would retreat to the tower at night where they were safe from random encounters.

Day 1 - no encounter.

Night 1 - nice roleplay with Lefsy talking about the party's experience in the Tomb of the Serpent Kings. Lefsy said that she has gone in several times and found it abandoned - news for the players that the lich that dwelled within had moved!

Day 2 - encounter 4 orcs!

I rolled for reaction: 7, neutral, roll again in one round. The orcs study the group from afar. 

The party carefully prepares for battle but does not instigate - watching the orcs.

I roll again: 8, still neutral, roll again next round.

Again, the party hesitates, making no move to become hostile or an attempt to communicate.

I roll a third time: 5, hostile warning, roll again next round -4.

The orcs make menacing lunges towards the party, trying to provoke a response or intimidate them.

With still no response, I roll a fourth time, this time -4: 3. The Orcs attack!

Sidenote: I later explained how that worked to the players, letting them know that I will apply modifiers based on their actions, but since they made no actions hostile or otherwise, I kept rolling.

The party wins initiative and spread out. Andrew Price casts Hold Person and two orcs freeze.

The party makes quick work with the remaining orcs and dispatch the magically held orcs.

By this time it was getting late so we called it a night. I told the players that doing nothing but orc random encounters was boring, so I'd prepare a small dungeon for next week.

I did some searching for a suitable orc lair in ruins and I settled on Shadows of the Bloodfang Orcs - an adventure for Shadowdark but easily converted to D&D/OSE.