The Wasteland Hack Solo - Session 1 part 2

0 comments at June 26, 2022

 Solo Toolbox.

For session 1 I had the following Toolkit available to me.

The  Wasteland Hack RPG for the rules and setting.
UNE for randomly generating NPC's.
Zathrum 2.2 for help with NPC's and help with setting the overall theme.
randomlists.com to generate three random adjectives to help describe the characters.

The Oracle, although it may not get used in this session, I think its worth saying that I use a mix of MUNE & Zathrum 2.2 for my games.  The changes I made to the oracle can be found on a separate page (link here)

Owlbear Rodeo, for keeping track of combat.



The Trading Post 

Beagle, Dawg and Scout kept driving, the earthquake had been minor but they were glad to be away from it and the old disused airfield.  Scout was enjoying driving the old car they took from the bandits at the airfield, Dawg sat up front with his automatic in his hand just in case, Beagle sat in the back, she slept a lot, tired and a little traumatised from the encounter with the bandits and the death of her mother.
For most of the day they kept clear of any human settlements but as the day goes on the need for fuel for the car and, more importantly, drinking water for themselves, forces them to look for somewhere to re-supply.

Question, do they encounter a settlement on their travels? Roll d8 on table 1 = 3 No(roll on table 2),  Roll d8 on table 2 = 6 (in order to)

In order to keep clear of the possible dangers posed by contact with any settlements, they had kept well off the beaten track, scout felt their best chance of finding drinking water and fuel was to look for a road or track that seemed well used as that should lead them to what is called civilization in this wilderness.  The others are less convinced so with enough water and provisions for the evening, they decided to find somewhere safe to camp for the night and look for water and fuel in the morning.

Question, do they encounter some kind of trade route or well used road the following day? Roll d8 on table 1 = 3 No(roll on table 2),  Roll d8 on table 2 = 1 (on the contrary)

After a nights rest they set off again, they travel for some time across the wilderness eventually picking up an old road but it has all the signs of not being used for some time, the road has become overgrown with weeds and plants that have forced themselves through the old road surface and it is little better to drive on than the wasteland but the party decided it must lead somewhere so drive cautiously along it.

Question, do they encounter a settlement anywhere on this old road? Roll d8 on table 1 = 3 No(roll on table 2),  Roll d8 on table 2 = 2 (while)
Felling like this this is taking me nowhere I get three random verbs to see if I cant move the game along a wee bit.  I get 'arrange', 'curl' and 'please'. 

They pass through one or two long abandoned villages on the road but do nor encounter any signs of habitation, then whilst passing through a small ruined hamlet they come upon a man curled up in the middle of the road.

Scout stops the car, grabs his rifle and he and Dawg get out of the car.

Question, can they see anyone else? Roll d8 on table 1 = 4 No(And), 

Looking around they do not see any sign of anyone one else and the man is alive but obviously in a bad way.  Scout stands over the man and points his rifle in the man general direction, "you able to talk" he asks.

Question, can the man answer scouts questions? Roll d8 on table 1 = 6 Yes(roll on table 2),  Roll d8 on table 2 = 6 (while).

While the man is certainly in a lot of pain, he is able to talk, he tells scout that he was on his way to a trading post he knows the location of near hear, he found some old tinned here and ate it, its made him sick, he asks them to please help him.
They agree to take him to the trading post if he shows them the way and arranging the car to now accommodate 4 people they set off to the trading post following the directions of the new passenger.

On the way to the trading post the man tells the party that people round these parts call him Job because he wanders around doing work for food, he knows the places to keep clear of and the places where he is safe, he ateait the contents of the tinned food because he had not eaten in days and, well, it smelt okay, just made him ill, the trading post has medicines that should fix him up.

Its not long before they reach their destination, they see it up ahead, a fortified farm is the best way to describe it, the farm building surrounded by stone walls and a large entrance, a sign out front has the words 'Trading Post, You want it we got it, New Dollars Accepted'.

At the entrance they are stopped by 2 rough looking guards armed with assault rifles who flag the car down, "you need to leave the vehicle here and any weapons either in left in the car or left with us", one of the men says to Scout, the second man spots Job who is not looking good.

Question, does the guard recognise Job? Roll d8 on table 1 = 2 No(But). 
Question, does he recognise someone else?  Roll d8 on table 1 = 7 Yes(roll on table 2),  Roll d8 on table 2 = 6 (surprisingly).

The second guard looks in the car "we got a sick one here Mitch", then he glances in the back and exclaims, "hell, Beagle, what are you doing here!?"

I roll against Beagles wisdom to see if she knows the guard, needing 14 or less she roll 6, so she does recognise the guard.

Beagle's face goes white, like she has seen a ghost, "Thumas, but we all thought you dead!".

Dawg interrupts the two, "sorry to break up this reunion, we need supplies, water and gas for the old bus here, this fella needs help, we found him on the roadside, he says he is known here and you can help him"

Thumas looks over to Mitch, "its okay Mitch, I know the girl, Beagle and I go way back, sure we can help your friend here and if you have the means to pay, we can get you resupplied, we have a lot of catching up to do Beagle".

Inside the trading post complex seems like a different world, there are a dozen or more people going about their business, 

Thumas takes Beagle on a tour of the complex, the sign outside was right, everything is available, Mitch leads Job helped by Scout and Dawg to a building which passes as some kind of dormitory, they put Job on a mattress and Mitch tells him that he will get someone to tend to him, he then tells Scout and Dawg that he will take them to see Yinbig who runs this place, they can tell him what they need and work out a price for it.

Yinbig is a giant of a man, dressed in fine clothing and heavily adorned with gold and silver jewellery, he has four bodyguards and a few of his favourite hangers on, both male and female who sit around him agreeing with all he says.
Thumas and Beagle are also in the room when Mitch enters with Scout and Dawg.  Yinbig strikes up the conversation with the two adventurers, wanting to know what supplies they need and how they are going to pay for it, Dawg says they are willing to work to clear any debt but they have nothing to bargain with or any new dollars.

Yinbig stands up and walks over to Beagle, looking her up and down, "so you want water, fuel, food, ammo and medicine for your sick friend, thats going to cost, how about I take the girl here as payment?"

Beagle snaps back, "I ain't for sale and the sick guy is not our friend, he can pay for his own meds".

Yinbig grabs Beagles face with his huge hand "feisty thing ain't she, you want goods, you need to pay, no payment, you leave now, I'll take the girl anyway".

Thumas speaks up at this point "I know this girl sir, she knows about computers and stuff, she may be useful to you".

Yinbig lets go of Beagle and goes back to his seat, "Computers you say, okay, maybe I have a proposition for you..."

Yinbit tells them that he will let them have the gear they need and meds for their sick friend if they do a little job for him, oh and they can keep the girl, he has plenty anyway.  The offer is as follows.

There is a town a good few hours drive north east of here, it must have got caught in a nuke blast at the end of the war, all the buildings are destroyed, flattened, all that is except a tower in the centre of the town which was not damaged, it still stands today.  Its rumoured that its full of treasures from before the war but no one has ever got in to the building, some sort of computer locking device keeps everyone out.
Go there, get into the building bring back whatever treasure is in there and they can have all the supplies they need and their friend will get the medicine he needs, fail, or don't come back and the sick guy dies and Yinbig will hunt them down as well.  He tells them he will loan them an armed truck and Thumas & Mitch can accompany them, help make sure they don't do anything stupid.

Dawg & Scout don't feel like they have much choice and so they accept the offer, Beagle to resigns herself to this being her best option and so my adventures prepare for the next part of their journey,/

End of session 1, in session 2 we 
Adventure on.
  

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Beyond the Wall Solo - Bay of Spirits session 5

0 comments at June 22, 2022

 

Prolegomenon

When the air turns to ice the return of the hollow ones illuminates the way and sow great misfortune.



My party of five in their quest to recover the bones of St. Agnus and return them to the Far Mountain Abbey, are two days into their journey and one day from Rossgull Harbour.  Evening has fallen and they have come upon a busy wayside inn, but all may not be as it seems and before they can enter they are stopped by a Fae Warrior who warns them not to go inside. Strawberri, from the depths of her mind, recognises the Lady of the Fae and knows her true name to be Natritha.

Tools used in the session and other stuff.

For this game session we will be using the following Toolkit

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures RPG
Further Afield supplement.

Bay of Spirits 12pk of adventure maps (link here)
Various other Bay of Spirits pdfs for background.
50 Winter Encounters by Beyond Horizon (link here)
My adapted Mune/Zathrum Oracle 

randomlists.com to generate verbs if I need a prompt to work out what happens next.

Location -  Road from Dry Gulch towards Rossgull Harbour , Lower bay region, Bay of Spirits

Date - 24rd/25th December 1512CY.

PCs (click on name to open page with full character stats)

Culdus the young acolyte, Hugo d'Winterton the would be knight, Karina Lankrit the local performer, Rhian the young woodswoman, Strawberri Cottoncloud the fae foundling.

NPC in this session.  Natitha Lady of the Fae (Warrior)

The Hollow Ones. Undead resurrected by powerful otherworld magic.  they look very much like they did in life but spells and magic which can detect the undead will reveal them as such.  
Hollow ones have no soul but can remember their past lives, they can speak and will talk to someone they where close to, like knowing the true name of a creature, if you know the living name of a hollow one you can attempt to command it to do something against its will.
Hit Dice 3d8 (14hp)
AC 16
Attack +3 to hit,  1d6+2 claw attack or as per weapon carried (50% chance of using a weapon, 1-2 Longsword 1d8 +1 hits, 3-4 Battle Axe 1d8+1 hits, 5 Great Sword 1d10+1 hits, 6 Great Axe 1d10+1 hits)
Alignment.  Chaotic
XP 100

Hollow ones do not age, 
Unsettling Presence,  A Hollow One can unsettle a creature it can see within 15 feet of it. The target has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes within the 10 minute. Constructs, undead, and creatures that can't be frightened are immune to this feature. Can only be used once per day.

Dead & Mindless.  Hollow Ones are immune to sleep or charm spells.

Session 5.

Scene 4,  24rd December,   around sunset.

The door to the inn opens and a jolly looking buxom woman stands at the door, if the party look beyond the woman to the inside of the inn they will see many many revellers yet there is very little noise coming from the  rooms inside.

The woman beckons them all to enter the inn to get out of the snow and the freezing night air, "come in, we have fine wines and ales, excellent foot, beds aplenty for the evening too, no need to spend the night in the cold, and you will have good company as well, we have a good crowd here tonight". 

Natritha the Fae is quick to warn the party not to do as the woman suggests, "Do not enter, it is all  illusion, do you hear the sounds of revellers, the voices of patrons, no, yet look, it is full, do not go inside".

The woman at the door hisses "do not listen to the Fae woman, she is the one who tries to trick you,  she wants to take you to her lands on keep you as slaves, in my inn you will find safety, peace and happiness".

Strawberri realises that Natritha the Fae is telling the truth but as she tries to warn the others, the woman at the door grabs Rhian and drags her into the inn

I make a check against the other members of the party to see if they are able to react and help Rhian as she is dragged inside.  Strawberri has a Dex of 19 but rolls a 20, a failure, Karina and Culdus both fail too, Hugo has a Dex of 10 but has Athletics skill so I give him +2, he needs a roll of 12 or less and gets a 4, he makes it inside, sword drawn.

I ask the oracle if Natritha or any of the two dogs are able to help, Natritha rolls a No as does one of the dogs, but the second dog gets a Yes(but).

As Rhian gets pulled backwards through the door, Hugo reacts quickly and gets into the inn, sword drawn, one of the hounds with Rhian and Hugo bounds, teeth bares, growling, through the door just before the door gets closed, but as it does so the interior of the inn changes to an old rundown cottage and the buxom woman reveals herself to be a Hag with wrinkled green skin and grey hair.  Hugo and the hound rush towards the hag.

Image by pendleburyannette from Pixabay

Hag 
HP 24
AC 15
Attack +5 to hit, 1d6 damage (claw/bite)
Alignment Chaotic
Special The old hag can cast 6 spells per day but most of her power is used to create the illusion of a busy tavern and on herself to give the illusion of a buxom young barmaid, both illusions are to draw the unwary into her home where she will kill, cook and eat them.
The Old Hag, being an evil fae creature has a true name. 

The Hag gets a free hit on Rhian and does 4 damage. Rhian is now down to 6hp.
Rhian in return is able to draw her magic sword but can do little more than free herself from the Hags claws as Hugo slashes at the hag with his sword causing 7 hp.   The hound also attacks the Hag and its teeth tear into the Hags flesh causing 3 damage, the Hag drops to 14hp.

The others attempt to get into the inn which now show itself to be simply an old house, but doors and windows remain magically locked and they cannot enter to help Rhian, Hugo and the dog.

The Hag lashes out at Rhian again, causing 3 damage this time, Rhian is down to 3hp.
Rhian is able to strike with her magical sword but her sword swing is poor and she cause no damage to the Hag, 
Hugo fairs better, and does strike the Hag with his sword, causing 6 damage, the hound too bites the Hag but cause only 1 damage, the Hag is down to 7 HP now.
The Hag is in a frenzy now, she claws and bites at Rhian who takes a further 5 damage, she is now at -2hp.  Rhian is out of the fight and very vulnerable.
Hugo though takes advantage of the Hags occupation with Rhian and stabs the old Hag with his longsword, causing 7 damage, the hound is not able to wound the hag this time but it matters not, Hugo has finished the old Hag and the skirmish is over.

Hugo pulls the Hags corpse off Rhian, with the death of the old Hag, the magic keeping the doors and windows locked fades and the others finally enter (except the Pony).  Rhian has 5 fortune points and uses 1 to stabilise her  hit points at 0.  Culdus though has the 'Healing Hands' spell and lays his hands on Rhian, her heals her to 6hp.

The party decide to spend the night in the old hags cottage, Strawberri and Karina take the body of the hag outside and bury her in the deep snow.

The group spend a difficult and fairly restless evening in the cottage, they explain their mission and what has transpired to the Lady of the Fae, Natitha.

Natitha in return says she also is on a quest but she agrees to help the party, knowing full well that Strawberri, knowing her true name, could command her to help.  She tells the group that she knows an over land rout to the barrow they seek and she may be able to help persuade the barrow wardens to allow the bones of St Agnus to be returned to Winterton.

After a nights rest, Rhian recovers one more hit point, she is now at 7hp, Culdus is keen to perform the healing hands spell on her again but is persuaded not to as his spell may be needed later in the day.

Its early morning when the party of 5 adventures, a Lady of the Fae, two hounds and a pack pony, set off  across land to find the barrow where St Agnus rests, or should now rest.

Until session 6
Adventure on.

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Beyond the Wall Solo - Bay of Spirits session 4

0 comments at June 18, 2022

 

Prolegomenon

When the air turns to ice the return of the hollow ones illuminates the way and sow great misfortune.



Elsbeth the Witch and the Abbess Gallach  listened to  Balinus the Elven innkeeper who had made the journey from Dry Gulch to Winterton, as he related the story of the previous evening to them.

"your young acolyte at first thought it were the undead what did away with the barrow raiders but then thought it more likely barrow wardens the culprits, your five young uns have headed east to find them there Ka worshipers"

  Abbess Gallach spoke next, "he is a wise one young Culdus, I suspect he is correct on both counts though he may not know it, the followers of the old god Ka are few in numbers and use the undead as minions, some of the barrow wardens would view the theft of St Agnus as a matter for the ultimate punishment"

Elsbeth looked grave, "This is bad news and not something I bargained for , I hope they understand what they are getting in to, I am not sure that they will, I fear for them Abbess, I wish we had sent older heads".


Tools used in the session and other stuff.

For this game session we will be using the following Toolkit

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures RPG
Further Afield supplement.

Bay of Spirits 12pk of adventure maps (link here)
Various other Bay of Spirits pdfs for background.
50 Winter Encounters by Beyond Horizon (link here)
Ford's Faries: A Bestiary, available from DriveThruRPG.com
My adapted Mune/Zathrum Oracle 

randomlists.com to generate verbs if I need a prompt to work out what happens next.

Location -  Road from Dry Gulch towards Rossgull Harbour , Lower bay region, Bay of Spirits

Date - 24rd December 1512CY.

PCs (click on name to open page with full character stats)

NPC in this session. 

Culdus the young acolyte, Hugo d'Winterton the would be knight, Karina Lankrit the local performer, Rhian the young woodswoman, Strawberri Cottoncloud the fae foundling.

The Hollow Ones. Undead resurrected by powerful otherworld magic.  they look very much like they did in life but spells and magic which can detect the undead will reveal them as such.  
Hollow ones have no soul but can remember their past lives, they can speak and will talk to someone they where close to, like knowing the true name of a creature, if you know the living name of a hollow one you can attempt to command it to do something against its will.
Hit Dice 3d8 (14hp)
AC 16
Attack +3 to hit,  1d6+2 claw attack or as per weapon carried (50% chance of using a weapon, 1-2 Longsword 1d8 +1 hits, 3-4 Battle Axe 1d8+1 hits, 5 Great Sword 1d10+1 hits, 6 Great Axe 1d10+1 hits)
Alignment.  Chaotic
XP 100

Hollow ones do not age, 
Unsettling Presence,  A Hollow One can unsettle a creature it can see within 15 feet of it. The target has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes within the 10 minute. Constructs, undead, and creatures that can't be frightened are immune to this feature. Can only be used once per day.

Dead & Mindless.  Hollow Ones are immune to sleep or charm spells.

Session 4.

Scene 4,  24rd December,   early in the morning

Current Intervention Points = 0

My party of five young adventures set out very early from Dry Gulch, heading east along the pathway used by the traders and travellers who venture to Wnterton, snow is falling but at the moment it is only light snow and they are able to make reasonable progress towards Rossgull Harbour.  Even so it is a two day walk and there are no hamlets or villages on the road between Dry Gulch and Rossgull but they hope to reach one of the few wayside inns that dot the pathway before darkness falls.

(the use of the word 'road' here is a little misleading, between Winterton and the coastal villages, the roads are little more than well worn tracks made by people, horses and wheeled vehicles, wearing a passage through the landscape.)

The party are in reasonable spirits and walk in pairs, Hugo and Rhian with the two hounds lead the way, Culdus and the pack pony (I am calling these two a pair) behind them and Karina and Strawberri just behind Culdus.

Question, does an encounter take place on the road, roll d6 = 6, Yes (+1 intervention point)
Current Intervention Points = 1
Roll d100 for random winter encounter, (from 50 winter encounters pdf) = 76, one hero is hit by a thrown snowball.

Roll d6 to see who is hit by the snowball, 1=hugo, 2=Rhian, 3= Culdus, 4=Karina, 5= Strawberri, 6= a miss , roll = 1, Hugo. 



As they walk the pathway near a wooded area, Hugo gets hit on the back of his head by a snowball, the sound of children laughing comes from the edge of the wood behind them, followed by a second snowball. Roll d6 to see if this hits anyone =  4, it hits Karina.

The party spot two children in fine beautiful clothing, the children look no more than 11 or 12 years old and one is mounted on a reindeer.  A series of snowballs gets hurled at the party of adventures and the two children are obviously taunting the party.

I make a wisdom roll for each character to see how they react to the children and their throwing of snowballs, all except Hugo make the roll.

Hugo loses his temper, drawing his sword he starts marching towards the two children, "how dare you insult us with your snowballs, come here or I will set the dogs on you", Hugo only seems to draw more taunts and derision from the two children and he is again hit with more snowballs.

Culdus has a folklore skill, so I get him to roll a second time against his wisdom to see if he has any idea who these strange children are.  He needs 18 or less on d 20 and rolls a 10.

Culdus shouts at Hugo, "Hugus, wait, they are children of Aurora, do not follow them, they seek to leads us into their trap".

I make an intelligence test for Hugo to see if he heeds Culdus, he needs to roll 8 or less on d 20, its a 10.

As more snowballs come hurtling towards the Hugo, he starts to run towards the Aurora Children, who in turn begin to move deeper in to the woods but still within snowball throwing distance of Hugo, who shouts at Rhian and the children, "get back here you little swine's, I'll teach you a lesson you will never forget, Rhian, set those dogs on them".

The other four members of the party, realising the two children are probably trying to lead them into a trap, stay where they are.

Strawberri has a command skill, so before Hugo gets himself and the rest of the party into a tricky situation, I have her roll against her charisma with a +2 bonus to see if she can command Hugo to come back, she needs 18 or less on d20 roll = 10, she gets Hugo to stop.

Strawberri goes up to Hugo and apologies, "Hugo, ignore them, Culdus is right, there are no houses round here, they are not local, there will be more in the woods waiting for us, waiting to rob us, we don't have time to allow ourselves this distraction, ignore them, they wont follow us and in this weather they will likely get fed up waiting for other victims and go back to their frozen homeland".

Hugo waves his sword at the two children and shouts at them "think yourselves lucky I didn't catch you, you little devil's, this time I will let it go but begone and return to whence you came before I change my mind".

The children continue their taunting but they disappear in to the woods and cause no more trouble, for now.

The party continue their journey East, Hugo is in a foul mood following the altercation with the Children of Aurora and as the snow fall gets heavier so the mood of the party deteriorates and they become desperate to fins a place to spend the night before darkness falls.

Question, do they find a wayside in to stay this evening, roll d6 = 6 Yes (+1 /intervention point)
Current Intervention Point = 2 

Quesstion, is everything as expected at the inn, d6 roll = 3 (roll on d20 table), d20 roll = Yes (surprisingly).

At the end of the day as the night draws in, the party are lucky enough to find a wayside inn, there are lights on and revelry can be heard from within, my adventures open the door and start to enter and find to their surprise that the inn is full of customers, surprising as the heavy snow is keeping all but the fool hardy or heroic from venture outside their villages, surprising as there are no houses any where near the inn.

To try and work out why the inn is packed to the rafters I get three random verbs, I get wink, prevent, paste.  I will be honest here, those verbs don't really help me understand what's going on.

Question, are the patrons of the inn all human roll d6 = 6 Yes (+1 intervention point)
Current Intervention Point = 3, intervention.

roll d6 on Mune intervention table = 1 New Entity

As the party begin to enter  the inn a woman steps out from the darkness and shouts "do no go in there!"

The voice is at once quiet and ethereal, yet commanding and clear in its determination to stop the 5 PC's.  The five stop at once, all of them turn and there in front of them is a tall lady dressed in strange armour and a large two handed sword strapped to her belt, her face is more elven than human and the night sky has an unearthly glow around her.  

An owl glides down and settles on her shoulder, she is recognised at once as a Lady of the Fae

Image by Jim Cooper from Pixabay

Lady of the Fae.

True Name : Natritha

HD 6d10 (29hp)bi 
AC 17
Attack +6 to hit, Magic Sword 1d8 +3 damage
Alignment Chaotic

Awful Presence attempting to attack the Lady of the Fae requires a successful saving roll vrs spell.
Spellcaster the Lady of the Fae can cast the following 4 spells each day -
        Commanding Word, Obscurement, Phantom Skill, Wild Call 
True Name The Lady of the Fae has a true name that gives her foes power over her.
Vulnerable to Iron  The takes double hit points from Iron weapons
(random verbs to use with lady of the Eae, Doubt, Cough, Owe)

Question, Does the Lady of the Fae recognize Strawberri roll d6 = 6 "Yes" (+1 intervention point)
Current Intervention Points = 1
Question, Does the Lady know Strawberri;s True Name roll d6= 3 (roll on d20 table), d20 = 8 "No (but)
I
Roll against Strawberris wisdom to see if she recognises the Lady of the Fae, she has Farie Lore skill, so I give her +2, meaning she needs to roll 15 or less on d20 to recognise the Lady, d20 roll =8, she does.
Question, Does Strawberri know the Lady of the Faes true name, (Unlikely so -4 to Wisdom Roll and no skill bonus) needing 9 or less, d20 roll =5, Yes she does.

"My Lady Natritha" Strawberri bows her head in deference to to Lady of the Fae.

Natritha looks intently at Strawberri, "You seem familiar to me young Fae girl but I know not who you are and I do not recall a time we have met, yet you know me and my name, how is that so?".


I have run out of time with this session, but I am keen to find out why the inn is full of revellers and why the party should not enter on the say so of a Lady of the Fae, more importantly, how does Strawberri know the True Name of the Lady of the Fae.

Until session 5,

Adventure On!


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Beyond the Wall Solo - Bay of Spirits session 3

0 comments at June 12, 2022

 

Prolegomenon

When the air turns to ice the return of the hollow ones illuminates the way and sow great misfortune.



The Abbess of the forgotten monastery in the far mountains has sent word to Winterton of an old and great enemy bringing danger to the Bay and she seeks the help of the people of Winterton and the return of the Bones of St Agnus to help defeat this ancient threat.
But the bones of St Agnus have been almost lost from Winterton, only Grandmother Weaver has any remembrance of where they are.  Five young friends, all hero's in the eyes of Winterton have been charged with finding the casket holding the saints bones and bringing it back to Winterton.

It is time for their adventure to begin.

Dry Gulch, Bay of Spirits.  Map by Roan Studios


Tools used in the session and other stuff.

For this game session we will be using the following Toolkit

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures RPG
Further Afield supplement.
Bay of Spirits 12pk of adventure maps (link here)
Various other Bay of Spirits pdfs for background.
Adventure Haven : Taven Tales. For the Crying Wolf Inn (link here)
My adapted Mune/Zathrum Oracle 

randomlists.com to generate verbs if I need a prompt to work out what happens next.

Location -  Road from Winterton to Dry Gulch , The Crying Wolf Inn at Dry Gulch, Lower bay region, Bay of Spirits

Date - 23rd December 1512CY, two day's after the Winter Solstice.

PCs (click on name to open page with full character stats)

NPC in this session.  Balinus the Elven owner of the Crying Wolf.  

Culdus the young acolyte, Hugo d'Winterton the would be knight, Karina Lankrit the local performer, Rhian the young woodswoman, Strawberri Cottoncloud the fae foundling.

The Hollow Ones. Undead resurrected by powerful otherworld magic.  they look very much like they did in life but spells and magic which can detect the undead will reveal them as such.  
Hollow ones have no soul but can remember their past lives, they can speak and will talk to someone they where close to, like knowing the true name of a creature, if you know the living name of a hollow one you can attempt to command it to do something against its will.
Hit Dice 3d8 (14hp)
AC 16
Attack +3 to hit,  1d6+2 claw attack or as per weapon carried (50% chance of using a weapon, 1-2 Longsword 1d8 +1 hits, 3-4 Battle Axe 1d8+1 hits, 5 Great Sword 1d10+1 hits, 6 Great Axe 1d10+1 hits)
Alignment.  Chaotic
XP 100

Hollow ones do not age, 
Unsettling Presence,  A Hollow One can unsettle a creature it can see within 15 feet of it. The target has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes within the 10 minute. Constructs, undead, and creatures that can't be frightened are immune to this feature. Can only be used once per day.

Dead & Mindless.  Hollow Ones are immune to sleep or charm spells.

Scene 3,  23rd December,   9:54am

Theme :  combat. 

(I decide that as the PC's are all local to Winterton and are Bayfolk they will be well equipped for the inhospitable winter weather, gloves, cloaks, boots etc.  They also will take a pack pony as it is thought they will need it to bring the casket of bones back,  the pony will carry some supplies for them all and the pony itself for the journey).

Grandmother Weaver arrives at the watch house as the party of adventures prepare to leave,  she hands Rhian a rough map showing the location of the Barrow, it is an old hand drawn map and she is not sure of its accuracy.

The map indicates that the barrow mound is to the east, over the hills towards the lower bay, but in the depths of winter and with the heavy snow falls and dangerously low temperatures, crossing over the hills would be foolish, dangerous and at best take far to long.  The party decide to take the longer but safer route along well worn trade route from the village of Winterton to the small coastal village of Rossgull Harbour, from their they can take the shorter route overland to where the barrow mound should be.

Even so, the journey will be difficult and not without danger, at best it will take several days to get to where the barrow is supposed to be, much longer than hoped.  Hugo suggests they ride horses at least to Rossgull Harbour but it is agreed that in the icy, snowy conditions, horses would be of little value and may well slow them down, so on foot it will be.

It is late morning, around 11am when the 5 friends and a pack horse, set off on their adventure.  Dry Gulch is about 6 miles away, the roads out of Winterton are very bad to travel on although Karina knows from her recent travels that the pathways get easier to travel on the further east you go. They expect to make the Crying Wolf inn by mid afternoon and intend to stay there overnight before heading east to Rossgull Harbour, a further good two days walk.

Question. Does anything happen on the way to Dry Gulch?  roll d6 on oracle table 1 = 5, Roll on d20 table, d20 = 9, No (while)

The party make reasonable time, Hugo and Rhian take the lead, Culdus leads the pony and Strawberri and Karina follow behind.  Whilst it remained daylight the pathway, although very much covered in a layer of snow, remained fairly easy to walk along.  The sky was dark but it remained dry and they make good time to Dry Gulch, the only thing they noticed odd about the journey was the ominous silence.  They arrive at the little hamlet in the early afternoon, each one of them hungry and thirsty having decided not to eat any of their rations.

Scene 4, The Crying Wolf Inn at Dry Gulch. 4:05 in the afternoon

Name: The Crying Wolf
Owner : Balinus (Elf)
Staff: 1 barkeep, 2 barmaids, 1 cook, 1 housekeeper.
Number of floors: 2
Seating: 2 round tables, 3 chairs each. 4 rectangular tables with 4 chairs each, 5 stools at the bar
Private rooms : none
Sleeping rooms: 6
Drink: spruce ale 7 cp, black stout 1 sp, hard liquor (rum or Whisky) 1 sp, Crying wolf Grog 7cp
Food: limited to one or two choices, usually seasonal game and fowl.
Price Range: meals 6 to 8 cp, rooms 1 sp per evening
Hours : early afternoon until late evening

Question, is everything as it should be in the little hamlet of /Dry Gulch?  Roll d6 = 6 so Yes (+1 intervention point, now at 1 intervention point)

Its almost dark when the party arrive at Dry Gulch, the hamlet is quiet and peaceful, soft yellow light from the lamps lighting the Crying Wolf inn can be seen and wood smoke can be seen rising from the chimney which indicates it must be open.





Karina, Strawberri and Rhoan enter the inn and find Balinus behind the bar and, at a round table near the fire are three rough looking men with two large hounds by their feet.

Balinus recognises Karina straight away and welcomes the young bard, “Miss Lankrit! What brings you this far from Winterton in such evil weather, and with your companions too, I hope you have brought your lute, we would welcome some fine music and song this night”.

Karina apologises, she explains that they are on a quest and she has not brought her lute but, if they can have food and lodgings for the evening they have fine voice and happy to sing to keep everyone entertained.

Balinus, upon finding out about their two companions and pack pony suggests that the pony may be housed in the stables of the big house opposite the Crying Wolf, he motions towards the three men by the fire, saying they to are staying the night, they are local hunters, perhaps Rhian knows them, they have been kind enough to supply meat for the evening meal, all the good folk of the hamlet will be over soon to share in the feast, a simple meat and veg stew plus other cuts of meat which the cook and staff are currently preparing. There are three rooms available for the night, which they can gladly take.


Soon, the locals begin to drift in to the crying wolf, the food is served and Karina and Rhian lead the singing accompanied by one of the hunters playing a flute of some kind. The locals are keen to hear about the partys quest but although Hugo is being his usual boastful self even he stops short of telling the full details of their quest. By 9pm things quieten down and most of the locals drift away, Culdus suggests that he stay with the pony and their belongings in the stable even though he is assured there is no need.

Question, does anything happen in the inn over night? Roll on oracle 1d6 = 2 (roll on d20 table) Roll d20 =1 No (on the contrary).

Before long the inn is deserted except for Balinus, the three hunters and the party minus Culdus. Exhausted, the party take to their room.

Question, does anything happen to Culdus overnight? Roll on oracle 1d6 = 4 (roll on d20 table) Roll d20 =12 Yes (While).
I get three random verbs to help find ut what happens to Culdus.  "Boast", "End", "Hunt"

While Culdus is sorting out the pony and his own sleeping area he hears wispy unearthly voices outside, looking through the crack in the stable door, he sees two figures standing not far from him, he reals back in horror as he recognises them for Revenants, pulling himself together he listens to what they are saying to each other, the seem to be boasting that their hunt has finally come to an end.

 Question, the Revenants spot Culdus?  Roll d6 = 5 (roll on d 20 table) Roll d20 = 17 Yes (as long as).

Suddenly they turn towards the stable and shuffle towards the door, Culdus, grabs his staff and moves as far away from the doors as possible, it seems as long as he keeps to the dark the Revenants cannot see him.

Question, the Revenants try to enter the stable?  Roll d6 = 1 (No).

As quickly as they came, the Revenants move on, Culdus waits for a good few minutes before he quietly opens the doors and looks around the village.

Question, is there any signs of the two undead?  Roll d6 = 2 (roll on d 20 table) Roll d20 = 10 No (apparently).

Culdous very cautiously searches the village for signs of the Revenants but apparently they have gone, finding no trace of them he decides he must have have a beer to many and probably saw something that wasn't there.  He goes back to the stables and gets a fitful nights sleep.

Question, is there any signs in the morning of the Revenants being there?  Roll d6 = 6 Yes (+1 intervention point, now 2 intervention points)

Question, did the Revenants take revenge on someone?  Roll d6 = 6 Yes (+1 intervention point, now 3 intervention points)

Intervention type, roll d6 = 4, advance plot.

In the morning Culdus is up early, there is a commotion comming from the Crying Wolf Inn, Culdous runs over and is met outside by Strawberri, "Its bad Culdus, Balinus found the bodies this morning, two of the hunters, the third barely alive, he managed to say that they were attacked by undead and they took the bones, a casket they had was open and its contents gone, The casket was found in a barrow they raided, I think it has to be the one we were to look for"
Culdus asks if the hunter is still alive but Berri says he died too.

I have Culdus make an intelligence test, he needs 11 or less on d20 and rolls 7.

"Then I think the undead I saw were not undead" Culdus says, "they were barrow wardens, cultists of Ka, they hunted down the thieves who stole the bones from the barrow mound, they have the item we seek and will return St Agnus to the barrow she was taken from, we need to leave now and quickly, maybe we can find the barrow wardens and persuade them to help us".
Culdus tells Balinus and the others what he saw and what he believes happened, Balinus says he will send someone to Winterton and tell Elzbeth what has happened.  

Rhian has tended to the two hounds that belonged to the hunters, they seem to take a liking to her and as no one in the village will want them she suggests that the dogs come with them, maybe they can help find the barrow mound or the cultists, although it is two extra animals to feed, she gets her way and the party now has two large hounds as well as a pony.

Balinus wishes the party best speed and the five plus three animals set off east.

I will find out what happens to them in my next session, until then

Adventure On!

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The Wasteland Hack Solo - Session 1 part 1

0 comments at June 04, 2022

 

Solo Toolbox.

For this session 1 I will have the following Toolkit available to me.

The  Wasteland Hack RPG for the rules and setting.
UNE for randomly generating NPC's.
Zathrum 2.2 for help with NPC's and help with setting the overall theme.
randomlists.com to generate three random adjectives to help describe the characters.

The Oracle, although it may not get used in this session, I think its worth saying that I use a mix of MUNE & Zathrum 2.2 for my games.  The changes I made to the oracle can be found on a separate page (link here)

Owlbear Rodeo, for keeping track of combat.

Scene 1 : The Disused Airstrip.

Theme, (roll for on Zathrum 2.2 Theme Table), New Equipment.

I had an idea for the first scene to involve a combat, getting 'New Equipment' as the theme gave me the idea of Scout and Dawg coming across a vehicle (a car) and I also found the idea of Beagle not being know to Scout and Dawg at the start appealing.
Finding this 'Run Down Airstrip' map by Meditating Munky (link) gave me the starting place for the characters and the 1 scene.
(the car is some way a way from the bandits, at this point I do not know why it is parked where it is, it just is).

I roll 3d6 for each bandits Strength, Dexterity and Constitution

Bandit 1 - Str: 11,  Dex: 14, Con: 4 (HP4)
Bandit 2 - Str: 12,  Dex:  6,  Con: 6 (HP6)
Bandit 3 - Str:  8,   Dex:  7,  Con 11 (HP11)

Action at the abandoned airfield at the start of scene 1

Scout drops down beside Dawg, "there are four, three bandits and a woman, she looks like she wont see the morning, I don't want to describe to you what they have done to her, also two of the bandits look sick, radiation poisoning or something, they are deffo weak, I think we can take them out".

Dawg readies his rifle, "I though they had seen you, one of them has just come through the compound entrance, he's been looking around but not towards us, you think you can hit him with your sniper rifle?".

Scout shakes his head in a negative, "no I can't get a clean shot on him, we need to sneak forward, what the!".

The duo spot someone break cover and run towards the bandit outside the compound, pistol in hand, a girl, and she opens fire.

Beagle takes bandit3 by surprise, she fires her revolver, rolls 3 on d20 against her dex 13, so a hit.  Rolls 1d3 to see how many bullets hit = 2, roll 2d6 for damage = 5, Bandit 3 is down to 6hp.

Dawg rises to his feet, "sh*t! Where did that crazy come from, she's dinner for them tonight if we don't help".

Scout gets back on his feet, "always the knight is shining armour ain't ya Dawg, oh well, we need that car".

The two break cover an run towards the compound.

Beagle has to reload her revolver this round and cannot fire, bandit 3 takes aim with his hunting rifle, he rolls 10 against his dex of 7, his shot misses Beagle.

The two other bandits exit the compound to see what is going on.

Third combat round and Beagle fires her revolver at Bandit 3 again, she rolls 12, a hit, rolls 3 on a d3 so 3 bullets hit for 3d6 = 7 points of damage, Bandit 3 is finished. 
Bandit 1 fires his rifle at Beagle, he rolls 6 on d20 against his dex of 14, a hit for 1d8 = 2, Beagle takes 2 damage.
Before Bandit 2 can react, Dawg fires his Assault Rifle at him, Dawg rolls 10 against his dex of 15, a hit, rolling 3 on d6 three bullets hit his target for 9 damage,  bandit 2 id down and out.
Scout pauses and takes aim with his sniper rifle at Bandit 1, rolls 10 against his dex of 14, a hit for 6 damage, enough to take out Bandit 1.

The combat over, Dawg is keen to see if the car starts, he is worried that the sound of the gunfight could attract other unwanted attention.  

Beagle runs into the compound and up to the other woman, she is clearly distressed by the sight that she encounters.  Scout follows Beagle and asks her if she knows the woman, Beagle replies that it is her Mother.

Question:  does the car start?  roll d8 on table 1 =2, No (roll table 2), roll d 8 on table 2 =3 = surprisingly.

Although the old car engin urns over and it does not start, this surprises Dawg as it seems well maintained and has a tank full of gas.

To see if Dawg can fix the problem and get the car started I roll d20 against his Intelligence, he rolls 4, well under and with his perk of 'quick repair' I decided he get the car up and running very easily.

Question, is Beagles Mother still alive? roll d8 on oracle table 1 = 2 No(But), I decided to ignore the (But).

The car is left running, there are some tools in the car including a spade and pick axe, Scout and Dawg quickly did a shallow grave and bury Beagles mother.

Question, does anything else happen whilst they are performing the burial. Roll d8 on oracle =8 Yes (+1 intervention point)
I get three random verbs to help find out what, 'rush' 'destroy' 'marry'.
 
Suddenly, and without warning the ground begins to shudder and the buildings begin to shake, a crack appears in the wall and the old runway.

Dawg begins to rush towards the car, "quake! get to the car car quick!"

The old airfield building are being destroyed, bricks are falling to the ground. 

Scout takes Beagles arm, "come on girl, we need to get out of here".

Beagle refuses to budge, "I am staying with my mother, go on without me".

Scout pulls Beagle's towards the car and out of the compound, "I'm not asking you to run away and marry me, just get out of here before we all join the dead".

Scout drags beagle to the car and pushes her in, he jumps in the driving seat and they head away from the old airfield.

Scene 2:

Theme, (roll for on Zathrum 2.2 Theme Table), 3rd party action. 
I have no idea what the 3rd party action may be, so I  roll on both Zathrum Mission and Target tables and get 'Free' 'Place', that gives me an idea that perhaps a small settlement is in need of help to free itself from the attentions of a 3rd party, maybe a gang has taken over, we will see how we go with this.

Scene 2 continues in part 2.

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Beyond the Wall Solo - Bay of Spirits Session 2

0 comments at June 02, 2022

 

Prolegomenon

When the air turns to ice the return of the hollow ones illuminates the way and sow great misfortune.



The Abbess Alene Gallach and Elzbeth the Witch are sat at the rickety old table in Grandmother Weavers little cottage, the gentle ancient matron walk's slowly over to a locked chest, she unlocks it opens the lid and pulls out an rather unremarkable looking robe.

"You say Crea said Abbess Alonia thinks the Woodsmaiden is related to St Agnes, on the contrary, her farther was related to the Necromancer, this robe belonged to him, a robe of bones*.  I keep it locked away here hidden secret from all, except you two now.  I know, you all think I gossip too much, how else to find out what goes in Winterton, but I keep many secrets here too" .  Grandmother Weaver lays the robe down on the table.

Elzbeth looks carefully at the robe "if what the young priestess says is true then its likely the Necromancer has returned, only he has the power to call the hollow ones back into existence, the girl will not stop him, indeed she may be more of a hindrance than a help"/

The Abbess Alene looks at her empty cup, "a refill of your most excellent tea maybe Grandmother, please, and what of the bones of St Agnus, they were stolen from us years back, who know where they are now,  even if they are found and found quickly, what use will they be".

Grandmother Weaver pours more of her warming herbal tea in to the empty cups of her two visitors, "The bones are safe and those that guard them may help, send the Crea back to her Abbey when she is fit and well again, Nessa Ridgerow the Ranger is back, I will ask her to accompany the priestess, make sure she gets back safe and Nessa may be useful to the Abbess Alonia in the coming struggle". 

The Old lady picks up the robe and locks it back in the chest, "also we need perhaps a willing hero to seek out the bones of St Agnus, I think I now the very hero".

Tools used in the session and other stuff.

For this game session we will be using the following Toolkit

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures RPG
Further Afield supplement
My adapted Mune/Zathrum Oracle 
randomlists.com to generate verbs if I need a prompt to work out what happens next.

Location - Winterton, Lower bay region, Bay of Spirits

Date - 22st December 1512CY, day after the Winter Solstice.

PCs (click on name to open page with full character stats)

Culdus the young acolyte, Hugo d'Winterton the would be knight, Karina Lankrit the local performer, Rhian the young woodswoman, Strawberri Cottoncloud the fae foundling.

Table of NPC's which may be used in this session

1. Elzbeth the witch
2. Nessa Ridgerow the Ranger
3. Ranogg the old mercenary
4. Alene Gallach Abbess
5. Eidwick Stewart the steward
6. Grandmother Weaver

The Hollow Ones. Undead resurrected by powerful otherworld magic.  they look very much like they did in life but spells and magic which can detect the undead will reveal them as such.  
Hollow ones have no soul but can remember their past lives, they can speak and will talk to someone they where close to, like knowing the true name of a creature, if you know the living name of a hollow one you can attempt to command it to do something against its will.
Hit Dice 3d8 (14hp)
AC 16
Attack +3 to hit,  1d6+2 claw attack or as per weapon carried (50% chance of using a weapon, 1-2 Longsword 1d8 +1 hits, 3-4 Battle Axe 1d8+1 hits, 5 Great Sword 1d10+1 hits, 6 Great Axe 1d10+1 hits)
Alignment.  Chaotic
XP 100

Hollow ones do not age, 
Unsettling Presence,  A Hollow One can unsettle a creature it can see within 15 feet of it. The target has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes within the 10 minute. Constructs, undead, and creatures that can't be frightened are immune to this feature. Can only be used once per day.

Dead & Mindless.  Hollow Ones are immune to sleep or charm spells.

Scene 2 22nd December , 11.34am (time generated randomly) (+2 intervention points carried over)

Weather is overcast and there are light flutters of snow but for the first time in days the heavy snow had stopped.
News of the arrival of Crea the Priestess from the Abbey of the Far Mountains has swiftly spread around Winterton, helped not in no small way by Hugo exaggerating his roll in the previous evenings events to everyone he meets on his morning watchman round.

question, does Hugo meet anyone important on his morning round? roll 1d6 and check on NPC table above, roll =5

As Hugo passes by the O'Meere manor house he is stopped by Eidwik Stewart the Steward
of the Estate

question, Does Eidwick Stewart know of Crea's arrival?  roll  6 on oracle, yes (+1 intervention point =3)
roll for intervention type - 2, entity positive.  Roll on NPC table =1 Elzbeth the Witch.

Standing next to the Steward is Elzbeth and the two local dignitaries stop Hugo and seek to talk to him. 

I get three random verbs to see what it is they say to Hugo. Empty Crack Complete.

Eidwick is the first to talk, he explains to Hugo that it is imperative that  the bones of St Agnus are recovered, it was believed that they were in a casket kept in the celler of the manor but on opening the casket it was empty.
Elzbeth tells Hugo that Grandmother Weaver remembered that the bones were taken to a barrow mound they need someone to go there, crack open the barrow, retrieve and bring the bones back to Winterton 
Eidwick continues "we need someone we can trust to complete this mission lad, I cannot trust the Wyvern Guard with this, I doubt they would even go but you and your friends proved your metal recuing that Merchant from the Red Caps and if you and your friends are willing, we would like you to try".
Hugo puffs out his chest, "I am your man Steward Stewart, I will round the others up, when do you wish us to start out?"
Elzbeth continues "Abbess Gallach has aready spoken to Culdus, he is a good healer and you may need his skills, Martin in the Blue Goose is talking to Rhian and Karina, their skills will be of use to, I think the Fae girl Strawberri will be important to this mission too but I was just on my way to seek her when we met you".
Eidwick concludes, "You will need to start out as soon as possible and get back quickly too, its a dangerous journey though and you will need to equip yourselves well, I'll speak to your farther and Cambell Birse at theTraders Emporium, you should get most of what you need from there and the Watchhouse, we'll gather everyone up and meet at the Watchhouse at noon".

Equipping the party.

The party meet up as arranged, it is midday and with only 3 or 4 hours daylight left at best, Hugo's Farther, Wintertons watchman, is arguing that the party should not leave until the morning, its unlikely that they will be able to travel further than 3 or 4 miles in what is left of the daylight in this snow.  Elzbeth argues that if they make decent time they should make the Grey Wolf Inn at the little hamlet of Dry Gulch before nightfall.

Question to Oracle, will the party be allowed to leave today?  roll 1 on Oracle = No.

Cambell Burse agrees with Hugo's Farther, it would be risky leaving at this hour and it looks like another snow fall is likely, in the end it is agreed by all to make sure the party are properly equipped and make ready to leave at daybreak in the morrow.

Each of the party get the following equipment to help them survive the cold snowy winery conditions.

Pair of Snow Shoes, 50' of rope,  winter blankets and boots, tinder kits 6 torches and 2 lanterns with oil lanterns. They are also loaned a pack pony which they will need to bring back the casket containing the bones of St Agnes.
They are also equipped with two snow shovels and rations for 7 days.
Each of them is offered additional weapons but only Strawberri takes up the offer and gains a short  Bow and quiver of Arrows.

Grandmother Weaver is able to tell the characters that they are looking for a Barrow some 3 days walk from Winterton, possibly 4 in this weather.  The Barrow will contain a large casket containing the bones of St. Agnes.  It is believed the casket is guarded by spirits but Granmother Weaver believes that these sprits are good and will help the party.

All five PC's have a restless night, all eager to get on with the adventure, in the morning they collect their gear, load up the pack horse, say fairwell to the village and set out on their quest.

In session 3, their journey begins, until then,
Adventure on!

* This sinister item appears to be an unremarkable robe, but a character who dons it notes that it is adorned with small embroidered figures representing undead creatures. Only the wearer of the robe can see the embroidery, recognize them for the creatures they become, and detach them. One figure can be detached each combat round. Detaching a figure causes it to become an actual undead creature (see the list below). The skeleton or zombie is not under the control of the wearer of the robe, but may be subsequently commanded, rebuked, turned, or destroyed. A newly created robe of bones always has two embroidered figures of each of the following 
  • Human skeleton
  • Wolf skeleton
  • Heavy horse skeleton
  • Fast goblin zombie
  • Tough human zombie
  • Plague ogre zombie

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