Back in the Saddle Again

Hey, I'm back. I plan on posting regularly, albeit less frequently that before my absence from this blog. You might notice that the post is authored by "A Dragon Adept." It's still Ken H., I just combined my two Blogger accounts.

Gaming updates:

• I am currently playing Finkus S. Snotrags, a halfling, in Tim Shorts' BX Essentials campaign.
• I am working on a set of house rules for my Montporte megadungeon setting that combines Blood & Treasure, BX Essentials, and Crypts & Things. I will post some basic information about the house rules this blog, but I will avoid specifics. I am happy to promote the previously listed products but I do not want to "steal" their content. I plan on using the rules for our gaming group only, so no plans to publish.
• However, on the topic of publishing, I am slowly working on a Montporte monster book for publication. Some of the creatures have appeared on this blog, but many will be exclusive to the book. Tim Shorts has agreed to publish the Montporte monster book through his GM Games (Thanks, Tim!). I am thinking that I will use the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules as the basis. 

That's all for now. 

Maps: The Known Dungeon of Montporte After 60 Sessions

Elementalist Monastery Level 1

Elementalist Monastery Sub-Level 1

Elementalist Monastery Level 2

Elementalist Monastery Level 3

Elementalist Monastery Level 4

The Deep Dark - 21 Miles Down Level A

The Deep Dark - 21 Miles Down Level B

The Deep Dark - 28 Miles Down (Goblin Way Station)

The Deep Dark - 42 Miles Down (Gnome Kingdom/Stone Giant Forest)

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 8 Notes (Montporte 54)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Carlos: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Fishdore: Koblold (NPC)
Huthul: Orc (NPC)
Jim Bob: Ogre (NPC)
Lord Jim: Human Fighter (PC-Sidekick)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Maydor: Orc (NPC)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)
Ummerokhan: Uyoga (NPC)
Zug: Orc (NPC)

The Session
The brave adventurers, having their first dungeon-based trade agreement in hand (negotiated in the previous session), were heading back to the town of Montporte to load up on weapons to sell to the Community.

They made their way from the second level, back to the first, and were heading toward the dungeon entrance when they encountered a group of large spiders. There were two bright red spiders and three dull gray spiders. The gray spiders were larger and more aggressive than the red spiders. The gray spiders moved towards the party, along the walls of the room, while the red spiders held their ground in the middle.

The party, sensing that they were the prey in this encounter, put their best fighters out front and closed the gap. The gray spiders turned out to be poisonous, with the poison causing paralysis on a failed saving throw. The red spiders were not poisonous, but they provided the party with a special surprise. When the party killed one of the red spiders, a half dozen smaller black spiders emerged from the slain spider and swarmed over the party. This created a fair amount of anxiety for the party members fighting the second red spider. It, too, spewed out a half dozen smaller black spiders out of its broken corpse.

A few party members suffered paralysis and Maydor the orc was killed, but eventually the party overcame the spiders. The group had just experienced their first encounter with cardinal spiders, nomadic predators feared by dwarfs and orcs alike.

Our session started later that usual. We ended here for the night.

Scroll of the Dead
Horace NPC Footman, Session 48
Pulvarti PC Magic-User, Session 49
Alicia, NPC Footman, Session 50
Diana, NPC Torchbearer, Session 52
Maydor, NPC, Orc, Session 54

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 7 Notes (Montporte 53)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Allidore: Kobold (NPC)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Bildar: Kobold (NPC)
Carlos: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Enzore: Kobold (NPC)
Fishdore: Koblold (NPC)
Huthul: Orc (NPC)
Jim Bob: Ogre (NPC)
Lord Jim: Human Fighter (PC-Sidekick)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Maydor: Orc (NPC)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Ooga: Arbold (NPC)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)
Ummerokhan: Uyoga (NPC)
Zug: Orc (NPC)

The Session
After adding 3 orcs and an ogre to their party at the end of Session 6 (Montporte 52), the adventurers and their large party continued to move carefully through level 2. Only a short distance from where the party killed the 4 thuragians in the last session, the party encountered 2 short, stocky hideous robed and hooded humanoids. This would be the party's first encountered with the 'oxkarrotous. The 'oxkarrotous had a string of humans, kobolds, and gnomes in tow, all chained together.

Alaric and Septimus decided that these two 'oxkarrotous were up to no good and, when the chained prisoners, cried out for help, the party attacked. The 'oxkarrotous were tough customers and were able to keep the main body of the party at bay. Unfortunately for the 'oxkarrotous, the room had multiple doors. The 3 orcs and the ogre looped around and attacked the the 'oxkarrotous on the flank through a side door. This turned the tide of the battle. The 'oxkarrotous finally went down. The adventurers suffered many wounds, but no one was killed out of the party.

The adventurers freed those who were chained and learned that the thuragians, the crab people encountered in the previous session, had settled nearby on level 2. From this base, they ventured forth and captured humanoids from nearby areas of the dungeon. The humanoid captives were sold to the 'oxkarrotous to be used as sacrifices in their demonic rituals.

As the party began to move on from this area, they encountered a group of mixed humanoids, led by a kobold named Larramore. Larramore turned out to be Little Larry, the faithful companion to Septimus' uncle, Adzeer Mattai. Little Larry's party was searching for the captives that had been freed by the adventurers.

Little Larry was now the troop commander for "the Community," a collective of idealistic property-sharing individuals living in the former gnome farming areas of levels 2 and 4. Daria was their leader. The Community's trade coordinator, Darius Pincushion (a gnome), negotiated a trade deal with Septimus and Alaric. The adventurers would bring a variety of weapons from Montporte to the Community and sell them at a profit. In return, the Community would sell the adventurers mushroom cubes that could be sold at a profit in Montporte.

Before departing, Ummerokhan, an Uyoga (mushroom person), joined the adventurers to serve as a guide who knew the path to the Community. The adventurers' 3 kobolds and the arbold left the adventurers to join Little Larry and the Community.

Scroll of the Dead
Horace NPC Footman, Session 48
Pulvarti PC Magic-User, Session 49
Alicia, NPC Footman, Session 50
Diana, NPC Torchbearer, Session 52

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 6 Notes (Montporte 52)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Allidore: Kobold (NPC)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Bildar: Kobold (NPC)
Carlos: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Diana: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchwoman)
Enzore: Kobold (NPC)
Fishdore: Koblold (NPC)
Huthul: Orc (NPC)
Jim Bob: Ogre (NPC)
Lord Jim: Human Fighter (PC-Sidekick)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Maydor: Orc (NPC)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Ooga: Arbold (NPC)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)
Zug: Orc (NPC)

The Session
This session began where the last session left off, with the adventurers using three small boats to explore a newly discovered lake at the south end of Level 1 of the Montporte Dungeon. The adventurers had returned to the landing that was serving as their home base. They decided to journey out again, following the north shore and moving east.

They found an area that looked like a small landing. The cave wall had been smoothed and there was a small circular indention, but no amount of pushing and prodding produced any results. About then, the three giant frogs from the last session reappeared (each frog looked like it weighed 60 pounds). The frogs surfaced about 20 feet from the boats.

As the frogs stared at the adventurers, three of the adventurers--Alaric, Carlos and Diana--felt pressure welling up inside their skulls. Alaric and Carlos were able to fend off whatever was causing the pressure, but Diana was not. She slumped over in her boat, blood dripping from her eyes, nose and ears. She was dead. At the same moment, the heads of each of the three frogs exploded, spreading gore over the surface of the water. At the same time, their bodies vanished.

With the three frogs gone, the adventurers pressed on to the east. They found the eastern end of the subterranean lake. In the southeastern portion of the lake, they found a landing and brought their boats to shore. As they did so, three frogs appeared. The three giant frogs kept their distance and did not make eye contact. Instead, they began doing intricate acrobatics, both above and below the surface of the lake.

The adventurers dragged their boats onto the landing. Once ashore, the adventurers found that there were two tunnels leading away from the landing, one north and one south. As the adventurers moved away from the lake, the frogs came ashore. The frogs kept their distance and continued their tumbling antics.

The party moved north and found the northern tunnel to be a dead end. The frogs moved into the southern tunnel. The party drew their weapons, moving into the southern tunnel, which also proved to be a dead end. The party could see and feel an unsettling shift of the dimensions of the tunnel as the frogs hopped, skipped and cartwheeled towards the blank wall at the end of the tunnel. The frogs jumped into the dead end wall and disappeared. The tunnel subtly shifted back to a normal appearance.

The party moved west and explored further. They discovered the lake was continued west for quite a ways. At this point, the adventures decided to go back to their launch point and continue with their original two-fold mission of finding trading partners for the town of Montporte and searching for an ancient dwarven city rumored to be somewhere underneath the Montporte Dungeon.

The adventurers moved north on the first level away from the subterranean lake. They met up with Cassius, Montporte's former caretaker and current resident ghost. Despite his addled memory, Cassius did report that a small group of surly pig-faced men were guests at Montporte. They were accompanied by a very large clumsy guy. They had moved in the direction of the spiral staircase to the second level.

The adventurers moved in the same direction, descending the 100 feet to level 2. The party moved through several rooms into a huge room with a set of 2 metal rails running down the middle, north to south. This room was occupied by four thuragians (crab folk). The thuragians did not respond favorable and a nasty melee ensued. Thuragians are tough customers but the overwhelming number of adventurers made for a short fight.

In the very next room, the adventurers found a party of 3 orcs, accompanied by an ogre. Wary, but surprisingly not aggressive, the orcs agreed to join the adventurers on their quest for profit. It turned out that Maydor, Huthul, and Zug were deserters. They wanted gold and fresh meat, not a way to the fourth level. The adventurers knew that this was the main goal of the other orcs they had encountered (Session 47). Jim Bob, the ogre, was along for the violence and vittles.

This is where our session ended.

Scroll of the Dead
Horace NPC Footman, Session 48
Pulvarti PC Magic-User, Session 49
Alicia, NPC Footman, Session 50
Diana, NPC Torchbearer, Session 52

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 5 Notes (Montporte 51)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Allidore: Kobold (NPC)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Bildar: Kobold (NPC)
Carlos: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Diana: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchwoman)
Enzore: Kobold (NPC)
Fishdore: Koblold (NPC)
Lord Jim: Human Fighter (PC-Sidekick)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Ooga: Arbold (NPC)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)

The Session
This session started at the northern end of the elementalists' monastery on Level 1, where the last session ended. The adventurers had defeated a squad of kobolds, confiscated their boats, and decided to spend the night in the room. They secured the single door with spikes and set a watch schedule.

At the end of the third watch, there was yelling and pounding on the other side of the spiked door. The yelling was in kobold and the tone was frantic and commanding. "That's Andimore, one of Degmar's true believers," whispered Enzore, one of the party's kobold captives. "He's not going to be happy with what you have done. I am sure he is wondering why our squad didn't complete our tasks."

The intensity of the pounding on the door increased, turning to smashing. The party arrayed themselves into their fighting formation, as two arbolds crashed through the door, followed by three kobolds, including the sword wielding fanatic, Andimore.

The battle was fierce but short. The arbolds went down, along with Andimore. The two remaining kobolds, Fishdore and Bildar, dropped their spears and surrendered. The adventurers now had 4 kobolds and 1 arbold as prisoners.

The captives agreed to thrown in their lot with the adventurers, stating that following the deluded Degmar proved to be pointless and dangerous. With the captives becoming comrades, at least for the moment, the party decided to head south to the opposite end of the first level of the Montporte Dungeon. They dragged their three small boats along with them.

Along the way, the party encountered two dwarves, Aldo and Nova. The dwarves were guarding an entrance to their mining area on the first level of the dungeon. The dwarves cast a wary eye at the kobolds and arbold. The conversation was not tense, but the dwarves were not in a chatty mood. The adventurers did promise to come back and have a conversation about trade.

The adventurers moved south into unexplored territory. Here they discovered what proved to be a subterranean lake. As bodies of water go, it seemed small, but it proved to be the largest body of water so far discovered in Montporte Dungeon.

Not everyone in the party could fit into the boats, so the party split, with a larger group taking the boats and the remainder securing the landing area. As soon as the boats left the shore, the adventurers in the boats could see three very large frogs swimming around and under the boats. Each frog looked to weigh about 60 pounds.

The party explored a bit of the cave wall along the edge of the lake east of the landing. In the meantime, the three frogs drew closer and eventually surfaced next to the boats. A loaf of bread appeared the paws of each frog and they tossed the loaves into the boats.

Shaken, the adventurers paddled the boats back to the landing and then ripped the bread into little pieces, searching for poison or a trap or some other life-threatening item. All they discovered was that the bread was still warm and smelled mighty yummy.

With the destruction of the bread complete, we ended the session.

Scroll of the Dead
Horace NPC Footman, Session 48
Pulvarti PC Magic-User, Session 49
Alicia, NPC Footman, Session 50

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 4 Notes (Montporte 50)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Allidore: Kobold (NPC)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Carlos: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Diana: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchwoman)
Enzore: Kobold (NPC)
Lord Jim: Human Fighter (PC-Sidekick)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Ooga: Arbold (NPC)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)

The Session
At the conclusion of the previous session, the adventurers were moving north on the first level of the Montporte Dungeon into unexplored territory. The adventurers suspected that this area was teeming with kobolds.

As the adventuring party continued their exploration, they began to find signs that confirmed the presence of kobolds--clever traps on doors, small footprints in the dust, and the sound of light footsteps beyond torch range.

Eventually, the party reached the northern end of the first level of the Elementalists' Monastery. Here they found a small group of heavily armed kobolds, accompanied by two arbolds. A nasty little melee battle ensued that resulted in the death of Alicia, party henchwoman and footman. Despite their tragic loss, the adventurers killed the kobolds and one of the arbolds. The remaining arbold, named "Ooga," surrendered.

The party then moved into the next room containing four more kobolds. The party killed two of the kobolds and the other two surrendered. There names were Allidore and Enzore. There also three small boats in the room. Two of the boats were very small and the third boat, a little larger, had a heavy crossbow mounted on the bow.

One of the kobolds had written orders from Degmar, the leader of the kobolds in the region. Degmar is known to be both charismatic and unstable. He had brought the kobolds to Montporte to search for some sort of legendary magic item or location (read Little Larry's story for more info). Some of the kobolds proved to be as fanatical as Degmar. Others followed out of a sense of kobold honor. And others went along, quietly grumbling and hoping for better leadership to come along. The two kobolds captured by the party fell into the third group and were happy to be out from under Degmar's scaly thumb.

Degmar's written orders described a three pronged movement of kobolds, moving from north to south. The easternmost group would move to secure the kobolds' left (east) flank from dwarves and orcs. The party realized that they had met and defeated this group in their second session (Montporte Session 48).

A second group, the most heavily armed, would sweep south and west through the ant caves on the first level of the dungeon. They would push back the ants, hold the right (west) flank and also serve as a diversion.

The third group would move south quickly with three boats, dragged by arbolds. The boats would be put into the lake at the south end of the first level. This was the western access to the lake. The east access had been tried but proved to be too hazardous for exploration, due to orcs and hazards in the water. The adventurers had unwittingly destroyed Degmar's operations by destroying two out of three groups of kobolds.

Having convinced the arbold and kobolds to become members of their party, the adventurers decided to secure the room and get a good night's rest. The session ended here.

Scroll of the Dead
Horace NPC Footman, Session 48
Pulvarti PC Magic-User, Session 49
Alicia, NPC Footman, Session 50

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 3 Notes (Montporte 49)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Carlos: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Diana: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchwoman)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Pulvarti: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)

The Session
This session started in the town of Montporte, with the party healing up, getting supplies and searching for a replacement for the late footman, Horace. Carlos was added to the group and the adventurers headed back to the dungeon, this time with a plan to explore some new territory on the first level.

Once inside the dungeon, the adventurers moved north and entered a dining hall of the Elementalist Monastery. The Elementalist Monastery forms the core of the upper of levels of the Montporte Dungeon. In the dining hall, they found several strange large lizard creature (flying cubic lizard). The lizards had no legs and possessed cube-shaped bodies, with a neck and head at one end and a tail at the other. Along each side of the lizard's cubic body was a human face. The lizards moved by floating from one place to another.

The lizards turned out to be hungry and aggressive. While the lizards were not particularly fearsome, they had the ability to float over the defensive line of fighters and footman. One of them did just that, attacking and killing the vulnerable magic-user, Pulvarti. The rest of the party was able to defeat the lizards but the victory offered no hope for the fallen mage.

Despite mourning the loss of their friend, the party pressed on to the north, discovering some new territory. This included finding a room with a pool. In the pool were several moderately sized sharks circling towards the bottom of the pool. At the bottom of the pool, the adventurers could clearly see a trap door. Not having a means to descend and explore the door, the party moved on.

The party also discovered a room with a large sandbox area, similar to a pool of water, but containing soil and rocks. The soil and rocks began to vibrate a move about a bit as they entered the room. The adventurers knew there was a similar area just south, only it contained a pool of water that rippled. Occasionally, the pool unleashed some water elementals. There was a locked steel door on the western side of the room. Magnus was unable to pick the lock. Fearing an unwelcome appearance by some earth elementals, the party exited the room.

After a bit more exploration, the session ended for the evening.

Scroll of the Dead
Horace NPC Footman, Session 48
Pulvarti PC Magic-User, Session 49

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 2 Notes (Montporte 48)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Diana: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchwoman)
Horace: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Pulvarti: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)

The Session
The second session of the Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 (Montporte Session 48) picked up where the last session left off. The adventurers left the safety and comfort of the town of Montporte and returned to the dungeon.

The adventurers checked out the area just inside the entrance, looking for signs of orcs. While they did not see any living orcs, the adventurers notices that the orc bodies left from the previous sessions had been moved into a side room. Here they were organized and laid to rest. They found other evidence of recent orc activity, such as a partially eaten dwarf and a few mostly eaten kobolds.

The party continued east. At this point, a sporadic sprinkle of arrows came at them from two different directions. The adventurers did a tactical retreat and then secured one door while Septimus shot arrows north, into the dark. He heard a kobold scream and then the sound of a body hit the floor...a clear sign that his shot in the dark was not in vain.

The party advanced north, following a trail of blood from a second kobold. After much winding around and searching, the party stumbled on a larger group of kobolds. Two of the kobolds were mounted on giant spotted spiky spiders.

The kobolds were easy pickings, but the spiders proved tougher. One of the spiders bit Horace and died from the poison damage. When the last of the kobolds were killed, the two spiders retreated to the east, leaving a trail of spider blood and goo behind.

The adventurers gathered up the weapons, a smattering of gold, a few semiprecious gems, and a vial of magical foot fungus cure. At this point, the party thought it best to leave the dungeon, heal up, and then return.

The Scroll of the Dead
Horace NPC - Session 48

What Worked
Giving the kobolds a knowledge of the dungeon, a mind for small unit tactics, and a desire to keep their enemies out of melee range worked well. This is where restricting PCs to humans only put the party at a (fun) disadvantage, despite their clear superiority to the kobolds. Torches and lanterns make for great arrow targets. The tactical movement and darkvision of the kobolds turned a run-of-the-mill melee into a sprawling challenge for the players.

I am really digging Bloody Basic, our rule set. Simple yet robust, with its comprehensive d20 mechanics.

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0 Session 1 Notes (Montporte Session 47)

Cast of Characters
Alaric: Human Cleric (PC-Main Character)
Alicia: Human Footman (NPC Henchwoman)
Diana: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchwoman)
Horace: Human Footman (NPC Henchman)
Magnus: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Merv: Human Torchbearer (NPC Henchman)
Pulvarti: Human Magic-User (PC-Sidekick)
Septimus: Human Fighter (PC-Main Character)

The Session
The session started in the town of Montporte. The town's business and political leaders, led by Rindolph (Count's Steward/Mayor) and Gunderson (Master Guildmaster), had a two-fold mission for Alaric and Septimus:

1. Find potential trade partners for the town of Montporte who are living in the Montporte dungeon.
2. Search for a an abandoned dwarven city, rumored to be somewhere beneath the Montporte dungeon.

The party was armed with a bit of gold, a few healing potions, and some dungeon maps recently purchased by town leaders.

About a year had elapsed between the first Montporte Dungeon Campaign and this session, which is the start of the second Montporte Dungeon Campaign. At the beginning of the first campaign, a band of orcs had moved some stones and found an opening into the Montporte Dungeon. For centuries, the dungeon had remained unknown in the remote mountain wilderness north of the isolated town of Montporte.

With the dungeon's discovery, dwarves had reinhabited ancient mines, orcs continued to explore and homestead, and humans began poking around for treasure and knowledge. Montporte's town mothers and fathers wanted to cash in on this newly uncovered subterranean world. Alaric and Septimus were asked to lead the charge.

After getting a bit of information, some supplies and a team of henchman, the party descended into the first level of Montporte. Their careful scouting discovered an orc archer, slouched and asleep behind an arrow slit in the first room. Septimus quietly ended his slumber and his life with a well-placed arrow.

The party moved east through a doorway and met a few more orcs. Melee ensued and soon orcs were pouring into the room from several doorways. The party was surprised at how organized and tactically sound the orcs were. The party would have been hard pressed, were it not for a well timed sleep spell that stopped almost a dozen orcs in their tracks. The party kept one orc alive, tied him up, and dispatched the rest.

The captive orc revealed the following information after a bit of questioning:

• The orcs were in the dungeon, searching for a tunnel that would lead them deep underneath their current lair, located about 15 miles to the northeast. 
• Underneath their lair were a nest of antmen. They wanted to find a tunnel that would lead them underneath the antmen so that they could attack the antmen from above and below.
• The orcs believed that there was a hidden tunnel on Montporte's fourth level that would connect to their lair from below.
• The orcs are led by a powerful mage who is neither orc nor human.

The party decided to let their captive live. The explored the surrounding area and found the orcs' food (nasty), beds, and cooking area.

Deciding not to push their luck, the party returned to the town of Montporte. There they discovered, much to their delight, that a live orc was worth a bounty of 50 gold pieces.

Montporte Dungeon Campaign 2.0--Campaign Reboot

We are six sessions into the second Montporte Dungeon campaign. I will try to catch up with some gaming session notes in the upcoming week before I get too far behind and I lose track of what happened in each session. Sadly, because of my work schedule, the gaming session notes will be less detailed and will have fewer maps.

Here are some random details for the Montporte reboot:

Bloody Basic: We are using John Stater's Bloody Basic: Classic Edition for our rule set, with the following modifications:

• Player characters are limited to humans only.
• Clerics, fighters, and magic-users are the three classes. Most of the thief skills that are useful in the dungeon have been allocated to these three classes.
• Player characters have additional hit points at first level--Clerics have an additional 6 hit points, fighters have an additional 8 hit points, and magic-users have 4 hit points. These points are in addition to the hit point die roll at first level for each character.
• Clerics can lay on hands for some additional healing, fighters have a weapon specialization, and magic-users automatically read magic.

Bloody Basic tops out at sixth level, which is fine by us. We plan on using something similar to the E6 variant of Dungeons & Dragons. We do not have all of the details I worked out, but there is a lot to draw on from Blood & Treasure (e.g. feats and additional spells) as well as other resources.

Heroes and Sidekicks: Each player has two characters. One character is their "main" character and the other is the "sidekick." The main character is the default for role-playing and decision-making, unless there is a specific reason for the sidekick to be involved (knowledge of a language, class-based conversation, use of a skill, etc). Main characters earn two shares of experience at the end of each session while sidekicks earn one.

Resource and Time Management: We are keeping more careful track of resources, such as food, torches, and arrows. We are also tracking encumbrance. We are working to streamline the process for the former while relying on the simple and elegant system in Bloody Basic for the latter.

Economics, Exploration, and Experience: In additional to the usual ways to gain experience points, the party gains experience with successful conversations and negotiations, exploration of new areas of the dungeon, and making a profit off of trade. The party was commission at the start of Session 1 to establish trade relationships in the recently discovered dungeon and Deep Dark, as well as to seek out a mythical subterranean ancient dwarven city.

Campaign and Continuity: One of the challenges for a dungeon-based campaign is maintaining momentum and continuity. We lost a lot of that in the final dozen sessions of our last Montporte campaign. We changed rule sets, lost players, added players, and the main threads of the campaign were lost in all of it. This time around, we are starting with a couple of goals (explore, establish trade relationships, and find a dwarven city), using a simple rule set, and playing with a smaller group (and only playing when everyone is present).

A key to the campaign working so far is the players themselves--they are keeping notes, making decisions, and determining the direction of play within the parameters we had agreed upon prior to playing.

So far, so good.

Dungeon Rules: Four Classes

In thinking of streamlined rules to support dungeon play and exploration, I have one last approach. This approach falls into the "race as class" category. If I used it, I would either bolt it onto Swords & Wizardry Core or Blood & Treasure. The four classes:

Human Fighter

• HD: d8
• Armor: All
• Weapons: All
• Skills: A small selection of thief/rogue skills (optional)
• Other: Feats (Optional); Additional attacks per round at higher levels (optional)

Human Mage

• HD: d4
• Armor: None (or light non-metal, optional)
• Weapons: Typical magic-user/wizard
• Skills (Optional): ???
• Other: Spells (maybe include a few lower-level cleric spells, such as Cure Light Wounds)

Dwarf

• HD: d8+1
• Armor: All
• Weapons: All
• Skills: The usual dwarf stuff. Maybe Find/Femove Traps and Open Locks.
• Other: Extra damage with a battleaxe (optional)

Elf

• HD: d6
• Armor: Light
• Weapons: Wide selection
• Skills: Some thief/rogue (Move Silently and Hide In Shadows, optional); Tracking (optional); Short/low bow specialization (optional)
• Other: Spells (as per Druid or Ranger, or combination)

Dungeon Rules: d20 Generic Classes + Blood & Treasure

I am indebted to +Rob Conley for pointing out the Generic Classes on the d20 SRD. This could easily be bolted onto Blood & Treasure, a rule set I particularly like and one that most in our gaming group have played (and own). This approach, I think, would work particularly well in a megadungeon-centered campaign.

All player characters would be human and there would only be three classes: Adventurer, Mage, and Warrior. If I used Blood & Treasure, I would beef it up with some additional skills and feats, borrowed from other classes within Blood & Treasure or from the d20 SRD. Here is a basic outline of what the classes would look like:

Adventurer:

• Hit Dice: d6
• Armor: Light armor + shield
• Weapons: As per thief (B&T)
• Skills: 10 (d20 SRD calls for 12*)
• Feats: One feat to start plus one additional per every three levels

Mage:

• Hit Dice: d4
• Armor: No armor (or light, nonmetallic armor)
• Weapons: As per wizard (B&T)
• Skills: 4
• Feats: One to start plus one additional per every five levels
• Other: Spells (here I would allow almost any B&T spell**)

Warrior:

• Hit Dice: d8 (d20 SRD calls for d10)
• Armor: Any + Shield (d20 SRD calls for Light and Medium armor)
• Weapons: Any
• Skills: 6
• Feats: One to start plus an additional one every second level
• Other: Additional attacks per round at higher levels

*12 skills would require a fairly lengthy list of meaningful skills.
**I would allow the mage to construct a spell book from any spell, but I would probably eliminate some spells, such as Resurrection and a some other cleric spells. Some of the lower level healing spells would remain.

Dungeon Rules: Holmes Dungeons & Dragons + GURPS Dungeon Fantasy

I am a big fan of GURPS DF. I also have very special place in my heart for the Holmes D&D Boxed Set. My original experience with D&D back in 1977 was with the first printing* of the Holmes boxed set. My little thought experiment today is mashing these two together, using the race and class configuration of Holmes D&D to create the list of GURPS DF templates.

My boxed set of Holmes D&D goodness did not contain an adventure module. Instead, it came with dungeon geomorphs and monster/treasure lists. The two lasting effects of this were: (1) Each person in my original group created a dungeon to use when it was their turn to DM...my first year of D&D was homemade megadungeon only; and (2) We never used adventure modules (it is only in the last 10 years that I have even owned an adventure module).

GURPS Templates
Here is what I think a Holmes-inspired GURPS D&D game would look like in terms of templates:

• Dwarf Templates: Dwarf Cleric, Dwarf Fighter, Dwarf Fighter/Cleric.
• Elf Templates: Elf Fighter, Elf Fighter/Magic-User, Elf Magic-User.
• Halfling Templates: Halfling Fighter, Halfling Fighter/Thief, Halfling Thief.
• Human Templates: Human Cleric, Human Fighter, Human Magic-User, Human Thief.

If my math is correct, that is 13 different templates, which I think still gives players a fair amount of choice. The beauty of GURPS DF is that the template for an Elf Fighter can be very different from a Dwarf Fighter.

Points
A key part of GURPS is determining the starting points players receive to create their characters:

• 250 Points: This is the default number of points for character creation in GURPS DF. There are some good reasons for it as 250 points provides more options in character building and more tactical options in play. Characters are tough but still vulnerable.
• 200 Points: Characters are still hardy but would have fewer options and more vulnerability.
• 150 Points: This would more closely mimic the experience of low level Holmes D&D but GURPS doesn't have the same kind of power curve, meaning more experienced GURPS characters are left in the dust by their D&D counterparts. The dual class character templates could be particularly anemic at 150 points.

Eric Smith has some additional thoughts on what GURPS DF character templates could look like at different point levels.

Conclusion
Right now, my schedule is not allowing me to do much gaming. Weekend evenings are filled with music performances and weekday nights are spent on other things. It is fun, however, to do some thought experiments and blogging as a substitute.

*I wish I still had my copy of the Holmes rule book as it was the first printing. "Hobbits" were one of the four races and this was later changed to "Halflings" in later printings.

Related Posts
Comparing GURPS and D&D on Dungeon Design
Systems Matter: Exploration, Encounters and Intent in the Megadungeon

Montporte Dungeon Mysteries: Vardray's Discontinuity and the Deep Dark

Introduction
Deep under the earth lies the Vardray Discontinuity. It was discovered in ancient times by the sage and wizard, Vardray. His writings have been lost to us, but Pliny the Alder, the great elven scholar and encyclopedist, has preserved excerpts of Vardray's work in his Gazetteer of Arcane Geography. Pliny lived in late antiquity and some of his works have not been passed down to us. Fortunately, we do have a number of reliable and complete copies of his Gazetteer of Arcane Geography.

Pliny on the Vardray Discontinuity
In his Gazetteer of Arcane Geography, Pliny records the following with regards to the Vardray Discontinuity.

The mighty elven wizard Vardray is the first to describe what is now known to sages and scholars as the Vardray Discontinuity. How Vardray discovered the discontinuity is shrouded in mystery, but many stories come to us of Vardray’s unique and creative laboratory spells and his renown courage as an explorer. 

Vardray, in his Observations from the Field: Volume 2, writes:

And it came to pass that I learned of an odd and major arcane feature in the eastern mountains. The dwarves, in the Elder Days, named these mountains, Dragonfang. I have found that there is a very narrow zone that separates an upper region of the earth’s volume from the deeper region below this narrow zone of separation. 

Above this separation zone [now known as the Vardray Discontinuity—Pliny], the rock and soil contain very little magic. This is the earth—the rock, stones and soil—that we see around us every day. I call this the Mundane Zone. However, below this zone of separation lies a region permeated by magic and wonder. I call this the Deep Zone. 

This Deep Zone is permeated by a magical energy such that certain kinds of plants are able to draw sustenance from it much like our trees, grasses, vines and crops draw life from the sun. In turn, these plants support a wide variety of other creatures. Indeed, I have learned of races living in the Deep Zone and raise crops of Deep Zone plants for food and trade. Stories of these societies can be found among the dwarves. 

The material of our universe is somehow altered in this Deep Zone so that has the most amazing and wondrous properties. I have discovered some of these properties during my investigations. Firstly, in the Deep Zone, the material of our universe is stretched thin, for lack of the better term. There are places where powerful creatures find it easy to pass from their home plane to our plane of Aarde and back again. This, of course, makes the Deep Zone both interesting and dangerous.

The Deep Zone also features areas where the laws of geometry do not match the geometry of our surface world. For example, there are many areas where careful mapping would tell a Deep Zone traveler that their destination is 2 days distant, when in fact, the destination is 5 days distant. Goblin traders from the Deep Zone have told me that special maps are required to navigate between locations in the Deep Zone. The goblins, keeping these maps to themselves, have become masters of Deep Zone trade. 

The goblins have also told me of cities and lands that lie outside of our dimension, yet have access or a portal via the Deep Zone. These cities and lands are part of our plane, the plane of Aarde, yet they are not. The goblins’ descriptions of these lands are beyond belief, but I would not be surprised if they contain much truth. 

Much to the delight of dwarves, great riches can be mined in the Deep Zone below the eastern mountains [Dragonfang]. Dwarven history is filled with the establishment of mines and cities in and above the Deep Zone in the eastern mountains [Dragonfang]. The stories of these settlements have the same sad plot, the discovery and extraction of obscene amounts of metals and gems of all sorts followed by horrible and complete disaster from below. As I noted above, the Deep Zone is a dangerous place. 

In terms of geography, the Deep Zone lies closest to the surface in areas of the eastern mountains [Dragonfang]. The narrow zone that separates the Deep Zone from the Mundane Zone plunges deeper into the earth as one moves west away from the mountains towards more civilized lands. In fact, I was unable to determine any evidence that the Deep Zone exists beneath our own settled lands to the west. On the other hand, my preliminary work in the laboratory and field indicates that the Deep Zone does exist beneath the wild land to the east of the eastern mountains [Dragonfang]. The Deep Zone lies deeper below the surface of the wild land than it does in the eastern mountains [Dragonfang] but it is clearly there below the surface. I believe that the existence of the Deep Zone beneath the wild land might be the reason the wild land is so wild.

I, Pliny, have in my own humble travels come across interesting settlements and history in the Dragonfang. For example, there is a settlement of humans who have dedicated themselves to understanding the fundamental fabric of the universe by studying the elements and energies. I believe that they have found this easier by living in close proximity to the Deep Zone. There are also dark and ancient tales of kobolds abiding in the Deep Zone and master the magic of the elements and energies for malevolent purposes. Fortunately for us today, kobolds have lost both the knowledge and interest in such dangerous magic. I have written more about this in other writings.

Related Posts
The World of Montporte
The Montporte Region: History and Geography
The Deep Dark: That Which Lies Beneath the Montporte Dungeon
Montporte Cosmological Notes: On the Planes
Montporte Cosmological Notes: On the Elements
Montporte Cosmological Notes: On the Energies
Goblins (Fey)--Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter
Peoples, Tribes, and Gangs in the Montporte Dungeon
Little Larry the Kobold (an NPC's story)

Related Maps

The town of Montporte and surrounding area

The Montporte region

Dungeon Rules: Super Simplified S&W

After running 46 sessions of the Montporte Dungeon Campaign with three different rule sets (in succession, not concurrently!), I am thinking of how or what I would differently in terms of rules. Just as an FYI, the three rule sets were: AD&D 1e, Blood & Treasure, and D&D 5e.

Anyway, this is just a little thought experiment on rules and their impact on play, particularly in a dungeon environment. In this post, I want to write out something that I have thought about for a bit: What if the dungeon (in this case, a megadungeon) was a unique feature in an otherwise mundane and non-fantasy medieval world?

Rules
Start with the Sword & Wizardry Core Rules. Allow the players only two character choices: (1) Human Fighters and (2) Human Thieves. In this world--at least on the surface--there is no magic. And there are no elves, giants, or dragons. Just a mundane, medieval world. However, the dungeon and its connection to the mythic Deep Dark fills in the blanks with weird and magical creatures, plus magic items that are not part of the surface world's experience.

Purpose
There are several objectives in running such a narrow, stripped down version of an already rules-light system:

• Focus play on exploration, rather than tactical combat.
• Focus the players to find different and creative solutions to challenges poised by having such limited options.
• Highlight the sense of danger and weirdness with regards to the dungeon.
• Magic items become highly prized.

Challenges
There are lots of challenges to running this sort of stripped down dungeon campaign:

• YIKES! No healing spells! Part of this could be offset by adding some first aid skills, dropping in healing potions, pools, etc, and/or allowing some sort of slow recovery of hit points.
• Not much character class choice. 
• Lack of magic reduces the party's tactical options and abilities.
• It could just really suck and be boring.

Variations and Options
I have thought of some variations and options:

• Just have one class--Fighters. Perhaps players could add one or two thief skills of their choice to their characters.
• Allow all 3 (or 4) character classes from S&W Core: Cleric, Fighter, and Magic-User (and Thief). Just restrict the race to human.
• Bump up the technology so that player characters have access to early gunpowder weapons.

Conclusion
The tendency with RPGs and gamers is to push for more options and choices in character builds, classes, powers, spells, skills, and abilities. What does a game look like, feel like and play like when the rules go in the opposite direction and provide only very limited options? Does it make it less interesting or more interesting in terms of challenges in play?

Response Posts By Others [Later Edit]
Streamlined Gaming (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Low Magic With Swords and Wizardry (Bat in the Attic)
Minimalistic Gaming (Gothridge Manor)
Weirder Fantasy (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Megadungeons with Streamlined Rules (Circle of Dar Janix)

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 45 Notes

Peter D (Dungeon Fantastic) had a nice summary of this session in his blog post, 5e D&D - Montporte Megadungeon - 1/19 Summary of Play.

Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Breena Honey-Badger Warrick (Gnome, Barbarian): Joshua (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Rogue): Rob (Bat in the Attic)
Nosphryc Azurecoat (Human, Fighter): Douglas (Gaming Ballistic) [Played this session by Peter D (Dungeon Fantastic)]
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Rogue): Dan
Marcus Aurelius (Magic sword): NPC
Benn (Human): NPC
Lucky (One eyed, three legged blink dog): NPC
13 Rescued Gnomes (Abel; Dilrod; Dwemmon; Ernst; Evinrude; Fern; Fernando; Gemflower; Happenstance; Homer; Priscilla; Rosepetal; Zelma Lynn): NPCs
Abakarkabasharaba (5 Githzerai): NPCs

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
The last session ended with the brave adventurers taking a long rest in Room 1 (Map A above). They heard a scream in the distance in the middle of the rest but it was otherwise uneventful. The player characters were at least 28 miles below the world's surface, although the distance was only an estimate as their exact location was a mystery (thanks to a teleport in Session 37).

After the long rest, the party moved north to Area 2 (Map A above). Here they found two eviscerated hobgoblins, with a trail of blood and guts leading east up the steps (Area 3 on Map A). The party had a brief conversation as to whether they should follow the trail of blood east (Area 3), explore Area 5, or head west down the stairs (Area 4).

They opted to head west and down, using the stairs in Area 4. They wanted to to complete their quest and deliver the rescued gnomes back to their homeland (which they believed was west).

The party descended west down the stairs. This proved to be another long descent. After descending 7 vertical miles (and heading west 7 horizontal miles). The party met five humanoids, who spoke strangely, but were not unfriendly. They turned out to be 5 githzerai (3 monks and 2 zerth), who went by the name of Abakarkabasharaba. They asked about Allindrihl, the elf mushroom farmer living on Level 2 of the Montporte Dungeon, and the player characters let them know where he lived. In turn, the githzerai let the adventurers know that they were on the right path to the gnomes' homeland. At the bottom of the stairs, the adventurers were told they would find Benn and he would be of help to them. The player characters and the githzerai each said their farewells and moved on.

The party descended another 7 vertical miles and found that when they reached the bottom of the steps, they were also entering a large cave. The party noticed that they had entered a mushroom forest of some kind. They followed a path that led them to Benn (a 7' tall human), Benn's blink dogs, and two small sturdy cottages with a larger house in the distance. Benn was friendly rustic type who complained about trolls and hobgoblins. Some of the gnomes knew him, which convinced the wary adventurers that he could be trusted.

Map B--Benn's House

He invited them to stay in his two cottages and brought a pork & mushroom dinner to them, prepared by his wife (who, according to Benn, was in the big house).

The two cottages each had a very sturdy door, lots of garlic, and an ample supply of wooden stakes. He warned them not to invite anyone into the cottages and then bid them a good night.

The party had another uneventful long rest and were furnished with a tasty breakfast. Benn told them that they would need to pass through a mushroom forest, inhabited by stone giants, to get to the gnomes' home to the west. They should stay on the path, only fight if attacked, stay away from the sticky black cave moss, and the green slime. The stone giants would let them pass so long as the party followed these rules. As a dubious bonus, the party (Duncan, actually) acquired a one-eyed three-legged blink dog, named Lucky, from Benn.

Map C--The Mushroom Forest (1 hex = 1 mile)

The party then set out into the dark, subterranean forest. They traveled quite a distance from Benn's house (Area 6 on Map C above) to Area 7, where they encountered several giant glowing (red) boars. Some of the boars moved towards the party in a slow aggressive manor. The rest of the boars stayed back, nervously watching the encounter unfold.

Map D--The Boar War (1 hex = 5 feet)

Eventually, a few of the boars moved close enough to the party to charge. Luven darted south and led a group of boars on a long chase south and west. The rest of the party closed ranks as a few more boars that moved towards them.

The boars chasing Luven were, for the most part, unable to get close enough to attack. One boar managed a fire breath attack that did considerable damage to Luven. This also betrayed something of the boars' true nature (they were giant fire boars). Luven had 5 giant fire boars chasing him while another 2 boars eventually attacked the main body of the party. A remaining giant fire boar fled slowly to the north.

Luven led the boars chasing him into a patch of black dungeon moss, where 3 of them became mired. The remaining 2 fled north. In the meantime, the rest of the party dispatched the 2 other giant fire boars, although the player characters were wounded in the process. The 2 dead giant fire boars immediately cooked themselves and each had an apple appear in its mouth.

The party hustled quickly to the west as the 3 giant fire boars trapped in the moss slowly extricated themselves. The 3 other giant fire boars continued to move north out of sight.

The party moved to Area 8, where they found their westward path intersecting a path from the north. Here the party opted to take a long rest and we ended the session.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 2 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 3 (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level A (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level B (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Down A (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Down B (1 square = 5 feet)

28 Miles Down (1 square = 5 feet)

42 Miles Down (1 hex = 1 mile)

Systems Matter: Exploration, Encounters and Intent in the Megadungeon

Dungeon Explorer

I am a firm believer that the "3 E's"--Exploration, Encounters, and Extraction--do a pretty good job of capturing the essence of megadungeon play. There are plenty of rule sets that will support 3 E megadungeon play: The various editions of D&D (and its clones), GURPS, Tunnels & Trolls, and Savage Worlds are just a few of the many rule sets that will do more than an adequate job supporting dungeon play.

This being said, rule sets are not interchangeable (this, as my college physics textbook says, "is intuitively obvious to the casual observer"). Some rule sets better support tactical choices in combat while other rule sets support quick play and exploration.

Of the three, extraction seems like the least affected by the rule set used. This leaves exploration and encounters. Of these two, encounters are directly impacted by the rule set used while exploration is indirectly impacted.

Gibson Explorer

Let's assume that a dungeon-based gaming session is going to last 4 hours. Those 4 hours are going to be made up of two primary activities: Exploration and encounters. Exploration is typically a systemless activity. Player characters move through a dungeon and, regardless of system, can cover about the same amount of distance on a map per hour of session time. I am sure that there are some exceptions to this, but, in general, the speed of exploration is more a function of GM and players than it is a function of rule set and system.

This is not the case with encounters. Assuming that most encounters result in combat, then the speed in which a rule set decides an encounter determines how much time is spent on the encounter. Simple, abstract rule sets, like Swords & Wizardry, have short real time encounters. More complex tactical rule sets, like GURPS and Pathfinder, have much longer encounter resolution times. On the positive side, these rule sets offer players and GMs plenty of tactical options (I am true fan of GURPS in this regard). The down side of this tactical richness is the time it takes to resolve the encounter.

What this means for the 4 hour gaming session is that, with a more complex rule set, more time is spent on encounters. By default, less time is spent on exploration. Reducing the number of encounters is the only clear way to mitigate the impact of a tactically complex rule set.

This is where intent comes in. If the GM and players have a common intent within the dungeon campaign, then it becomes much easier to be select a rule set and, more importantly, be content with the strengths and limitations of that rule set after many sessions of play. If the intent is to maximize tactical choices for players in a dungeon setting, then GURPS is the way to go in my book. If the intent is to maximize the amount of geography covered so that it is feasible to explore a really really big dungeon, then a simpler rule set like Swords & Wizardry Core would be my choice. In each case, GM and players have to be content with what they have and also what they give up. After all, it is entirely possible to revisit the same dungeon with a different intent and rule set.

I have been thinking about rule sets and intentionality from time to time, just because I think about things like this. More recently, I have been thinking about this since we have switched to D&D 5e. It is a slick, well-designed system...I like it a lot. However, it is slower than Blood & Treasure, our previous rule set, when it comes to encounter resolution. In turn, this has taken time away from exploration. And, D&D 5e doesn't have a lot of tactical crunch in combat, thus leaving our tactical crunch guys yearning for more. There is a lot of out-of-combat decisions that the players must make--which was one of the goals of D&D 5e (perhaps the subject of a future post).

As for me, my intent in creating the Montporte Dungeon was to focus on exploration, by creating a huge dungeon that would be too big to completely explore. And this dungeon would also have lots of connections to the Deep Dark...more connections to what lies below than to the surface world.

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 44 Notes

Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic) has an excellent summary of this session in Montporte 44 - Attunement and Grimlocks.

The Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Breena Honey-Badger Warrick (Gnome, Barbarian): Joshua (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Rogue): Rob (Bat in the Attic)
Nosphryc Azurecoat (Human, Fighter): Douglas (Gaming Ballistic)
13 Rescued Gnomes (Abel; Dilrod; Dwemmon; Ernst; Evinrude; Fern; Fernando; Gemflower; Happenstance; Homer; Priscilla; Rosepetal; Zelma Lynn)

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
At the end of the last session, the brave adventurers were counting the contents of the piles of gold and silver bars they had obtained after defeating two of four hobgoblins and two trolls. Two of the hobgoblins had managed to teleport away, but the party still came away with a lot of gold and silver [solidifying the reputation of hobgoblins as the ATM machines of the Montporte Dungeon].

The party decided to further explore this level, which was at least 28 miles below the earth's surface. They were not sure of this as there was a teleport involved in Session 37. Since teleporting, the party is not actually sure of where they are or how to return to the known area of the Montporte Dungeon and the earth's surface.

Starting in Area 1 (Map A above) the party moved south and into Room 2. Here they found a shallow pool of very clear water. Using the Lens of Melnar, they determined that the water was not magical, but the stone forming the pool basin was enchanted. The stone had the ability to purify water, so the party used the opportunity to fill up on drinking water.

The party continued to move south into Room 3 (Map A above). This room had 6 rusty eye bolts built into the walls, about 3 feet above the floor. There were three bolts on the west wall and three bolts on the east wall. While investigating the bolts and looking for secret doors, the party noticed that the floor was quite worn underneath each eye bolt. They finally determined that this room was used as a stable for mounts and pack animals of some kind.

The party then moved back north to Area 1 (Map A above) then west to Room 4. This room was thick with dust and cobwebs, but there was a clearly identifiable foot path through it from Area 1 to Room 5, with the appearance of a lesser amount of traffic towards Area 13.

The party moved through Room 5 to Room 6 then south into Room 7. They could still see evidence of considerable foot traffic heading into all the corridors and rooms they encountered. The party moved into Room 8, where they were attacked by eleven grimlocks. The grimlocks had a well-conceived, but poorly executed, ambush waiting for the party. Grimlocks have lots of stealth but little smarts.

As melee ensued in Room 8, with the grimlocks being overmatched (despite their numerical superiority), a second wave of ten grimlocks swarmed towards the rear of the party from Area 9 through Room 7 (Map A above). The party was surrounded but this worked to their advantage, as it allowed all the party members to unleash their attacks on a larger number of foe. Had the grimlocks individually been tougher, the brave adventurers would have been in real trouble. Instead, the two front battle just sped up the process of dispatching grimlocks.

At the end of the battle, the remaining four grimlocks tried to flee, triggering some attacks of opportunity. Two more grimlocks went down, but two fled the scene. Luven was able to track down the final two in Area 10 (Map A above), with Nosphryc coming along behind him.

Besides a lot of small sacks of nasty meat, the grimlocks had a pink diamond (worth 5,000 gold pieces) and a mind flayer stuff doll of unknown use. The party couldn't figure out if it was a toy, a religious item, or something else.

The party continued into Room 11 (Map A above), which turned out to be a long irregular room with a vaulted ceiling. They guessed that this was the actual lair of the grimlocks, based on the amount of fecal matter along the east wall.

The party moved through Room 12, back into Room 8. Here they decided they would spend a long rest, with a pile of grimlock bodies serving as a partial barrier in the narrow corridor heading east out of the room. The long rest was uneventful, except for the distant scream heard during the second watch. The party had determined that, once the long rest was completed, they would explore Area 13, which appeared to be the only unexplored area on this level.

This is where the session ended.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 2 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 3 (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level A (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level B (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Below A (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Below B (1 square = 5 feet)

28 Miles Below (1 square = 5 feet)