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)

Toagmadath (Fey)--Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter

TOAGMADATH
Armor Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 5
Attacks: 1 Bite (1d6); 2 Claws (1d4 each)
Saving Throw: 11
Special: Attack Bonus; Darkvision; Find the Path; Invisibility; Telepathy
Move: 7
Challenge Level/XP: 8/800

The toagmadath (singular and plural) is a fey giant badger. It is belongs to the Summer Court of the fey and typically lives in remote forests near the border of the Summer and Winter Courts. The toagmadath is a fierce guardian, attacking any encroaching Winter Court creatures. It usually lives alone in fortified tunnels, but there are some tunnel complexes where the badgers live in small communities. There is a small minority of toagmadath that are pacifists. They are allowed to quietly leave Umírající, the plane of the fey, for other lands. This is done so that other toagmadath are not influenced by their philosophy and beliefs.

COMBAT: The toagmadath are dangerous foes in combat and are excellent at small group tactics.

ATTACK BONUS: Toagmadath gain a +1 attack bonus for every toagmadath attacking a single opponent in the same round, up to four toagmadath (maximum +4 attack bonus). If one toagmadath attacks an opponent, it has a +1 bonus to its attack roll. If two toagmadath attack a single opponent, each gains a +2 bonus for each attack roll. Three toagmadath gain a +3 attack bonus.

DARKVISION: The toagmadath can see up to 60' in total darkness.

FIND THE PATH: The toagmadath can cast Find the Path once per week. It lasts 2 hours below ground and a full day above ground. The toagmadath must rest for 24 hours afterwards. During this rest period, it has a -2 penalty to attack and is not able to use its attack bonus.

INVISIBILITY: The toagmadath can make itself invisible once per day and this invisibility will last for up to 12 hours. It is negated by actions, such as attacking a foe or casting Find the Path.

TELEPATHY: The toagmadath can project simple thoughts into the minds of others up to 30' three times per day.

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

The Death of Diana, My Longest Running NPC

In Session 1 of the Montporte Dungeon campaigns, Diana was rescued from a nk-ha (an aberration). The adventurers managed to bring her out of her coma. The adventurers rescued other humans held prisoner in the dungeon over the next few sessions and returned them to their homes. Diana, however, stayed on with the adventurers as the cave goat driver.

Diana stayed with the adventurers until Session 37. The party had to cross a chasm and decided to leave some of their NPCs behind, along with the cave goats. Diana remained with the NPCs and did not cross the chasm with the player characters.

When the second campaign started with Session 47, she joined the new team of adventurers as a torchbearer. When the adventurers acquired their own little herd of cave goats, she managed them while still carrying a torch for the party. Diana finally met her untimely end in Session 52 as the result of a "brain blast from" some mysterious frogs.

Despite being present with two different adventuring parties over the course of 43 sessions, Diana was a woman of mystery. By Session 37, it appeared that she might be pregnant. The adventurers also noticed that her eyes were turning black, as if they had become pupils only. At the start of Session 47 (a year later), she was not pregnant and her eyes had returned to normal. Diana's short life is over, but her story may continue.

Cardinal Spider--Montporte Dungeon Campaign Critter

CARDINAL SPIDER
Cardinal spiders travel in small roving bands made up of 2-8 males and 2-4 females. The males are the smaller of two (about 60 pounds in weight) and are deep red in color. The males also carry the baby spiders inside their bodies, once the eggs are fertilized. The male must die in order for the 4d4 baby cardinal spiders to leave his body. The females are larger (about 120 pounds in weight) and dull gray in color, with hints of red around the head and legs. They are more aggressive than the males in hunting and in combat. Baby cardinal spiders are black in color and about 1' in diameter.

FEMALE CARDINAL SPIDER
Armor Class: 2 [17]
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 Bite (1d6)
Saving Throw: 16
Special: Poison
Move: 14
Challenge Level/XP: 3/60

COMBAT: Female cardinal spiders are smart and aggressive hunters, using stealth and camouflage to gain an advantage over prey. They are tough foes in combat as they seek to shield the smaller males from harm, even at the cost of their own lives.

POISON: When an opponent suffers a bite from a female cardinal spider, the opponent must make a saving throw or be paralyzed for 1d6 turns.

MALE CARDINAL SPIDER
Armor Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 1
Attacks: Bite (1d4)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Live Baby Spiders
Move: 10
Challenge Level/XP: 2/30

COMBAT: Male cardinal spiders only attack when attacked or cornered. They will otherwise attempt to flee.

LIVE BABY SPIDERS: When the male cardinal spider dies, its exoskeleton splits and 4d4 baby cardinal spiders scramble out of the male's body the next round.

BABY CARDINAL SPIDER
Armor Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 1 hit point
Attacks: Bite (1 point)
Saving Throw: 18
Special: Nonw
Move: 6
Challenge Level/XP: 0/5

COMBAT: Baby cardinal spiders swarm any warm blooded creature within 20' of them after leaving the male's body.