Labyrinth Lord Recap

PCs:
Isabella - 3rd level human female fighter
Ember - 3rd level female 1/2 elven cleric
Safira - 3rd level female elf

NPCs:
Doran 1/2 hand
Belinda
The Krieger brothers (triplets)

We start with our heroes deep below the ruined monastery of St. Gyxag of Bochnoi. They have passed through the black door, descended a spiral stairway and emerged into a large natural cavern. Standing in the center of this cavern is a stone statue.

The faint sound of water falling accompanies the pitter patter of scattering possums as they approach the statue for closer inspection. Quite obviously a representation of St. Gyxag, even down to the smallest detail of the missing end of his right index finger, the group searches for clues. Eventually Ember places the finger bone at the tip of the statue's missing finger, which summons the ghost of St. Gyxag.

The statue rotates from the spot, and opens upon a cavity beneath that reveals that the Sword of Truth lies below the statue, but the Red Book is missing. St. Gyxag's ghost points towards where the book might be found, admitting that a very short man stole it. And after some further questioning, he also tells them that there is indeed another way out, and that it also lies in roughly the same direction.

Taking their leave, the party ventures into the caves in search of the Red Book. Safira leads that way, carefully probing the floor for traps while the others bring up the rear with light and weapons at the ready.

As the elf rounds a corner she spies two halflings standing in a four way intersection. They begin to twirl their slings and tell the group to head out and mind their own business. Isabella claims that they're here to see the halfling's leader.

They perk up a bit and ask if they're here to trade. "Sure", says the girls. Telling the party to wait right where they are, the halflings take off in separate directions.

Not trusting them one bit, the party circles up and keeps a vigilant look out. Eventually a lilting, musical voice addresses the party from the darkened southern corridor and asks what they might have for trade. Not wanting to tip their hand the girls start out small...And ask that they speaker show himself. "No thank you."

It's evident to the speaker that these adventurers aren't willing to part with much in trade, so threats are resorted to. A deal is given: Lie your gear down in the center of the room and you may leave.

In answer Fura tosses a burning torch into the darkened tunnel from whence the voice is issuing...But it reveals nothing. A tittering laugh issues from directly above the party's heads. Ember then casts detect magic and sees a glowing purple area directly above them. She tries to tell Safira where this lies so that the elf can utilize her charm.

DM NOTE: I ruled that Safira could cast a charm if she knew roughly where the target was. I gave the leprechaun a +4 to his save. This, on top of his natural 80% resistance anyway! Well Hambly rolled a 7 and missed his MR roll as well. So...now we have a charmed leprechaun.

Safira cast her charm and soon a small little man with disheveled green clothes, a stove-pipe hat and black buckled shoes appears in the air above their heads... A deal is soon reached and he scuttles out of site to retrieve the book. But the adventurers are not alone.

Out of the darkness, beyond the light of the torches, approaching quietly are the rest of Hambly's gang...10 halflings of the criminal element, bent on destruction and pillage. They approach, taunting, and calling out for the party to drop their gear and escape. But they've heard this line, and aren't falling for it this time either.

The halflings come out slings swinging. Of the 6 stones, 3 strike true, and unfortunately one of the Krieger's is taken down with a shot between the eyes. Another Krieger brother is also hit as well as Isabella. But as the halflings close in, Isabella takes her wrath out and drops one immediately. Which in turn causes two others to trip up upon themselves.

Safira sees an opening and fires off her web spell, catching 7...The remaining 3 aren't interested any longer, and flee into the darkness.

Mere moments later Hambly returns with the book. He doesn't seem overly surprised that his gang took advantage of the situation and neither does he seem to think that the party's reaction was over the top. He continues on with the bartering.

A few moments later, minus one magical bone club, a tiger's eye, feldspar and a fifth of whiskey, the group now finally has both artifacts. And during this period they hear that Hambly was intending to trade to book to Ylfrit for a position in her court. Again, the Unseelie court comes into the picture.

Before leaving though, Hamby tells the party that indeed yes, the ghost did not deceive, there is a second way out of the caverns. Either travel up the enchanted falls, but only after slaying the guardian, OR travel through the troglodyte warrens and escape via the swamp. Both dangerous, but they seem to be the only routes available, unless of course they want to go back up the stairs and confront an enraged priest and a were-rat.

...Unfortunately this is where we ended it. It was late, and the girls had to get to bed. Everyone had fun and we'll certainly try and continue it as soon as possible. But, as always, real life takes precedence.

Until next time, Ciao.

On Death and Dying

I just got done reading an older post over at Grognardia (link) and it got me to thinking about death and dying in the game of Dungeons and Dragons. One of the things that I really used to like about the game was that you could bring back a well loved character and continue on with the adventure. I might call this a "character-centric" game.

Today I'm of a bit different mind, I like the idea that dying is very real and very final, for a few reasons. First, I think that it makes dying that much more dramatic. If it's final, and you've struggled to get your character up to 9th level, death becomes a very spooky thing indeed. And secondly, it's more "game-centric". Meaning that it draws a little attention away from the character and towards the game.

But, I do have to say that raise dead and resurrect are both time-honored traditions, so dropping them whole cloth just doesn't resonate with me. So I've come up with this brief treatment:

While clerics can raise a person...it is not something to be taken lightly, for the journey back from the realm of the dead is fraught with consequence. The following list must be rolled against each time a person is forced back from their natural state of death:

1. The mind of the recently dead has remained in the nether realms...(They're now effectively a "mobile vegetable" w/ an int and wisdom of 3)
2. The paths back are laced with Chaos...(The retrieved is now purely chaotic and "twisted". Possibly now possessed by a demonic entity.)
3. The mark of Chaos has physically been left upon the recipient...(An appendage has been permanently replaced with a slimy pseudopod, brought back with no eyes, mouth, nose, etc. Something visually dramatic.)
4. A vortex is opened, one of several things may happen: A servant of chaos is summoned, the cleric attempting the service and the corpse are sucked through the gate, the gate remains open for 1d6 days emitting chaotic radiation, a chaotic vision is revealed through the gate causing all viewing to make a save or go insane...etc.)
5. It succeeds, but...no living creature (man, animal, etc.) will tolerate being anywhere w/in sight of the newly revived. Their presence causes physical revulsion and sickness. (Chaotic monsters will attack on sight...)
6. It succeeds...No buts.

This is the reason that most, if not all (even the extremely wealthy) avoid bringing back loved ones, or those with lost wisdom, from the dead.

Labyrinth Lord Recap

Behold, yet another recap of my family game.

The PCs / Players:
Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2 (my wife)
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2 (youngest daughter)
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (eldest daughter)

We open with the party looking for two hirelings, and deciding that the bartender of Ortloff's House of Sludge would be a likely source of knowledge in this regard, Ember makes a deal: A purify water spell or two in trade for the bartender's aid in finding some decent hirelings. It is agreed upon...she (the bartender) will have them by morning of the next day.

In the interim Safira heads to the west, looking for an open field in which she can practice her sword play. She spends an afternoon and near the end a horseman wanders past and asks if he may spar with her for a short time. Safira agrees. A few minutes of back and forth swordplay results in an early draw, but the longer it plays out it is obvious that the thin man in the armor is a far superior swordsman.

After a good half hour of sparring, the man introduces himself as Frekin, the capt. of the Keep's Guard. He compliments Safira on her skill and they strike up a quick conversation regarding the mapping of the wilderness that the party has undertaken. He says the the Duke is very interested in expanding his holdings and would pay handsomely to those that aid him in doing so. Even so far as to bequeath land...if the deed(s) were of sufficient merit. Either way, the Duke is very interested in any information he can gather on the land to the East of the Hruesen river.

Later that evening, after supper the party turns in and spend a pleasant evening under cover of a roof, away from the stinging and biting insects of the wet season.

Morning dawns overcast and with it comes the sound of fighting down in the tavern. Sure enough, the Krieger brothers are involved. All have gathered to set forth on the next stage of the journey to the Ruined Monastery. The bartender has been successful in finding a couple of hirelings and she introduces Birg and Doran Half-hand.

Birg is slow in speech, disheveled in appearance and smells bad. The likelihood of him being an asset is small. The party summarily dismisses him. Doran on the other hand is a competent fellow. Horribly maimed in a fishing accident, the man has only the fore-finger and thumb on his right hand. He speaks with a lisp due to damage that has scarred his face. Claiming that he was beset upon by a giant gar in the river that pulled him under and then let him go, he considers himself lucky, but still, he wants to try his hand at something other than fishing for a living.

DMNOTE: My youngest plays the cleric, who has an 18 charisma (rolled, I swear) which makes her the natural envoy for the party. She rolled extremely high for the reaction with Doran so he's a loyal man. In fact, I'm going to have him sort of fawn over her a bit and really ham it up a bit. See where it goes.

After breaking fast the group heads towards the river, whistle in hand, with the intent of crossing and setting trail through the woods straight towards the Monastery. Doran is obviously nervous, but he rides behind Ember and clasps her tightly... All goes well and they make it across as a group safely.

Once into the woods, they take their bearings via the ridge in the distance, seen from on high across the tops of the intervening wooded hills, and set off at a brisk pace...They want to make it before nightfall.

At lunch they take a breather, and most sit down to eat while Safira climbs a tree to see if they're headed in the right direction. Unfortunately no, they're not. Instead they're trending more in a southerly direction, towards some fetid swamp land. In fact, while she's up there, Safira swears that as the mists clear w/ an errant gust of wind, that she can see strange blocky ruins jutting up from the surface of the still waters. Noting this, she climbs down and informs the party.

They set off upon their new bearings and encounter nothing dangerous or untoward in the trek up and down the wooded hills and ravines. Come nightfall though, they reach the long hill, upon which sits the ruins they're searching for. Safira slowly sneaks around and scouts the area but it appears vacant...for the time being.

Making camp in the tumbled down remains of one of the outbuildings the party sets up a small fire and lays out the guard rotation. Again, the evening passes w/out event.

Next morning they light their mini-lamps and descend into the dungeons, intent on finding the Black Door. Following their map, they trod upon now familiar path ways, Isabella and Ember lead, Belinda follows closely with lantern and behind her comes Safira, the Krieger brothers, Doran and finally Fura the halfling adventurer.

Ember hears some strange scratching at the rock and holds up her hand. She approaches the corner looming from the gloom and spies what appears to be a horde of massive rats digging at the corridor wall. She quickly ducks back before being seen and signals for Safira to come to the fore. This is the perfect place for a sleep spell.

The elven warrior wizard peaks as well and then begins the spell in a quiet voice, hoping the wall will muffle the sound. She then flings the sand into the air and completes the spell...all but one rat goes down. This one scurries about, sniffing at his fallen pack-mates.

A noise made by Isabella alerts the lone rat and it slowly approaches the group. As it does so it somehow changes before their eyes. It elongates and the long snout becomes shorter as the forelegs turn to human looking arms, terminating in obviously human hands. About 10 feet away it stands up. It is now dressed and has a rapier by its side. It peers at the exposed members and asks in common what their business is here.

*DM NOTE: The girls were totally freaked out at this. My eldest was very reticent in attacking the creature, stating that anything with the power to change like that, and that approaches superior numbers, that are armed no less, with out fear, has something up its sleeve. How right she is... After rolling it turns out that the rat-man is neutral towards the party.

He hisses out in his strange voice that he doesn't appreciate the attack upon his pack-mates. Isabella offers up that they haven't had much luck with rats here lately and this is a humane way with which to deal with them. The rat-man agrees...but he states that if they want past they'll have to pay a fee. This is after all, his portion of tunnel, due to the fact that well, he's here.

Bargaining ensues and an agreement of 1/5 of the haul will be sacrificed upon the party's return for their safe passage. He awakens his comrades and after a few squeaking phrases they move to the sides and watch while the party passes. As they disappear down the hall he calls after that he's got eyes and ears everywhere, so don't even think of cheating him.

Not long afterwards they come upon the tunnel that the goblin claims leads to Melchert and the Black Door. The traverse the distance and note that the halls lead downwards significantly. A few corners brings them to a room, partially collapsed and dimly lit by black candles set upon skulls, all surrounding a sturdy looking iron-bound black door. Also therein can be viewed a shuffling man, enshrouded by black robes so that it's difficult to see him clearly. He mumbles as he shuffles back and forth across the room, placing objects along the far wall.

Again, it is Safira that is called to the fore. Her magic is again needed. While she's preparing her sleep spell, Ember prepares her protection from evil and casts it upon herself just as Safira completes her spell. The man in the chamber slowly sinks down to the floor and lies motionless. It appears that it's worked.

DM NOTE: If you haven't kept up with the entire thread of the story, you're probably wondering how Safira and Ember are able to cast so many spells. I'm utilizing Al Krombach's spell point system. It was originally created for Castles and Crusades but I've modified it a bit for LL. It gives the girls a bit more horsepower on the front end. It evens out as it goes along though.

As Isabella moves into the room a skeleton detaches itself from the shadows in the near corner and swiftly swings its notched and rusted blade at the amazonian. She ducks back quickly and the blade swings wide. The rest of the group rushes into the room and furious battle ensues.

Ember turns one of the three skeletons in the room...the one she can currently see, while Safira and Isabella set upon the other guardian. Seeing that blades don't due much damage, Isabella grabs the bone club acquired from the Orc chieftain and sets to her grim task. The skeletons soon fall, and Isabella is the only one to take a scratch.

But the process has awoken Melchert and he arises from the floor to face his enemies. Thinking quickly, Safira casts a charm person upon the dark cloaked figure...hoping against hope that it will work. And it does... After a brief negotiation Safira convinces Melchert that he should head over with the remaining skeleton and dig for the key. He readily agrees that this would be a marvelous idea, since he "knows" where it lies, and those feckless goblins and redcaps failed so miserably.

Isabella then approaches the Black Door. She knocks one of the strange black candles to the ground and whooomph! the lights go out. The party quickly relights the lamps that were put out earlier in the hallway and all is well. They clear the skulls and notice that below them was drawn a semi-circle in blood. The sight sends shivers up their spines.

Again employing Fura's method of wiring the key to the end of the 10' pole, the party opens the door. There is apparently no traps as the thick, swollen door stubbornly opens to reveal...A dark and dank stairway down into darkness.

And this is where we cut it short.

Stay tuned for their descent into the Darkness Below. Bwa Ha Ha Ha!

Labyrinth Lord Recap

Hey there. Yep, it's time again for yet another update of the ongoing saga of the all-girl adventuring crew. ;-)

The PCs / Players:
Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2 (my wife)
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2 (youngest daughter)
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (eldest daughter)

If you remember, we stopped last time w/ our hearty adventurers patching up wounds and constructing a stretcher for Belinda, their woman at arms, after a particularly vicious jumping-spider attack. Poor Belinda is paralyzed and can't move a muscle, so the decision to exit and get her some help is reached. Out they go.

On the way out they come around a corner and are face to face with a horde of rats. They're squealing and swarming over what appears to be some type of small deer that has unfortunately wandered down the stairs. The women watch for about a second before Isabella pulls out a flask of oil, lights it, and tosses it on the carpet of moving teeth... It ignites and scatters the horde, burning rats are sent skreeling and running everywhere.

Cautiously they move up the stairs, it's night out and they're aware that with the dark comes the "*big nasties".

*DM NOTE: My daughter's exact line.

Nothing is encountered and the party takes refuge amongst the broken-down walls of an outbuilding. After about an hour and a half, the poison finally runs its course through Belinda's veins. She's up and about. Sore...but alive, and happy for it.

Food is running out and torches are now in short supply, so a joint decision is made to high tail it back to Botkinburg. But first they must retrieve the stone chest containing the electrum pieces as well as the corpse of their fallen henchman.

After a light breakfast, (they're now conserving rations in anticipation of trouble on the way back to Botkinburg) the party descends back into the catacombs beneath the Ruined Abbey. Traversing the halls they come to the room wherein they had the jumping-spider encounter. And as Isabella steps around the corner, 3 black arrows come winging out of the darkness. The shafts shatter upon the stone right next to the warrior woman's head, causing her to flinch back and take cover around the corner.

Safira and the Krieger brothers come to the fore with bows drawn...Soon the sound of whirring arrows fills the air as both sides partake in a cat and mouse game of archery. The goblins are appallingly poor marksmen and they eventually fall to the superior skills of the adventurers. 2 of the 3 goblins go down with arrows protruding from various vital points. The remaining goblin throws down his bow, and screams that he's giving up.

After tying him up and questioning him, the party finds out that indeed Melchert had found the location of the key but couldn't find access to it. Once the party had slain the last work detail, he sent his remaining goblins to wait in ambush, just in case they came back.

The goblin also knows where the black door is and that Melchert guards himself with undead! This frightens the party considerably and they all agree that they must retreat from this dank dungeon and hastily make their way to Botkinburg for resupply.

Instead of heading to the toll (troll) bridge they cut straight across the wilderness in the hopes that they can cross the Hruesen river with the magic flute they possess. Nothing untoward occurs on their journey and the party eventually reaches the shores where they utilize the flute to make their way across.

By nightfall they're in the town of Botkinburg, and after a warm meal, and a little cleaning up, they relax and talk shop. A few days in town allows ample time to restock and to ask around regarding the bone scroll tube and its contents: A map. Upon the map is a written one single sentence with an arrow pointing to an area of the Black Tooth Ridge. The line reads: "Redoubt of the Horned One".

Turns out that most villagers know of the "Horned One". He's the bogeyman and was also a ruler of this area long long ago. No one knows if he's partially divine or if he's just some type of uber powerful creature but the rumor is that he was never slain. Only driven back and forced into hiding.

The party rolls up the map and places it back into the tube. Now stocked up, the next task is to hire some more folks to come along on an adventure. Unfortunately they've nearly run the little town out of available henchmen...and the fact that most of them come back dead won't help negotiations. But that's for next time.

Stay tuned...

Labyrinth Lord Recap

Hello gentle readers...sit back, relax, and let me take you to the days of yesteryear. Well, ok maybe not yesteryear. More like two days ago. Anyway with out further adieu.

The PCs / Players:
Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2 (my wife)
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2 (youngest daughter)
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (eldest daughter)

We start off with our party of adventurers deep in the bowels of the Ruined Monastery, standing at a three way intersection. Their mission, to find the black key and then, the black door. Once through, they must retrieve the Red Book of Knowledge as well as St. Gyxag's Sword of Truth. These are then to be returned to the old monk in Botkinburg for a reward.

The faint sound of metal striking stone can be heard off to the left..reverberating through the stone halls. A staccato "crack" punctuates the sound every now and again. Ember, who is currently leading the group, confers with Isabella and they decide that they'll go towards the noise first.

A few minutes of traversing the dark corridors finds the group peeking around a corner at a drowsing yellow skinned humanoid. Dressed in thick leathers, he leans casually on a pike, his head dipping now and again as he drowses. Safira takes careful aim with her shortbow and dispatches the foe with nary a sound.

Around the next corner they spy a group of the yellow skinned blighters picking away at what appears to be a blank stone wall. They're being spurred on by a red cap...the evil fey wields a long wicked whip and cracks it over their heads on occasion and yelps that they should be digging faster.

Again, it's Safira who quietly dispatches the foe, this time with a well placed sleep spell. The rest of the party hastily moves in and makes sure they never again rise up to plague the lawful world again. Fura nearly makes the mistake of getting up and personal when doing in the Red Cap. The girls warn him off just in time, explaining that the creatures explode in a ball of flame when they die. He nods, eyes wide, moves back and kills the creature. No damage is incurred.

*DM NOTE: I forgot to instigate my new coup de grâce rule...Maximum damage and if that doesn't kill the creature then a save versus death magic must be made. Not sure if that rule's going to do the trick though. How about at higher levels? Why couldn't you just as easily slay a completely helpless 20th level fighter as you could a 1st level fighter? I need to think about this a bit more.

Looting the bodies produces a parchment, it seems that Melchert has found the Black Door and now knows the location of the Black Key as well. About 200 copper pieces are found as well...seems that Melchert is running low on funds and is now resorting to lowly coppers to pay his help. A little searching in the area of the goblin's pick work reveals a secret door which is only detectable by Ember. She even attempts to place Safira's hand over the thin cracks...and yet Safira feels nothing.

They eventually find the means of egress and it turns out that only Ember and Belinda are able to pass the door's threshold. Not happy about this situation the two carefully make their way into the inky darkness with a candle lamp lighting their way. After a few turns of the hallway they can see that it opens into a room and that a large square dark shape occupies the room and a darker yet shadow seems to loom beyond that.

Ember and Belinda both scurry out and inform the rest of the party of what they've found. Isabella asks why they didn't go in further...Ember answers that she's SCARED!

*DM NOTE: Ember is played by my 8 y/o daughter..she's the youngest and this seriously scared her. It took her probably 20 minutes in real time to screw up her courage to the level that would allow her to enter that shadowed room.

They are goaded by the rest of the party and finally decide that they should indeed find out what lies in the darkness of the room. Back down the tunnels they go and move into the room far enough to see that it's a large wooden desk w/ a skeleton sitting in a chair, skull bowed forward over it's chest. The hands are clasped at something near it's neck. What is not clear with the amount of light brought to bear, so the girls move closer.

Amongst the rotting robes lies a leather strap, and whatever depends from the terminus is what is clenched so tightly in the skeletal hands. Belinda pries them apart as Ember stands ready, holy symbol in hand. It turns out to be the black key. They rush out letting the other know that they've found the key.

After a brief celebration the two re-enter the room and rifle through the desk and the wardrobe found in the corner. A bone scroll tube and small key are discovered in the desk drawer as well as a small stone, iron-bound chest in the wardrobe. Again they bring forth their treasures to show the rest of the group.

*DM NOTE: I've been incredibly stingy of late, so to compensate I have added a bit of loot the this room...where previously there was none.

Ember checks the chest closely and finds a small catch inside of the keyhole. As she's about to insert the key Fura speaks up and suggests that it could possibly be trapped. He offers to open the chest instead. Sure enough, needles spring forth from the front of the lock as Fura carefully turns the key while it's attached to the end of a 10' pole.

*DM NOTE: A couple of things are working against me here in terms of every day DM'ing. The girls have a bit of emotional investment in their characters and they have a distinct lack of knowledge. So teaching them the "hard" way isn't really an option. So, how do you do it? Well you let a more experienced NPC take the lead every once in awhile.

Just as the lid clicks open a shadow detaches itself from the hall with a leap, and knocks one of the henchmen lookouts to the ground. A massive jumping spider has snared a meal! And of course it's not alone. The fight is on.

Unfortunately Belinda takes a shot as well and is within 1 hp of dying but is also poisoned (paralytic in this case). Ember heals her back up during the fight but can not fight the poison's course. Eventually, after losing one henchman and a paralyzed Belinda, the group destroys the three arachnids.

And again, that's where we ended it.

*DM NOTE: I know I've mentioned this before, but when you're playing with kids you have to take it easy and not rush them. My youngest was very very tentative with the skeleton...it literally took her forever to make up her mind. But once she did, she was quite proud of herself. It's an awesome feeling. We didn't really get much done in the span of nearly 2 hours. But again, it takes a little time for them in some of these newer situations.

All the same, it's so much fun. They're enjoying every little detail and don't want to stop by the end of each session. So for all of you parent gamers out there...don't hesitate, get the kids playing. It's seriously fun.

Labyrinth Lord Recap

Hello all you eager readers! (Ha...I've always wanted to say that.)

So here we are yet again, time for another thrilling recap of my familial LL game. This time we got just a bit more time to play, roughly two hours, which was nice. I'm eager for the day that we get just a tad more than two hours. It'll come, it's just a matter of time. "chuckle"

The PCs / Players:
Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2 (my wife)
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2 (youngest daughter)
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (eldest daughter)

We left off right in the middle of the action, which I'm loathe to do. But when two of your players are grade school children and the third is your wife (their mother), then you take what you can get and call it good.

And I just don't have the heart to institute that cruel table that Jeff Rients came up with. I can't imagine what my eldest daughter would do if I rolled a d6 at the end of a session and announced that her character had died. No, that just wouldn't do. My apologies to all you hard core DMs out there.

Four orcs lay dead at the feet of the group while the rest of them are "waking" up and getting camp broken down not more than 30 yards away. A quick plan was made: Safira will again peek out through a crack in the wall and cast her sleep spell, trying to take down the greatest number of orcs in one fell swoop.

This happens without a hitch and Isabella leaps over the wall to confront the one orc that was not taken by the spell. They meet in the middle and the amazon's sword cleaves the porcine fellow in twain. Just...That...Quick. Ember and the rest of the party creeps around and dispatches the rest of the sleeping creatures.

All but one that is. An odd orc was spotted by Safira as she cast her spell, this one, dressed in tattered purple robes, was smaller and seemed to be giving the orders. Turns out he's some type of shaman. This is the first spell caster that they've faced and they take particular interest in him.

Isabella asks if they think he might impart information. Maybe. So they tie him up and gag him. Also of note, they find two beaten and bedraggled children tied to a post on the edge of the camp. It appears that the two are from Botkinburg. One Sari and her brother Samuel, are farm children from along the Hruesen river on the outskirts of town.

Their homestead was attacked at night and their parents tried to fight the invaders off, which ended in blood. The children were tied up, and according to the shaman, were being taken to a place called the "Bleak Theatre", to be sold as slaves. (This information is plied from the shaman via a charm spell.)

Fura has never heard of the orcs crossing the river, but the family (Riversen) is familiar. This is bad news indeed. The shaman imparts that the tribe of the Bloody Eye is going to become wealthy by slowly draining the town of their "stock"...and they'll also eat well in the year to come. Bad news seems an understatement.

Well it's agreed by the group that one of the porters (Tom) will take the children back to the town. They're given extra food and directions and they set off in the morning. Isabella sees no use for the shaman and asks the group if they should free him or slay him. He's much to dangerous and chaotic a threat to let free...so he dies.

* DM NOTE: Now I'm not horribly comfortable w/ these types of situations...BUT, my eldest has read more books than I can count and she's no stranger to that type of brutality. Still, what does one do? Leave him tied up to perish of hunger and thirst? Set him free to terrorize some more? They did a just thing...it's after all a fairly black and white world that I'm running. I'm not interested in a "shades of grey" exercise in morality and I take pains in restating over and over that it IS fantasy.

Their mission, the recovery of the holy items, or at least their whereabouts, is their top priority and with that, they descend into the inky depths of the Ruined Monastery.

At the bottom of the stairs they find two redcap corpses, feathered with bolts, with an orc just a bit further on. It appears that the orcs got into a bit of a scuffle and came out on top.

With Safira, utilizing her elven vision, leading the party, they look at the map recovered from the goblin miners and decide to explore a few areas not on their map. One of the Krieger brothers carries a small shuttered candle lamp, just enough light to see the wall and keep the group together, with out ruining the elf's vision just up ahead.

The mildewy and damp hallways have not changed in the past week...and the dark is still as oppressive. The first door that they come to turns out to reveal a work room of sorts. It looks as if it's been avoided for the most part by the goblins and the red caps. Rotted wooden benches and shelves, festooned with rusting wood working and gardening tools lie on the floors and sag sadly along the walls. They exit the only other door in the room onto a hallway.

This they take to the right and then an immediate turn to the left to find another door. Herein lies an old store room...or larder. Isabella walks in and is immediately attacked from above by two massive spiders. Neither strike proves true and the arachnids are quickly dispatched. They rummage and closely check this room for secret doors but find nothing of value or interest.

*DM NOTE: My eldest, while an excellent adventurer (she constantly uses the 10' pole out ahead of her and is always describing what she's doing and how she's doing it) is very much the most tentative of the three. She HATES the fact that she might perish. Every single door and encounter causes her a great amount of consternation and stress. I'm not sure what to do about this. I'm happy that my wife is playing...she's much more direct and straight forward. I just hope my eldest loosens up a bit. She IS a hero after all, it's just tough convincing her of that.

So anyway, that's where we ended it. We had to take off and go celebrate my father-in-law's birthday.

Tune in for more next week.

My Favorite 10 Monsters

Alright, I'll bite. This has been going around and I think that I'd like to add my two cents.

10. Vampires: One of the most versatile monsters in the game, and therefore one of the most worthy foes, if played properly. I loved vampire movies as a kid, I guess that's carried over, along with a few other things eh? ;-)

9. Wererats: I'm going to have to agree with Amityville Mike on this one. Another monster that's got so much neat potential. I just love sneaks, thugs, cowardly attacks from the dark, and things of that ken, add in a dash of shape shifting and minor resistances and what's not to like?
*Also like Mike, one of my very favorite authors is Fritz Leiber.

8. Lizardmen: There's a bit of history behind this one. As a young teen I used to play Napoleonics and did a lot of painting for the group. (I wasn't all that good but I was willing.) Well the guy who ran the group knew I loved Tolkien, so he sent me this figurine that went to a game called Chainmail, and yeah you guessed it, it was a lizardman. I'd never seen anything like it and was immediately intrigued. The rest is history. That and the monster lives in one of the most difficult terrain types for characters to operate in. Love it.

7. Trolls: A giant, regenerating, eating machine that can rend a person limb from limb. They're so ferociously confident and ravenous that they never stop coming. Death wont stop these creatures...I remember the first time we put one of these things down and were walking away. Hint: Never turn your back on a troll, unless it's in a flaming heap.

6. The Venerable Red Dragon: Something about a reptilian, fire-breathing, intelligent, ancient, covetous creature that can snuff an entire town out in a fly-by just screams COOL! to me. I suppose it was Smaug that started it all, but the game was named after one of these creatures after all. Staid? Sure...but still awfully awe-inspiring.

5. The Evil Giant Tripartite: Hill, Frost and Fire. Against the Giants was a series of modules that I will never forget. I cut my teeth on these, and the giants therein were so vividly portrayed that I will forever think of Nosnra, the Frost Giant Jarl and of course King Snurre Iron Belly when running giants. Maybe it was Tramp's art...but it was certainly the magic that Gygax infused into his descriptions. If an evil human can be spooky, imagine a giant one!

4. Clay Golem: There's just something inherently creepy about this slick, deep-earth stinking, murderous automaton. A creature that can, all of the sudden, just go ape-shit and start delivering an up-tempo beat-down. And the fact that the wounds can't be healed by normal methods? That send chills down most adventurers spines...I know it certainly does mine.

3. Ghoul / Ghast: Tell me that eating the flesh of the dead just does not make your skin crawl. These are the penultimate threat at lower levels. The idea that they're never sated; the more they eat the more they hunger, just simply strikes a chord of fear deep inside me. That they're so accursed the charnel smell simply follows them wherever they go.

2. Effreti: For some reason when I think of an otherworldly, demonic creature, I think of these. Sure the fact that it was on the DMG might carry some weight with me, but overall these guys have power in spades at their beck and call, and the fact that they live in a City of Brass? Aw man...just too cool for school.

1. The Lich: I have a thing for the undead, maybe it's all those horror movies as a kid. But you add that with the fact that this creature is probably the baddest boy on the block, a serious power-lover's wet dream, you get something that's at the top of the food chain and at the bottom of all the vile deeds ever perpetrated.

I look over this list and I realize that it's pretty pedestrian, especially when you compare it to some of the others that are currently floating about, but you know what? I have a history with these guys listed above, and it's that they strike a chord of fear in me as well as a sense of history. These monsters might cause a few of the jaded folks to yawn and roll their eyes, but if they're smart, most of those same folks have a little alarm bell go off deep inside when they run across any of these...

fin

Ventilation

After reading Philotomy's postings on his Lost City games I was really intrigued about a small detail that he added to the module: Ventilation. Now this might not seem like a topic of much concern but it took seed and germinated...and this is what I've come up with.

Ventilation in a dungeon makes perfect sense in many cases. Now I'm not saying that it has to be present everywhere, but it's an absolutely perfect avenue for infestation from the outside as well as a vector for travel and attack. The way I envision this can run from anywhere between something simple like just plain ol shafts, to stuff that's cleverly hidden in the decorative stone work. (Philotomy's idea actually...)

I've got a few thoughts about the ventilation and how it might affect the dungeon as a whole. The upper levels would be supplied air through a cleverly engineered dcut system that transports air via the surface. Lower levels are a different matter though. There's a Fritz Leiber story (Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser) that involves both of the heroes being employed in an ancient but massive underground realm. The lower portions are supplied air by a whole crew of these specially bred slaves. They're one of the last surviving artifacts of the ancient race that built the place.

Their job is to constantly walk on these massive tread mills located on a completely dedicated level, which in turn run huge turbines that supply air through a duct system. In the end the creatures are eventually freed via a war between the surviving sides.

Wouldn't that be kind of neat though? Include a deep sub-level that's sole purpose is to supply a "service" to the rest of the dungeon? I know that people have talked recently about a group of neutral merchants, a slew of cleaners and general custodians or a group of runners. This is something a bit different...

Maybe initially it's not evident what they do. Imagine a massive cavern with hundreds of these blind, docile, long-lived creatures endlessly walking on tread mill-type devices. And attached to these are long belts that stretch up to a ceiling far overhead. And located there, are the massive turbines...hidden by darkness but the susurrus fills the chamber along with the dull thumping of the ponderous but ever enduring slaves.

Now of course an operation like this would require some type of support. Food, custodians and technicians, etc. Imagine a race of creatures who can nimbly climb the walls and work upside down upon the turbines and drive belts. Another group of creatures that take care of the "walking brutes", a group of farmers who tend to the penned insect farms and the wall-clinging fungus gardens, and then of course there's the overseer.

Who knows what the overseer is or does. But it's also long-lived and communicates to the masses via pheromones and scent. This could very well operate like a colony of insects. Or not.

Tuesday Night Game

We played our Labyrinth Lord game again last night and I thought I'd write another small recap in order to keep things straight in my mind.

The PCs / Players:
Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2 (my wife)
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2 (youngest daughter)
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (eldest daughter)

We pick up w/ our heroes at the bottom of The Hermit's hill, it is late morning and a discussion ensues over the next destination. Isabella and Ember think it prudent to head straight for the Ruined Abbey, while Safira would rather stop in Botkinburg first in order to restock before moving on to the Abbey.

*DM Note: I think the convincing item was that they would have had to re-cross the river Hruesen again if they were to go back to Botkinburg, and that giant gar still makes them all a bit nervous.

Although they had never traveled through the Tangle Downs this way to get to the Abbey, with the combination of the map and general knowledge of the surrounding terrain features it wasn't a monumentally insurmountable task. Isabella helped lead the party and as they camped for the first night it looked as if they were still headed in the correct direction...as far as they could determine.

About an hour and a half into the first watch Isabella feels the touch of cold metal on her neck and hears a heavily accented voice in her ear "Don't move...and don't make a sound." She doesn't.

It turns out that the group has inadvertently cut through elvish land and they elves are at a heightened sense of alert due to the riled up Bloody Eye Orcs to the north. Once the party is awake, the elvish scouts ask their business, and once they're content that the party isn't a threat they ask for a passage fee. Apparently Moonsilver, the elvish leader isn't pleased with humans trespassing on their lands...the elves are no big deal, but the humans are a different story.

*DM Note: A funny thing happened during this encounter (random btw). The elves attempted to disarm the sleeping characters...Safira awoke during the attempt and in reaction she hissed at the perpetrator. My wife was outraged that she should just sit and do nothing while watching the elf disarm her. There was a bit of a tiff between the two (wife and daughter). Needless to say I've got some very headstrong women in the house. It was interesting to say the least.

5gp a head seems to be the going rate, which adds up to the hefty sum of 50gp for the entire group! Luckily Ember thinks of the tiger eye gem acquired from battle with the orcs, it's 50gp. The elves check it and accept it as payment. Isabella finagles a passage back through the territory as part of the bargain, should they need it.

Moonsilver, the leader, says that if they should like the party can get some rest while the elves are in the area...nothing will sneak up on them. At this one elf pulls a small reed fife out of his pack, sits cross-legged upon the ground and begins to play a quiet tune while the others silently fade back into the surrounding darkness.

The morning comes and Safira is first awake, the musician stands, looks at the sky and says "There's a powerful storm coming." With that he nods and walks off into the forest.

*DM Note: This "warning" from the elf has a bit of double entendre connected with it. ;-)

As the day progresses the overcast sky thickens and around 2pm the skies open up and a deluge soaks the party to the skin in a matter of minutes. The rain continues unabated throughout the afternoon as the group looks for some sort of shelter.

An hour and a half of searching produces an overhang sitting about 10 feet above a gully. It doesn't appear that the water will reach the dry area so the party agrees that this will do for the evening. All 10 soaking wet, miserable adventurers bed down for the night and in shifts attempt to dry their cloaks out over a small fitful fire as they stand guard.

The next day dawns grey and rainy. While the volume has abated somewhat, it is still a miserable slog through the woods and at about 3 in the afternoon they finally catch sight of the long hill upon which sits the Abbey. Isabella though notices three thin tendrils of smoke curling up amidst the rain...It appears that there are some new tenants upon the hill.

Safira, being the most adept and moving silently through the woods is the natural choice as a scout and she moves off to discern who these newcomers might be. At the top of the rise she smells pipe smoke which diverts her attention the her right. She spies what looks to be some kind of bear sitting on the opposite side of a tree from her.

She can't get a clear view but it smells and appears as if the smoke is coming from the bear! Silent as a shadow she slides back down the hill and proceeds around the back of the hill to get a peek at the fires. She's joined then by Ember and they both spot what looks to be about 6 orcs shuffling about the fires. At this distance they can't determine if they're Bloody Eye tribe or not.

*DM Note: This was a very tense moment for my eldest daughter. She has an emotional attachment to her characters (lots of off-game time spent on imagining them) and therefore she takes great pains to make slow well-informed decisions. She HATES not knowing...and the "bear" was a serious source of consternation.

On the way back, Ember decides that she's got to identify the "bear" so she goes creeping back up the hill, with Safira at her heels trying to dissuade her. They move into position and slowly take a look at the "bear". It turns out to be an orc, albeit a VERY large one, sitting against a tree with a bear skin thrown across his shoulders. He was smoking a short stemmed pipe while looking down the road. A large black iron bow sat across his lap with a quiver of arrows lying beside him.

Ember then convinces a VERY hesitant Safira to put him to sleep with her spell. She does so and as she's casting the orc somehow hears her voice, he grunts spins with the bow in his hand but not before Safira releases the spell. He lays his bow on the ground and falls asleep.

The rest of the group comes up and plans the assault on the rest of the orcs. The plan is that they'll get Safira into position in order to cast a sleep spell. As they advance under cover of the crumbling Abbey ruins they hear two voices from INSIDE the ruins they're using as cover!

Safira finds a crack in the wall and peers in, seeing 4 orcs guarding the stairs leading down into the dungeons. She casts her spell while under cover and the orcs are none the wiser. They all succumb and she moves in to slit throats.

*DM Note: I'm going easy on the girls. My wife, while quite smart, doesn't have much tactical or strategic knowledge. Instead of keeping the orcs inside of the building quiet and having them leap out in surprise, I let them hear them and therefore attack the orcs in small chunks. They'll learn to do that as time goes on but for now...I think it's probably necessary. Also, I do plan on introducing a coup de grâce rule, I think it will likely be a free hit doing critical damage and then a save from the creature v. massive damage.

This is where we broke it off...I hate stopping things in the middle of an encounter but my eldest was hitting the wall and it was a school night. Nonetheless, it was a great session and there were a few pretty tense moments. Overall, lots of fun.

Stay tuned.

Thursday night gaming

We got together for a little over an hour of gaming last night, the first time in a couple of weeks, and we had a terrific time. I'm just loving running this game due to a few reasons.
1. The players, my daughters and wife, are new to everything. This brings back that sense of wonder that's been missing for a long long time.
2. The rules are really fantastic. I'm loving the Labyrinth Lord rules for their simplicity, speed and flexibility.
3. The setting is an offshoot of the Western Marches type game. I hesitate to say "sandbox" because I think it's been overused, but this is pretty wide open. I'm adding a few small hooks for mini-quests in order to get them out into the wilderness and bumping into new (or rather old) and interesting things.

On with the recap:

Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2 (my wife)
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2 (youngest daughter)
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (eldest daughter)

Evening was falling as the three female adventurers finished their discussion with The Hermit, and camping away from their companions, on the steep sides of the crumbling pyramid was not very inviting. So descent was the best option.

As they clambered down the rotting, vegetated sides of the ancient structure, darkness fell and the flickering light of torches could be seen through the canopy of the trees. The awaiting remainder of the party welcomed them and eagerly asked questions regarding the conversation. This all took place as the group slowly made their way into the forest, searching for a secure spot to camp.

They quickly located a small clearing, built a fire and continued their discussion over a supper of rations and tea. Fura was especially interested in what The Hermit had to say regarding the lost artifacts of St. George Gyxag. With supper finished the group chose guards and rotations for the evening and turned in.

Two and a half hours from dawn, during the third shift, Ember hears rough voices in the distance. She crouches down and listens more intently. As they approach she distinctly hears two individuals arguing over something in orc, and just as she determines to turn and wake the rest of the camp, she hears them stop and one say "Hey, look, what's that light up ahead?". The other voice responds that it doesn't see a light and the argument proceeds.

Alarmed, Ember quickly puts the small fire out and wakes the rest of the group. The argument continues unabated in the darkness not more than 50 feet away. Those that were sleeping quickly and quietly attempt to slip on armor while the others take up position on the far side of the camp, hiding in the brush while covering the approach with bows.

Two of the Krieger brothers, while moving around in the dark stumble over a pack and a "crunch" of broken pottery ensues as the smell of alcohol fills the air. One of them curses loudly...and the orcs in the brush instantly fall silent.

A few tense moments pass. Nothing can be heard but the slight breeze in the treetops and the imagined whoosh of the high clouds as the pass the face of the full moon high above. Darkness, occasionally punctuated with sporadic moonlight makes spotting the dangerous orcs difficult at best for the humans. The elves keep a close eye on the brush...

Just as Isabella buckles the last strap on her chain mail 6 burly porcine monstrosities, bearing wicked black morningstars and crude wooden shields, burst out of the brush and come shambling quickly into the clearing.

The heroes have the drop though and the Krieger brothers let their arrows fly. Only one strikes the leading orc, which hardly slows the obese creature as it slams into Isabella, its morningstar swinging. The chaotic press of battle ensues with blows traded freely and curses filling the air.

Fura dodges in and out quickly but the orcs are quicker yet, as they dodge back out of the halfling's reach. Isabella and Ember though rain down terrible blows upon their opponents, felling two orcs in short order. Safira, hiding in the brush to the side, chides an orc in its own language, confusing the dim creature into thinking there are more adversaries coming. The elf darts out, slim curved sword flashing, but the orc deflects the blow on its shield and squealing, comes back swinging.

The morning star connects and Safira feels blood flow under her padding, she quickly skips back in response, holding her shoulder. Ember is also in dire straights as one of the larger of the orcs smashes her arm with its weapon, the sound of a broken bone and Embers ensuing groan accompanies the cacophony of battle.

Belinda has pulled the other two non-combatants further into the brush at this point, guarding them with her large maul, while the Krieger brothers angle to get a clear shot in the spotty light. The deciding point in the battle comes as Safira lets loose on her sleep spell. The remaining orcs immediately succumb and lay their weapons down, yawning widely they curl up on the ground for a comfortable slumber....That lasts forever. The party quickly dispatches the dangerous foes.

After searching the bodies by torchlight they discover a few gems and surprisingly, a couple pieces of very fine jewelry. (A filigree ring made of platinum in the shape of two intertwined fishing nets with two miniature fish captured within. And a belt buckle of silver and gold, elvish make of two bucks coming together.)

Wounds are healed by the cleric Ember, the bodies of the orcs are dragged off a ways into the woods, and after the charge of battle has calmed a bit, the party beds back down to wait for morning.

The next day dawns hazy and breezy. After a quick meal, Ember, Safira and Fura scale the hill to speak with The Hermit. The old man greets them and after they answer a riddle, (a tradition of his order...keep reading.) this is the information that he imparts upon them:

It seems that St. George of Gyxag is indeed familiar, for the Saint was a hero nearly 200 years ago of the same god that The Hermit worshiped at one time: Bochnoi, the Red God of Knowledge. The order of Bochnoi is one of quiet contemplation, scribes, and quiet study by candlelight. But, every once in awhile an individual joins the order who doesn't fit this mold. One was St. George Gyxag, who was a very rare paladin naturally imbued with the wanderlust and desire to right wrongs.

At the height of his fame it seems that the paladin wandered off East with two of the church's artifacts; The Red Book and the Sword of Truth. Both potent artifacts on their own, these were sorely missed but it was deemed at the time that they were both necessary for St. George's quest. He was never seen again.

The Hermit then filled in the rest since he's lived in this area for many many years. Seems that the wayward paladin came across a place of ancient evil and decided to kill two birds with one stone by plugging access through the erection of an abbey to his god, Bochnoi. This lasted for many years but after the Saint's passing, the order fell to sloth and soon they paid the ultimate price. The abbey was burnt to the ground and was never heard from again.

Now, the black key, although this is not certain, would likely be a means of opening the crypt to Saint George Gyxag, and therein might certainly be found the sword. Now the book is a different matter. It might lie in the tomb but then again, the order would have found much use in its pages, so it could be ensconced elsewhere.

The Hermit was then informed of the Red Caps and their leader Melchert's attempts to find this Black Key...and in turn, their connection to Ylfrit, the Alfar Queen. He was indeed dismayed to hear of her return and was adamant that she should NOT find the Red Book, for it would be used for evil in her hands. No good would come of it for certain.

As they thanked The Hermit, Ember asked if there might be another way into the lower catacombs of the Abbey, he said that he couldn't be positive, but yes, there would quite likely be another way in to such a complex. The trick was in finding it.

They thanked The Hermit and made their way down the ancient structure and as they did he called after them that if they came across any rare information that he'd indeed love to hear of it...

And this is where we wrapped it up. Until next time, adieu.

A short game

We played again the other night. Not a very long session due to the girls having to get to bed early, it was a school night. But I thought I'd jot down what happened if for nothing else than to keep the story current. (And to have a place to reference what's gone before.)

Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2 (my wife)
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2 (youngest daughter)
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (eldest daughter)

After emerging from the woods and saying goodbye to Fura, the characters spent the evening at the Bent Hook. A small celebration for a newly married couple was occurring at the Inn and there were more people crowding the common room than was the norm. Ember, Safira and Isabella stayed up for a while and observed the festivities, but noting the hour, and their exhaustion, they soon thereafter went to bed.

Next morning they descended the stairs and were met with the sight of the Krieger triplets sitting in the common room without a beer in their hands! Belinda, Fura and the other 2 henchmen were sitting around a table, talking amongst themselves.

Their destination? The Hermit.

Convincing the two henchmen that crossing the river on the back of a giant gar was slightly more difficult and expensive (due to a roll of 12 on the morale dice) than it should have been, but eventually they were convinced that it would be safer than crossing the "Toll Bridge".

Once upon the opposite shore the party of 10 decided upon a marching order and cautiously proceeded into the woods along the faint game trail that led to the witch. About 2 hours along the trail the party cut due north, following the witch's directions.

The overcast sky provided dim illumination under the canopy of trees and the terrain turned decidedly more hilly and rough. The witch had said that the hermit lived about a day's march due north, so at noon, when the group broke for lunch, Safara shimmied up a tree in order to see if she might be able to spot the tall hill upon which sat the large tree.

Surprisingly enough she determined that they were actually heading in the wrong direction. They somehow must have let the terrain turn them a bit, instead of due north the group had been heading in a more north easterly direction. Safira was looking at the ridge sitting nearly right in front of her, instead of off to her right, as it should have been.

After the meal the group backtracked a ways, climbed another tree and got their bearings. At about this time the cloud cover thinned enough for them to see the sun, which also helped. Every hour or so Safira climbed a tree, just to make certain they were still headed in the proper direction.

Many hours of marching later, with supper time fast approaching, Safira climbed a tree once more, and this time she spotted, not too far off in the distance an obviously tall hill with a enormous tree sitting astride it. The party set off in that general direction.

As they marched down the trail, with Isabella leading the way, a rustle in the brush alerted the barbarian to company. She froze and warily watched the area. The alert group luckily caught, and immediately emulated her actions. All was quiet.

An enormous mountain lion glided out of the brush, head low to the ground, in the opposite direction. It didn't seem to notice the invaders as it was stalking some unknown prey, drawing its attention elsewhere.

After the large cat disappeared into the far brush, the group proceeded. They noticed immediately though that the area was rife with large cat tracks. Seems this beast likes to hunt the area. Ember quickly surmises that they are encroaching upon the large cat's territory and that they should be extremely wary.

When they finally come upon the large hill they realize just by glancing along its bottom that it's oddly shaped. They decide that a route around the circumference might better determine what they're dealing with. Surprisingly it seems that the hill is an ancient round step pyramid that has eroded with time and weather to appear as a hill. The giant fig tree atop the "hill" also contributed greatly to the erosion.

Again, the large cat's prints were spotted all around the hill, so Fura decided that he would take the Krieger brothers, Belinda and the other two porters around the hill in an attempt to watch for the cat and to look at the hill more closely, for a possible entrance. The others will ascend the "hill" and make contact with the hermit.

Three quarters of the way up the hill the adventurers break through the canopy and can now see across the tops of the rolling forest. And they can also see that there's a large hole of some sort in the side of the massive fig tree. As they came closer they could hear a low growl emanate from the hole in the tree.

The head of the puma appeared as the cat slunk slowly forward out of the shadowed rent in the tree. A querulous voice asked who was there...and to step forward and announce your intentions. As the cat slowly approached a gnarled hand appeared from the shadows to lay casually upon the back of the enormous mountain lion.

After brief introductions the old man, presumably the hermit, cursed that he'd been found again but was willing to answer a question. They three asked if he had heard anything about the relics of St. George of Gyxag. The hermit grumbled a bit and said that he'd heard the name St. George...but he didn't know anything off hand about any relics. But, if the party was willing to come back at dawn he'd see if he could come up with a better answer.

They agree...and that's where we stopped.

Once again, into the breach...

Time once more to update the continuing saga of our home Labyrinth Lord game, which includes my two daughters and now surprisingly, my wife. Yipee!

Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2

Lisa, the town's woman, sprints for the water's edge, hoping to gain her freedom. The adventurers are ready for her break and leap to tackle her. Unfortunately they all leap at once, and tangle in the attempt...Lisa gains the water and the adventurers are smart enough NOT to jump in after her. After all, they've seen the gar!

Ember uses the flute to call the gar and both she and Isabella mount the fish and it slowly turns and swims to the other side. Lisa notices this, and knowing that the fish is a one-way ticket, she turns around and weakly swims back, her stroke is failing. Watching from the shore, Safira realizes that Lisa will not likely make it, so she finds the longest branch that she can and tries to shadow the woman's progress along the shore.

Meanwhile, the gar has reached the other side and the women leap off, blow the flute and again mount up. What tedium!! Ach. By this time Lisa has weakened significantly and her swimming is uneven and frantic. She yells out briefly, then her head disappears beneath the muddy waters of the Hruesen.

Safira waits and watches while her comrades make shore. Ember sprints into town with the intent of bringing back a watchman.

Nearly a minute passes and Lisa's head breaks the brown plane of the water and Safira sprints down to help her with the branch. The exhausted woman is pulled to safety and she collapses in the mud, coughing and retching water up out of her lungs.

With the arrival of the watch, Lisa is recovered enough to get up and be led to the jail-house. The rest of the party is told to come along...to both verify the story as well as to make sure that they're not somehow trying to cover up wrongdoing.

After a few hours of questioning, which includes the entire Shuester family, and the friar from the chancel, it's obvious Lisa has been up to no good. She won't say who she's gone to see but she does admit to trying to poison her no good laggard of a husband. It's surmised though that she's gone to see the Thorn Queen, better known as 'The Witch'. Old Man Nester knows a bit more as he's been to see her long ago.

A visit with Old Man Nester provides the group with enough information to find the witch as well as a "reason" to seek her out. It seems that the witch is some kind of oracle and might know where the Hermit would be located. She's been in the woods for generations and no one knows how old she is...ancient it seems, and a font of that type of knowledge, if the price is paid. Apparently she takes rare herbs and sometimes "favors" in return for her words of wisdom.

Exhausted, but still game, the adventurers proceed to the Bent Hook tavern, where they had informed their party to meet them. There they find the triplets drunk and Fura waiting nervously. They all wonder what's been going on, and after a quick explanation they also agree to meet the next day and try again.

Down to the dock the women head after convincing Fura that he should come along. Once there, they pull out the flute and summon the giant gar, they're determined to see this witch today...even if it kills them. The trek is three hours according to Old Man Nester IF they follow the trail. If not, it could take days.

It takes a little searching but Isabella finds the faint outlines of a game trail and off they go. About two hours into the hike, the trees grow quite a bit larger, the canopy tightens up above them, dimming the light, and the underbrush starts growing much more verdant. Giant, twisted briars, with beautiful flowers grow alongside the narrow game trail, snagging and catching at the adventurer's clothing and gear.

Not far in the distance, the snapping of branches and a cacophony of low growls alerts the party that something is going on not far off in the brush. A stick is stepped on and the growling suddenly stops...the rushing of feet through the leaves prompts weapons to be drawn with haste. Out of the bushes hurtles three large hyena-like creatures, their muzzles smeared with blood and their long yellow canines barred for violence.

Initially it looks bad, Safira is pounced on by two of the creatures and dragged to the ground where they savagely maul her. Fura is beset by the third beast and he luckily dodges it's first snapping advance. Teeth flash and snap. Blades and staff go snicker-snak. Soon the beasts go down and Safira's wounds are healed by Ember and her belief in Freya; the goddess of battle and beauty.

The group takes a short breather and luckily catches sight of a smear of blood just off the trail, as if something was dragged away, INTO the brush. They investigate and discover the dismembered corpse of a female. It's in too poor a condition to tell who she was, or even if she was human. But they do discover a fine silver flowered necklace and a small satchel of herbs with a sharp silver paring knife obviously used in the collection process.

They decide to keep moving towards the witch and quite soon they emerge into a small clearing occupied by a small woven briar hut and a large black-iron cauldron, wherein some type of viscous green liquid bubbles and pops, heated by flickering blue flames. The clearing stinks of an acrid nasty stench emanating from the cauldron.

A rough voice issues from the darkness of the small hut asking the intruders to announce themselves and to state their business. The adventurers do so and gnarled hands push aside the hanging vines covering the doorway to reveal....a twisted and ancient dwarf! He comes limping out on his club foot and asks a few other pointed questions. As the questioning progresses the air is filled with a buzzing sound and looking up the adventurers see a small group of pixies flitting above their heads.

Satisfied that the adventurers mean no harm, the dwarf looks up as if to someone behind the party and asks if she's ready to see them. The party whips around and a kindly looking plump-woman dressed in a faded, but still pretty, flower-print dress nods and smiles to each of them. She greets them and asks if they'd like to take tea with her.

Safira agrees and surprisingly, her wounds are healed the rest of the way! The witch introduces herself as Neegle and tells the party that the body they found in the woods was an assistant of hers out collecting herbs. She also informs them that she'd be more than happy to answer questions, but there is a price.

Two questions are agreed upon by the group: Where can the Hermit be found, and what is behind the Black Door in the ruined monastery of St. George of Gyxag? The price for the first answer is the herbs the party came across on the slain body. The price for the second answer will be determined at the next full moon, whereupon the group will meet Neegle here.

After handing over the satchel to Neegle, she informs them that the Hermit lives only a few hours hike due north of here, but beware, he is not nearly as tolerant of visitors as Neegle. The answer to the Black Door is a little more complicated. What the group seeks may be found behind the Black Door but therein also dwell things that are not meant to see the light of day. She also mentions that the Black Door is not the ONLY way into the depths...

Armed with this new information, and agreeing that they shall reconvene here at the next full moon, the adventurers take their leave of Neegle and bid adieu. Their hike back towards the Hruesen river is uneventful...They break out of the trees at dusk, exhausted and bedraggled.

And this is where we'll pick it up again. Until next time.

Ken Follett's 'World Without End'

Well, here's the first post of '09. Happy New Year to everyone! Here's hoping for a peaceful and prosperous new year...

You're probably thinking that this is going to be a post about the book 'World Without End' eh? I hope I'm not going to disappoint you but it's not. What it IS about though is how it shaped my Labyrinth Lord game.

A bit of a preface is likely apropos at this point; My wife of over 15 years is absolutely accepting of my role playing proclivities, but she's only ever once partaken in role playing, and that was a Shadowrun game many many years ago. (before we were married) She tried it and was disappointed when she was told what "her" contact said. To be completely truthful, she's never had much patience with sitting around for more than an hour or two. A movie is about max. A good book is the exception, she can wrap up with an excellent story for hours upon hours.

Anyway, my daughters have been playing Labyrinth Lord with me and in the interest of getting a game in during our weekend stay in the mountains, I brought my gear with me. Turns out my wife finished her book, 'World Without End' and was bored. I don't know what possessed me but I thought I'd ask her if she wanted to play, knowing full well that she'd quite likely laugh and politely turn me down. She's a sweet heart and I love her to death for putting up with my hobbies.

Surprise of surprise, she accepted and said she'd like to play a sorceress. I scrambled and started rolling one up for her, knowing that the character creation process would frustrate and bore her. As I pulled the dice out she mentioned that she'd play anything. So I rolled some dice and came up with an Amazonian-like fighter, replete with an extraordinary strength of 18! Yeah man, no cheating required.

We played about an hour after I finished her character; Isabella. I couldn't believe it, my wife was sitting and PLAYING at the same table as my daughters and me. It was astounding and ground breaking.

It was awesome! And was exactly what my daughters needed, a little adult guidance and wisdom.

Following is a rough recap of that nights events:

Isabella - Female Human Fighter level 2
Ember - Female 1/2 elven Cleric level 2
Safira - Female Ice Elf level 2 (I know, I've been calling her Safara for months...my eldest just corrected me the other night.)

The Gathering Festival was held under the great Oak near the edge of town. Due to the free food and drink, nearly the entire population of Botkinburg was in attendance. As well as food and drink there were competitions aplenty. A knife throwing contest attracts all of the martial crowd and this is where Safira meets Isabella as the elf wins the respect of the tall Amazon by winning the competition easily. They strike up a conversation and one thing follows another...Isabella is now part of the group.

All the while the party is speaking to potential hiring prospects and they find quite a few willing individuals who will all meet in 4 days time back at the Bent Hook.

Days flow past and random little chores are accomplished and minor gear is replenished. A few rumors are followed up during the interim. One of them being the sighting of Lisa Schuler, a farmer's wife, across the river on a couple of different occasions.

Visiting the Schuler farmstead, a ramshackle two-story building with a horde of 1/2 dressed children scampering about nets an interesting conversation with Mr. Schuler. It seems that Lisa has possibly been poisoning Mr. Schuler! Isabella finagles a small sample of Mr. Schuler's drink to test for poison.

The group goes to the Chancel and speaks with the good friar. The holy man casts a spell and confirms that indeed the drink is slightly poisoned but he tells them that w/out proof that Lisa is behind it, he can do nothing, and besides, it's not really his place to do much other than heal Mr. Schuler. They must go to the Sheriff with this information if they can provide proof.

While at the Chancel the party visits the ailing priest who's hired Fura, the halfling they met in the field on their way into town a few days ago. His physical appearance supports Fura's reports, he's thin as a rail and speaks in a barely more than a whisper. Ember and Safira ask him about his mission and he informs them that he's from a church far to the east and north, in the City State. Many many years ago the church was broken into and had its most important religious artifacts stolen. It's been his life's work to track them down and recover them. He's been successful for the most part and near the end of his life he only has a few more items to find.

His trail has led him here, to Botkinburg, in order to track down a man who is rumored to have access to much information. This man is known as the Hermit and he's supposedly exiled himself from society and is now a recluse in the Tangle Downs somewhere. This is the man Fura has been hired to find.

The order's patron is Saint George Gyxag! Gasping simultaneously, the girls pull out the statue and the old priests eyes water as he nods, yes he says, this is his patron. He asks where they found this and the girls say that they've just returned from an expedition to the Ruined Monastery in the Tangle Downs and that the rumor is it was built long ago by a priest from far to the west.

They then proceed to tell him the story of the key and the black door and the red caps, with Melchert, their leader, who are frantically working to find access to the black door. The rest of their items didn't seem to hold the old priest's interest but the door he said could very well be his tomb. And this was most certainly where his church's saint had disappeared to. This was a marvelous find! As the old man drifted back off to sleep he smiled and said that his choice in Fura was obviously the right one, for the halfling had obviously chosen his comrades wisely.

A little later that day the girls went to visit the goatherd that had reported seeing Lisa across the river. He didn't have much to add other than he saw her in the morning at the river's edge as if she were looking for something...the mists then rose and he lost sight of her.

The second townsman who claimed he saw here was Gunderman, the loon who lived in a house half falling into the river. As they approached they spied him sitting upon his roof, feet dangling in the water, fishing pole firmly ensconced in his fist. He greeted them warmly and told them that he had seen Lisa in the evening but he didn't have much more to add...unless of course they had a few coins to spare. 3 pieces of gold would buy them more information if they returned later.

Turns out that Gunderman has an aquatic green-skinned female friend from the river that has seen Lisa cross the river by summoning a giant gar with a small flute made of river reed. Lisa doesn't have the skill to produce a thing such as that and Gunderman couldn't think of anyone else who might be able to make such a thing. All this information though comes from Gunderman, who keeps his relationship with the river faerie hidden. (Safira spied upon him to discover who was providing the info.)

Now armed with all of this information the girls decide that they're going to hide on the river's edge and wait for Lisa. It is late when she appears, but as expected she pulls a small flute from her satchel and blows a few notes. Not much later a large shape emerges from the water of the Hruesen. Sitting astride it she crosses the wide river.

The girls wait. Just as the sky is turning pearly grey the notes of the flute are heard again and Lisa returns. They spring out to surround her and at first she flatly denies any of the poisoning alligations and says that no one would believe in the story of her crossing the river on a gar. But she drops the charade and says that if they mess with her that her allies will eventually make life hell for them. They ignore her and take her satchel, in which they find a couple of small vials, the flute and a few other small trinkets.

Lisa dives for the flute but her arm is kicked by Isabella as the flute is grabbed by Ember. She then makes a break for the river, running full out.

And there we pause our game. (we played the last portion of this in the car on the drive down from the mountains and I didn't have any dice handy...so we paused in that rather odd spot.)

Fini

NOTE: I do have to say that my wife is quite bright and intuitive when playing. She's a wonderful addition to the game. I'm not too confident that she'll be a consistent part of the game but nonetheless, it was a pure pleasure to have her to game with.

A quick recap of LL sessions

I'm a bad blogger, there's certainly little room to argue on that front. Heh, let's just clear the air then, I'm in no way near as prolific as Scott over at 'World of Thool', James over at 'Grognardia' and no where near as creative. That's unfortunate I suppose, but I will say that I have just as much passion as my esteemed peers. And therein lies the reason that I maintain my feeble scribblings upon this e-medium.

Picking up where we left off; this entry will be a little less florid and a bit more pedantic for posterity's sake and to make up for my lack of sufficient in-game notes.

Safara and Ember soon discerned the nature of the odd finger bone, it seemed to point to danger! After a bit of poking around through dark corridors and peering into the deeper darkness of archways and side tunnels the heroes heard the 'tink, tink, tink' of metal on stone.

A stealthy approach allowed them to sneak up on a group of strange red-capped miners accompanied by some kind of ferocious wolf-like beast. The fight was bloody and a few casualties were accrued. Sir Pelinor took was taken down by the wolf and one of the henchmen was slain as well. The party was forced into a limping retreat but not before taking a surviving red cap prisoner.

On the way out one of the henchmen encountered a green slime that dropped on her face from above. She was disfigured horribly but survived.

Once on the surface, the party healed up as much as possible, grabbed a few more henchmen and descended again, this time in the hopes that they could recover some of Sir Pelinor's remains in order to properly bury him.

The descent back to the mining area was without incident and as soon as they arrived another nasty little fight erupted with the remaining red cap, his wolf and the party. Eventually the party won out with few casualties and were exploring the ancient wine cellar when the muttering of voices and stomp of boots echoed down the tunnel to announce new comers.

A small detachment of goblins, carrying more rusted and dented mining implements shows up and yet another fight is joined. This one though turns out for the worst, one of the little blighters rushes forwards and plants his pick in Halister's eye. The mage goes down in a heap...dead as a doornail. The party quickly starts tossing what remains of the wooden shelves into the hall way as a barrier while the goblins scramble for their weapons.

As the goblins attempted to rush the quick barricade, a flask of oil and torches were tossed and the whole thing turned into a conflagration. The goblins squealed and ran back. Safara took down the leader with a well placed magic missile and soon the tide had turned. In the end, 5 goblin corpses littered the hallway.

A map was found and on it was some writing in Fae that indicated that digging for the "key" was to commence at the spot indicated on the map. Someone named Melchert had signed the message written on the map.

Again the party gathered up their fallen dead, including what was left of the wolf gnawed remains of Sir Pelinor, and made their way towards the surface and sunlight. There they buried Sir Pelinor and questioned the captive red cap about the map. He told them that Melchert was their master and a friend of Ylfrit, their queen. Melchert was searching for a key that opened the black door, beyond which he claimed lay secrets worthy of the Unseelie Queen. But what those secrets are, Melchert hasn't said.

The red cap is let loose with the promise that he'll never return to this area on pain of death. He disappears into the woods. The remaining henchmen get together and come to Safara and Ember for better pay. It's just too dangerous they claim...too many of them have fallen and only 3 of the original 6 remain. The two leaders agree and it's also agreed that they'll go back to Botkinburg, as they're quickly running low on food and torches.

One day is taken for Safara to hunt, in an attempt to supplement their remaining rations. She comes upon a boar and slays it from the safety of a tree. But unfortunately the noise attracts a strange hoofed beast from the woods (Ilfaren) who thinks that meat on the hoof is pretty tempting. Safara desperately casts charm and then convinces the beast that the pig has been poisoned. He looks at her, nods and then walks back into the woods...

Later during the trip a pygmy rhino emerges from the woods and violently reacts to the screaming of the henchmen as it tromps into camp, by spearing yet another henchman on it's horn. The others climb trees in order to escape the angry beast. Two henchmen left...

Finally the troll bridge is spotted through the trees and the dead boar is bartered for passage. On to Botkinburg.

When they finally set foot on those fields we know...(a little Lord Dunsany there) they meet a halfling decked out for adventure on his way into the woods! This is rare indeed...but this little guy, a retired adventurer from days gone by, claims that an aged priest has come into the village and is in need of aid. He's dying and has spent his life tracking down religious relics that were stolen from his order's temple long ago. He's found many of them but there are a few remaining..and he thinks that there's one out in the woods with the required knowledge to find them: The Hermit.

Well he's invited the adventurers to join him when he returns in 4 or so days...They've agreed.

On into town they venture, and their they find that autumnal festival is in full swing and that most of the village has gathered at the "Tree" for a day long celebration with free food and beer. They arrange for rooms at the Bent Hook, clean up and plan to join the festivities after returning Halister's body to his family north of town.

A short ride brings them to a shallow gulch wherein lies the Halister family tower...apparently the family has been in the business of wizardry for quite some time. As the two approach a low growl comes from a shadowy copse of bushes near the door. They stop and attempt to control their mounts as they call out to the tower.

The window shutter is flung open and a wizened old woman appears...the news is conveyed and soon a very upset mother and father, thin like sticks and dressed in tattered robes, emerge to collect the remains of their son. They thank Ember and Safara and when offered what is owed to Hallister they scoff and say "What need have we of money?!?" and shuffle off.

This is where we end it for now. Stay tuned... they'll be joining the festivities and options will become known.

NOTE: I've come to the conclusion that old school is fun but the girls are heavily invested in their characters...death upsets them. And losing a character is not what they'd enjoy. So...I've decided to muck with the magic system a bit. In a past Castles and Crusades game we used Al Krombach's spell point system and it worked out well. It is a little high powered for this type of game but it certainly affords the girls a bit of a cushion. I might tone it down as we continue on though...we'll see how it works out.