THIS is D&D

THIS is D&D:

 

THIS is mental illness:

Choose the mythic journey of the hero, NOT the ravings of the insane pederast.

Don't give money to people who hate you!

Session 7 Downtime: A New Level of Confidence and Power

Kleptikos convinces the former slaves and battered pikemen to help them move the loot carts to Valthrun where they can be converted to gold and shared with everyone (33% reaction roll modified to 63% - Uncertain but 55% prone to positive followed up by a 44% to seal the deal). They safely travel the 3 hexes from Gunnolfsfell to Valthrun.

Kleptikos handles fencing the goods and the party divides the remaining spoils. Brother Sully recommends that each PC give the surviving villagers 10gp each as settlement funds and send them off to Fort Rackham to help the settlement grow. Everyone agrees it makes sense to have a friendly bolthole and agree. Bro-gallo points out that it would also be a wise idea to pay extra to the remaining pikemen and the Bro-cenaries to maintain morale and ensure that the party doesn't develop a bad reputation amongst the mercenary groups operating in the area. Everyone agrees and each pay a 100gp bonus to every Bro-cenary as well as a 50gp bonus to the remaining pikemen.

I give a +20% bonus when Brother Sully announces this to both groups. Sharing the spoils has the intended effect, as the mercenaries (21 roll + 20% bonus + 25% CHA bonus adds up to 66% for an Uncertain but 55% prone to positive result followed by a 43%) and villagers (90 roll + 20% bonus + 25% CHA bonus adds up to 115% for an Enthusiastically friendly, immediate acceptance result) both positively react to the offers. Captain Lou wants to take the pikemen back to Tallow Watch and recruit some new members. He agrees to escort the villagers to Fort Rackham and convey a message to Lady Kophyn about the developments.

The party all gains sufficient XP to level up and will be out of action for for 3 weeks as they train, available again on June 8.

Individual Activities

In addition to their training, the Bros start other initiatives during downtime.

• Blastikus decides he wants to obtain a more secure location with privacy to begin more serious magic research in anticipation of eventually setting up a true sanctum. Through discrete inquiries with the appropriate agents, he has learned of a suitable stone house with a sturdy wall in the nearby hamlet of Eilifsdalsa (hex 299.301). The hamlet has a nefarious reputation of being a refuge for strange loners of dubious character and is avoided by most reputable people of Valthrun. He also finds a nearby farmhouse for use of any bodyguards and purchases both properties for 700gp, per AD&D DMG pg 107. He approaches the two half-orc fighters that they rescued from the monastery of Gunnolfsfell and makes them an offer to become his henchmen. Per DMG pg 35, Blastikus offers them 100gp and 300gp respectively, use of the cottage for lodgings, and armor weapons in exchange for their guard duties and occasional  errand running. This brings the base chance to 30% with Blastikus CHA bonus taking it to 40%. Blastikus rolls a 28% and the skeptical half-orcs accept the easy duty. He recycles the gear from Bro-jira and Brother O'malley and the orcs seem content with the arrangement.
  
  He sends them off to the new base and orders them to map areas west of Valthrun (i.e. reveal the remaining six mile hex centered on Valthrun) so that he knows what to expect.
  
  Blastikus begins creating his lab and spends 1000gp (per DMG pg 116) to do the initial build out, with an additional 100gp monthly upkeep fee. This is all specialized gear that must be fabricated form scratch so I decide it won't be available until 6/19 (one month). Things are going to start going off the rails very, very, soon...muhahahaha!
  
  
• Brogallo has received a taste of being a warlord commanding ravenous hordes and has found it much to his liking. While sampling higher-end drinking establishments available to his new found wealth, he's overheard some envious talk about his success on the battlefield and the resulting caravan of loot that made its way into the city. He spreads some coin around to notorious loudmouths and tells them some stories of his awesomeness, knowing the gossip will grow in the telling. Cheap propaganda is the best propaganda!
  
  Desiring the scrolls in the hoard from the Oni treasure map, Blastikus confers with Brogallo and informs him that he would like to journey to the ruined city in search of the loot. Brogallo readily agrees since he too is obsessed with the treasure maps recovered from the Oni.
  
  The magic item hoard in hex 301.499 is a 200 mile journey that will require a lot of preparation, so it will have to wait for now. The ruined city in hex 311.304, however, is a mere 10 miles and a source of ready loot. He wants more information about the surroundings to avoid a repeat of the recent bloodshed. 
  and decides to send the Bro-cenaries on another reconnaissance run.
  
  He reckons it's time to expand the force and wants to hire more mercenaries. He rolls a 78 followed by an 8 and 10 on the mercenary table (DMG pg 30) which means he hires 10 medium horsemen and a mandatory L2 lieutenant (Lt. Stoner) along with a serjeant (Sgt. Rock). They all demand new gear, which he provides to match the existing squad under the command of Sgt. Slaughter.
  
  Brogallo summons the officers and informs them of the command changes, placing Lt. Stoner in charge under Brogallo, of course. He informs them that he wants a detailed reconnaissance map of the area southeast of Gunnolfsell (i.e. the two six mile hexes centered on hex 306.300 and 312.306) so that they don't run into any nasty surprises and can hire additional mercs if needed. This is a "view and screw" mission, so the mercs are to avoid combat unless directly threatened. They make a copy of the existing map and move out to commence mapping.

• Kleptikos reckons it's more profitable to stay independent of any local cliques and begins building his own intelligence network. He quietly begins hunting down all street urchins and directing them to The Redneck Home for Wayward Munchkins with the understanding that they key their ears open and mouths shut. In return for information, he agrees to share some choice trinkets from time to time. Any waif that is too stupid or stubborn to play ball quietly disappears and ends up on the vermin buffet in the sewers. Liches Eat Snitches, after all. He also approaches every "professional evening entertainer" with similar offers and unsurprisingly finds an extremely receptive group that is all too happy to swap gossip for coin. These burgeoning networks will incur an ongoing monthly cost of 200gp, which Kleptikos considers cheap insurance against nasty surprises.
  
  
• Mighty Redneck keeps 1000gp as usual to cover his expenses and donates the rest to worthy causes. The continues funding The Redneck Home for Wayward Munchkins in Valthrun and, moved by the plight of Tallow Watch refugees, he opens up Redneck's Gumbo Kitchen to feed the teaming masses fleeing from the northern hordes. What a great guy! No way this will blow up in his face, right? Right??
  
  Redneck's training takes place in the mountains outside Valthrun under the tutelage of an experienced and grizzled Ranger Lord named Brog Bersk. It was during his latest sessions that he is first introduced to Marcinius, initiate of the druidic Order of the Starless Wastes. Apart from some terse pleasantries, little of substance is discussed, but Redneck can't shake the feeling that he has broken through to a new level of...something.
  
  
• Brother Fitzy and Brother Sully independently have an identical, profound psycho-spiritual experience. While deep in meditation and prayer to their patron deity, Mabelrode the Faceless King of Swords, they psychically transported to a realm far away from the Cold Wastes. They find themselves on a rocky island beneath a black starless sky, lit by an endless storm of incandescent purple lightning bolts. Buffeted by a howling gale that has stripped the island to the bare rock, they stare at the raw stuff of chaos that bubbles around the isle. They stand mesmerized as gargantuan behemoths of incomprehensible size rise from the tumultuous chaos stuff, only to instantly dissolve, fall back into the maelstrom and instantly reform into baroque structures of crystal and light. Entire civilizations and races of strange beings are born, prosper, decay and dissolve in the space on an eye blink. Feeling their sanity and sense of self begin to fray uncontrollably, they are shocked when they see a twelve foot tall being of crystal emerge from the chaos seas and stride toward them. Terrified, they stand helpless as the entity stops a mere arm's length from them and silently regards them. A pulsing yellow light radiates from within the creature and covers them with it's sickly golden hues.
  
  "Kneel, mortals", the being says.
  
  Understanding that this is a being of pure chaos, the brothers do the sensible thing and dive to the ground, prostrating themselves before this being.
  
  "We have noticed you. Your world has changed. The King of Swords has entrusted you to us.", it says.
  
  "Great angel, we...", Brother Sully begins.
  
  "Silence!", the entity booms, its voice slamming into the brothers as a warhammer on a melon. "Do not mistake this as a conversation! We will speak and you will listen."
  
  "You seek greater favor from the King of Swords, but are unworthy at your current level of psycho-spiritual development. He will never speak to your like and sends us to improve your limited mortal potential. We will grant you an increase in power in exchange for greater responsibility and adherence to The Faceless One's will."
  
  "We will speak to you again when required and reveal the King's wishes. Execute them, or be destroyed. Say nothing to others in The Order. Begone."
  
  With a thunderous explosion of mauve lightning, the brothers awake in their respective cells, in excruciating pain from the burns that cover their bodies. This was not a dream - it was a revelation.

Session 7: The Purging of Gunnolfsfell - Part 2

 

The Bros are in relatively good strength, but they've lost half of the pikemen. The battlefield loot has helped soothe the troops' nerves and a successful morale check means the remaining 20 pikemen are willing to stick around...provided there's a bonus. Brogallo agrees to double wages and more battlefield loot, securing their temporary loyalty.

Mighty Redneck attempts to track any movement away from the camp and easily does so (7 Oni, 3 ogresses, 7 bugbears armed with morningstars, 13 orcs armed with battle axes, 60 slaves and 5 carts are pretty easy to follow).

The party lines up as the previous order of battle (party in the vanguard,10 crossbow cavalry and 20 pikemen in the rear). Redneck and Kleptikos will scout ahead and report back before any action occurs.

Key to the Upper Level:

The 7 bugbears (11hp, 17hp, 9hp, 19hp, 5hp, 8hp, 13hp) are sloppily guarding the camp while shooting dice and squabbling. They have a total of 99cp between them. 

There are 5 orc slave carts are in a crudely constructed pen next to the ruins of the monastery. The orcs have 60 slave bearers (all 0-level humans), all badly beaten and tied to the carts. These wretches include the 7 survivors of Gunnolfsfell as well as other unfortunates the orcs have captured along the way. 

The slave carts and bearers have loot worth the following:

Monetary Contents:      

Slave Carts:                4,000gp

Slave Bearers:            1,080gp

Total Hoard Value:      5,080gp

The slave pens are guarded by 5 bored orcs (5,8,6,7,8)

Area 1: The Ogress Pavilion

The Ogre Females from the Serpent Shrine (14hp, 13hp, 13hp) are here, relaxing and scheming about seducing the Oni to get leverage on them. They will fight the PCs to death to avenge their young. 

There are sacks in the corner containing the treasure from the Serpent Shrine: 

            2,150ep and an Ebony Fly Figurine of Wondrous Power

Area 2: The Ogre Magi Pavilion

The Oni have a group of 5 prisoners (a brigand, a L1 Half-Orc fighter, a L3 Half-Orc, a peasant from the far Northern plains, and a sailor that they picked up in a distant slave market) chained to stakes outside their tent. The Oni have been brutally interrogating these poor bastards thinking that they must know something about the ruins in the map (Surprise! They know nothing). 

Within the tent, the Oni Chief (22hp) is reviewing the treasure map with advisers (31hp, 24hp). There is a chest here with the group's treasure:

Monetary Contents:      6,020gp; 32,111pp

Jewelry (qty 10):

Idol, Ivory or wrought silver jewelry (164gp)

Buckle, Ivory or wrought silver jewelry (782gp)

Necklace, Ivory or wrought silver jewelry (746gp)

Earring, Platinum jewelry with gems (1802gp)

Buckle, Wrought silver and gold jewelry (856gp)

Box (small), Wrought silver and gold jewelry (1022gp)

Medal, Gold jewelry with gems (719gp)

Decanter, Platinum jewelry with gems (1135gp)

Idol, Ivory or wrought silver jewelry (830gp)

Idol, Wrought gold jewelry (586gp)

Magic Items (qty 6):

Potion of Clairvoyance (300xp, 500gp)

Potion of Dragon Control (Evil dragons [Black, blue, green, red, white]) (500xp, 5,000gp)

Potion of ESP (500xp, 850gp)

Potion of Flying (500xp, 750gp)

Potion of Growth (250xp, 300gp)

Potion of Levitation (250xp, 400gp)

Dagger +2, +3 vs. creatures larger than man-sized (250xp, 2,000gp)

Ring of Warmth (1,000xp, 5,000gp)

Scroll of Protection from Petrification (2,000 x.p.)

Total Hoard Value:                190,217gp

Total Monetary Value:     166,575gp

Total Jewelry Value:            8,642gp

Total Magic Item Value:     15,000gp

There are also 2 treasure maps on a table that the Oni are studying. The Oni mistakenly believe that one of the maps points to the monastery they're excavating (it really points to the ruined city in hex 311.304), while the other map points to a hoard 100 miles distant (in hex 301.499).

Treasure Map 1:

Map to a combined hoard. The destination is somewhere in the ruins, 10 miles distant towards the southeast (Ruined City in hex 311.304)

Treasure Map Contents:

Monetary Contents:      1,336pp

Gems (qty 91): Details omitted for conciseness but value is 86,180gp

Magic Items (qty 15):

Potion of Extra Healing (400xp, 800gp)

Potion of Plant Control (250xp, 300gp)

Potion of Treasure Finding (600xp, 2,000gp)

Potion of Dragon Control (Copper dragons) (500xp, 5,000gp)

Potion of Human Control (Humans) (500xp, 900gp)

Potion of Longevity (500xp, 1,000gp)

Potion of Super-Heroism (F) (450xp, 750gp)

Spell scroll (3 Magic User spells) (1,200xp, 3,600gp)

    L4: Fear, Monster Summoning II, Rary’s Mnemonic Enhancer

Spell scroll (3 Magic User spells) (600xp, 1,800gp)

    L2: Mirror Image, Polymorph Other

    L4: Fire Charm 

Scroll of Protection from Lycanthropes (Wererats) (1,000xp, 5,000gp)

Scroll of Protection from Lycanthropes (Werewolves) (1,000xp, 5,000gp)

Scroll of Protection from Undead (1,500xp, 7,500gp)

Scroll of Protection from Weapons, Non-magic edged (UA) (1,000xp, 5,000gp)

Wand of Fear (C,M) [98 charges] (3,000xp, 15,000gp)

Wings of Flying (750xp, 7,500gp)

Total Hoard Value:                154,010gp

Total Monetary Value:         6,680gp

Total Gem Value:              86,180gp

Total Magic Item Value:    53,650gp

Treasure Map 2:

Map to magic treasure hoard. The destination is guarded in a lair, 200 miles distant towards the south (hex 301.499)

Treasure Map Contents:

Magic Items (qty 3):

Ring Mail +1 (400xp, 2,500gp)

Sword +1 Short sword [Non-intelligent] (400xp, 2,000gp)

Crossbow of Speed (1,500xp, 7,500gp)

Rod of Cancellation (any) (10,000xp, 15,000gp)

Tome of Leadership and Influence (7,500xp, 40,000gp)

Total Hoard Value:                   67,000gp

Total Magic Item Value:     67,000gp

The upper level of the monastery is in ruins and the Oni are using the orcs to excavate and clear the ruins as much as possible. They've finally reached the stairs leading down to the catacombs and are making the final push to the underground vault when the party appears.

There is little of interest in the upper ruins, but the remaining Oni are nonetheless spread out and investigating the ruins in the hopes of finding more loot.

The Monastery Ruins

Room 3: Reception area

Room 4: Altar to the Gods of Law

Room 5: Scriptorium

Ogre Mage 20hp

Room 6: Library

Ogre Mage 25hp

Room 7: Monks Cells

Room 8: Monks Cells

Room 9: Abbot's Quarters

Room 10: Stairs to the Vaults

Ogre Mage (23hp, 19hp) are supervising 8 orcs (6,5,1,7,7,2,7,2) who are excavating the stairs down to the catacombs. They've torn down the walls surrounding the stairs and are dumping the rubble into the adjoining monk cells (room 8). The orcs and Oni are spread out throughout areas 10 and 4, so they'll be able to move freely in combat. The Oni aren't stupid...

The Battle for the Monastery Begins

Kleptikos and Redneck approach the ruins through the forest surrounding the area. Once again, Redneck hangs back to provide covering fire if needed while Kleptikos scouts ahead. He succeeds on both Move Silently (16% and needed under 26%) and Hide in Shadows (18% and needed 20%). He can see the two large pavilions with the bugbear guards as well as the slavepens guarded by 5 orcs. He fails the Hear Noise check and can't make out any sounds within the pavilions or the monastery ruins.

He decides this is enough info to form a battle plan, rejoins Redneck and they both return to the party to share their findings. They reason the pavilions probably contain some of the ogres (due to the obvious bugbear guards) with the remaining group possibly exploring the monastery. The party will creep up on the camp and surprise attack, trying to take out as many enemies as possible. 

Order of Battle:

Blastikus will blast tent 2 (randomly determined via dice roll) with Ice Storm from the Wand of Frost.

Kleptikos will move to tent 1 and hide by the entrance, attempting to backstab anything that comes out of the pavilion.

Brogallo, Bro-jira, and Mighty Redneck will engage the bugbears.

Brother Fitzy, Brother O'malley, Brother Sully will engage the orcs.

The pikemen will split into two units of 10 and finish any straggler orc/bugbears.

The Brocenaries will split their forces and attack any creatures that exit either of the tents.

Round 1:

Surprise: Party is not surprised since they're springing an ambush. Bugbears are not surprised (3) but the orcs are surprised (1) for 1 segment. Encounter distance is 13". Party is not yet in melee range.

Initiative: Party wins 6 to 4

Blastikus hits tent 2 with the wand for 25hp damage. The Oni chief and one of his assistants go down and the remaining assistant is at 6hp. The two maps and the chest all make their saving throws vs magical frost, so they aren't destroyed by the Ice Storm.

Remaining party members and monsters spend their turn moving into melee range with their opponents.

Round 2:

Initiative: Party wins 6 to 1

Blastikus use Wand of Frost to create a Wall of Ice to block the entrance to the ruins

Kleptikos backstab Ogress 1 and misses with a 14. This is not good.

Brogallo attacks bugbear 1 and hits for 10+3hp, killing it

Bro-jira misses bugbear 2

Mighty Redneck hits bugbear 3 for 5+1+5hp, killing it

Brother Fitzy misses orc 1

Brother O'malley misses orc 2

Brother Sully hits orc 3 for 5hp, killing it

Bro-cenary unit 1 miss invisible Oni

Bro-cenary unit 2 hits Ogress 1 with 3 bolts for 4hp

Pikemen unit 1 hits bugbear 5 for 9hp killing it

Pikemen unit 2 hits bugbear 6 for 11hp killing it

Oni assistant 1 (6hp) will turn invisible, exit the tent and attack Bro-jira. He hits for 3hp

Oni chief will take 3 rounds to regenerate and regain consciousness

Oni assistant 2 regenerates to 0hp

Ogress 1 (14hp) hits Kleptikos for 5

Ogress 2 (13hp) moves to support bugbears and attacks Redneck from rear and misses

Ogress 3 (13hp) moves to support bugbears and attacks Redneck from rear and misses

Bugbear 1 DEAD 

Bugbear 2 (17hp) misses Bro-jira

Bugbear 3 DEAD 

Bugbear 4 (19hp) hits Brogallo for 5hp

Bugbear 5 DEAD

Bugbear 6 DEAD

Bugbear 7 (13hp) hits Mighty Redneck for 6hp

Orc 1 (6hp) misses Brother Fitzy

Orc 2 (8hp) misses Brother O'malley

Orc 3 DEAD

Orc 4 (7hp) misses Brother Fitzy

Orc 5 (8hp) misses Brother O'malley

Round 3:

Initiative: Monsters win 4 to 1

Oni assistant 1 (6hp) hits Bro-jira for 9hp, killing him

Oni chief will take 2 rounds to regenerate and regain consciousness

Oni assistant 2 regains consciousness with 1 hp

Ogress 1 (10hp) misses Kleptikos

Ogress 2 (13hp) misses Redneck from rear

Ogress 3 (13hp) misses Redneck from rear

Bugbear 1 DEAD 

Bugbear 2 (17hp) misses Brogallo 

Bugbear 3 DEAD 

Bugbear 4 (19hp) misses Brogallo

Bugbear 5 DEAD

Bugbear 6 DEAD

Bugbear 7 (13hp) misses Mighty Redneck

Orc 1 (6hp) misses Brother Fitzy

Orc 2 (8hp) hits Brother O'malley for 8hp

Orc 3 DEAD

Orc 4 (7hp) hits Brother Fitzy for 4hp

Orc 5 (8hp) misses Brother Sully

Blastikus misses Ogress 1 with thrown dagger

Kleptikos misses Ogress 1

Brogallo attacks bugbear 2 and hits for 4+3hp

Bro-jira DEAD

Mighty Redneck hits bugbear 7 for 4+1+5hp

Brother Fitzy hits orc 1 for 6hp, killing it

Brother O'malley misses orc 2

Brother Sully hits orc 4 for 5hp

Bro-cenary unit 1 miss invisible Oni

Bro-cenary unit 2 hits Ogress 1 with 1 bolts for 3hp

Pikemen unit 1 misses

Pikemen unit 2 hits bugbear 4 for 9hp

Round 4:

Initiative: Party wins 6 to 1

Blastikus misses Ogress 1 with thrown dagger

Kleptikos misses Ogress 1

Brogallo misses bugbear 2

Bro-jira DEAD

Mighty Redneck hits bugbear 4 for 6+1+5hp, killing it

Brother Fitzy misses orc 1

Brother O'malley misses orc 2

Brother Sully misses orc 3

Bro-cenary unit 1 hits Ogress 2 with 2 bolts for 4hp

Bro-cenary unit 2 hits Ogress 1 with 2 bolts for 7hp, killing her

Pikemen unit 1 hits bugbear 2 for 24hp killing it

Pikemen unit 2 hits bugbear 7 for 19hp killing it

Oni assistant 1 (6hp) casts Cone of Cold on pikemen (both units) for 38hp; both units fail save; I use 5.5hp avg for man-at-arms meaning 9 pikemen are now corpsicles; they pass their morale check

Oni chief will take 1 round to regenerate and regain consciousness

Oni assistant 2 regenerates, taking him to 2hp; he fails morale check, assumes Gaseous Form and flees the battle

Ogress 1 DEAD

Ogress 2 (9hp) hits Redneck from rear for 4hp

Ogress 3 (13hp) misses Redneck from rear

Bugbear 1 DEAD 

Bugbear 2 DEAD 

Bugbear 3 DEAD 

Bugbear 4 DEAD

Bugbear 5 DEAD

Bugbear 6 DEAD

Bugbear 7 DEAD

Orc 1 DEAD

Orc 2 (8hp) hits Brother O'malley for 8hp, killing him

Orc 3 DEAD

Orc 4 (2hp) hits Brother Fitzy for 5hp

Orc 5 (8hp) misses Brother Sully

Round 5:

Initiative: Monsters wins 5 to 2

Oni assistant 1 (6hp) casts Sleep on pikemen (both units) taking out 4 pikemen; 5 pikemen left; they pass their morale check again - dudes are tough

Oni chief regains consciousness with 1 hp

Oni assistant 2 FLED

Ogress 1 DEAD

Ogress 2 (9hp) misses Redneck

Ogress 3 (13hp) misses Redneck

Bugbear 1 DEAD 

Bugbear 2 DEAD 

Bugbear 3 DEAD 

Bugbear 4 DEAD

Bugbear 5 DEAD

Bugbear 6 DEAD

Bugbear 7 DEAD

Orc 1 DEAD

Orc 2 (8hp) misses Brother Sully 

Orc 3 DEAD

Orc 4 (2hp) misses Brother Fitzy 

Orc 5 (8hp) hits Brother Fitzy for 6hp

Blastikus misses Ogress 2 with thrown dagger

Kleptikos hits Ogress 3 with backstab for 5x2hp

Brogallo misses Oni assistant 1

Bro-jira DEAD

Mighty Redneck hits Oni assistant 1 with 7+1+5hp, killing it

Brother Fitzy misses orc 2

Brother O'malley DEAD

Brother Sully misses orc 4

Bro-cenary unit 1 misses Ogress 2

Bro-cenary unit 2 hits Ogress 1 with 2 bolts for 8hp, killing her

Pikemen unit 1 DEAD

Pikemen unit 2 hits Ogress 3 for 10hp killing her

Round 6:

Initiative: Monsters wins 6 to 4

Oni assistant 1 DEAD

Oni chief regenerates to 2hp; assumes Gaseous Form and flees to monastery to get reinforcements

Oni assistant 2 FLED

Ogress 1 DEAD

Ogress 2 (9hp) hits Redneck for 4hp

Ogress 3 DEAD

Bugbear 1 DEAD 

Bugbear 2 DEAD 

Bugbear 3 DEAD 

Bugbear 4 DEAD

Bugbear 5 DEAD

Bugbear 6 DEAD

Bugbear 7 DEAD

Orc 1 DEAD

Orc 2 (8hp) hits Brother Sully for 5hp

Orc 3 DEAD

Orc 4 (2hp) misses Brother Fitzy 

Orc 5 (8hp) misses Brother Fitzy

Blastikus misses Ogress 2 with thrown dagger

Kleptikos misses Ogress 2 

Brogallo hits Ogress 2 for 5+3hp, killing her

Bro-jira DEAD

Mighty Redneck misses Ogress 2

Brother Fitzy misses orc 2

Brother O'malley DEAD

Brother Sully misses orc 4

Bro-cenary unit 1 hits Orc 2 with 3 bolts for 9hp killing it

Bro-cenary unit 2 hits Orc 4 with 1 bolts for 3hp, killing it

Pikemen unit 1 DEAD

Pikemen unit 2 moves to slave pen to free prisoners

Round 7:

Initiative: Party wins 5 to 3

Blastikus moves to tent 1 to search for loot

Kleptikos moves to tent 2 to search for loot

Brogallo moves to tent 1 to search for loot

Bro-jira DEAD

Mighty Redneck retrieves Bro-Jira's body

Brother Fitzy hits orc 5 for 3+1hp

Brother O'malley DEAD

Brother Sully hits orc 5 for 3+1hp, killing it

Bro-cenary unit 1 moves to help free the prisoners

Bro-cenary unit 2 moves to help free the prisoners

Pikemen unit 1 DEAD

Pikemen unit 2 moves to slave pen to free prisoners

Oni assistant 1 DEAD

Oni chief regenerates to 3hp; in monastery getting reinforcements

Oni assistant 2 FLED

Ogress 1 DEAD

Ogress 2 DEAD

Ogress 3 DEAD

Bugbear 1 DEAD 

Bugbear 2 DEAD 

Bugbear 3 DEAD 

Bugbear 4 DEAD

Bugbear 5 DEAD

Bugbear 6 DEAD

Bugbear 7 DEAD

Orc 1 DEAD

Orc 2 DEAD

Orc 3 DEAD

Orc 4 DEAD

Orc 5 DEAD

Aftermath:

The Wall of Ice has 5 turns left. The Oni Chief, still in Gaseous Form, lingers around the entrance and sees what the party has done. He is seething with rage over his assistant's betrayal and the party's theft of his treasure. The Oni Chief tries to rally his troops to go after the party, but I decide that the heavy casualties are going to impact his standing with the underlings. A reaction roll will be necessary at a -20% penalty and the chief rolls a 21 which gets modded down to 1% (i.e. Violently Hostile.).The Oni and orcs viciously deride the Chief's ridiculous quest for the nonexistent treasure as they unceremoniously turn their backs on him and abandon his fool's quest. The Chief's honor is in tatters. He swears vengeance and bides his time until he can enact his revenge.

Brother Sully and Brother Fitzy retrieve the remains of Brother O'malley and add him to the Dead Cart with Bro-jira. They then heal up the remaining party members in anticipation of more trouble from the Oni.

Brother Fitzy CLW on Kleptikos for 4hp

Brother Fitzy CLW on Mighty Redneck for 3hp

Brother Fitzy CLW on Mighty Redneck for 6hp

Brother Sully CLW on Brother Fitzy for 7hp

Brother Sully CLW on Brother Fitzy for 3hp

Brother Sully CLW on Mighty Redneck for 8hp

The party and mercs retreat to Gunnolfsfell with the newly freed slaves and all goods. The peasants toss the dead orcs onto hastily erected pyres and bury the dead mercs and Bros.

That's it for this session - it was definitely packed with a lot of developments. Let's see what happens in downtime.

Session 7: The Purging of Gunnolfsfell - Part 1

The Setup

After hiring 8 serjeants to help Captain Lou keep the 40 pikemen in line as well as Sgt Slaughter for the existing Bro-cenary horsemen, the Bros leaves Tallow watch with pikemen in tow to see what they can do about the orcs that killed the original bros. They're suspicious that there are more hiding in the area surrounding Gunnolfsfell and decide they're going to need the extra manpower.

The Ogre Magi (aka Oni cuz that's what they're supposed to be...) are looking for the treasure specified on their map. It is really in the ruins within hex 311.304, but they've misread the map and mistakenly believe the ruined tomb in hex 302.301 to be the location of the hoard. They've brought a large force of orcs as slave labor and treasure guards. 

Unwilling to incur the wrath of the Eastgate (hex 303.301) or Valthrun (hex 300.300) militias, they've decided to use guile and stealth as much as possible. To keep the orcs satiated and to eliminate all potential witnesses (and runners to the cities), the Oni Chief ordered the bulk of the orcs to obliterate Gunnolfsfell while he takes a smaller group with him to quietly search the ruined tomb in hex 302.301 for the treasure. 

In a savage surprise attack witnessed by the patrolling Bro-cenaries, the Oni and orcs exterminated all 788 residents of the village. After slaying every man, woman, and child in the village, the orcs dispersed throughout the village and nearby wooded hills. They now quietly patrol the area for intruders and will attack the PCs if encountered.

Coincidentally, the ogresses and bugbears from the Serpent Shrine met the Oni while fleeing from the bros devastating attack on the shrine. The Oni have put them in charge of keeping the orcs in line while they excavate the ruins and, so far, everything has been going to plan.

The Battle

The Bros don't know most of this, however. I'm going to run them under their mistaken assumption that the village was attacked by the Oni and they are unaware of the orc horde. They decide to take the road to Valthrun, but turn off at hex 301.299 and leave the pikemen and crossbow cavalry there while they scout ahead using the map generated by the merc patrol in downtime.

Kleptikos will scout ahead with Redneck while the rest of the party will follow behind at a distance. The tundra doesn't provide much cover and the rocky barren soil of Gunnolfsfell's environs is even less help. Fortunately, there are enough small hills to provide cover to the party and help mask the scouts' approach. If the situation goes horribly awry, the scouts will retreat to the remaining party members and all will fall back at full speed to the mercenaries.

Kleptikos advances using Move Silently (he needs a 26% and succeeds with a 17%) while Redneck takes up a position to cover him with his short bow. Kleptikos attempts to Hear Noise (failing with a 91%), but doesn't hear anything. The entire village seems abandoned and is eerily silent. He decides to try peering into some houses to see if he can suss out what's happening. He attempts to Move Silently to the house (50% fails). I roll a 6 for a random encounter, so the house is unoccupied. Kleptikos notices the once cozy cottage has been completely ravaged, with large amounts of dried blood splattered on every surface. The former occupants clearly were slaughtered some time ago, so Kleptikos moves on to the next house. 

He again fails Move Silently and Hear Noise (73% and 78%) and lucks out with no encounter (rolled a 5) only to see another completely ravaged farmhouse. It's not looking good for the villagers and Kleptikos decides to try moving closer to the village center.

He lucks out on Move Silently but not Hear Noise (21% and 40%), and is immediately overwhelmed by an unspeakable acidic stench of sulfur infused feces that hits him like a dwarven warhammer to the genitals.  Since Kleptikos speaks orcish, I assume he has at least a passing familiarity with the savages so I make an Intelligence (14 score) check to see if he recognizes it. He gets a 7 so easily recognizes the fulsome stench of an orc horde. Alarmed by the orcs' unusual silence and the clear absence of the Oni, he decides this information is critical and quickly makes his escape (with a successful 13% on Move Silently). Unfortunately, the random encounter check comes up with a 1 so he runs into a group of 11 orcs moving from one cottage to another.

Luckily Kleptikos wins surprise 5 to 1 and encounter distance comes up at 14" (6d4 -1 for surprise, per DMG pg49). He decides to use his superior reaction to avoid the orcs and report back to the group. He reunites with Redneck and they waste no time in heading back to the Bros. They inform them of the orcs, and the group sketches out a battle plan with Capt. Lou and Sgt. Slaughter leading the mercenaries.

The Bros will take the vanguard on foot, followed by the pikemen and the crossbow cavalry providing missile fire from the right flank.

Order of Battle:

1. Blastikus will try to Sleep and Web as many of the orcs as possible, followed up with the Wand of Frost. 
2. The clerics and fighters will try to take out orc leaders. 
3. The pikemen mercs will go after the orc troops. 
4. The crossbow cavalry will charge to the rear of the horde and open fire.

The overall idea is to blitz the orcs, break their morale by taking out their leaders and inflicting massive casualties, overrunning them as they flee. Let's see if it works.

I rolled up the orcs per AD&D MM and got 113 for number appearing. To help make the math easier, I decide 13 orcs went with the Oni, leaving 100 orcs to hide in the village. I'm running this abstract at a 5:1 ratio with the Bros and the orc leaders running as individual heroes. 

I admit this got pretty complicated and I played the scenario late at night, so my notes were not up to snuff on the battle. I'll do a better job next time since I learned quite a bit by sticking to the AD&D rules and just scaling up the figures. Short version: it works pretty well, the wargame roots of AD&D are evident, and it's absolutely usable for mass combat. If you're so inclined, you could use a dedicated wargame ruleset like Warhammer Fantasy, but it's not absolutely necessary. Base AD&D rules work great R.A.W!

When the dust settles, the PCs stand victorious. Some highlights:

• Blastikus was devastating. He took out the orc missile troops with Sleep spells (and got some good rolls, to be fair) and destroyed the orc swordsmen with the Wand of Frost. This item is a little too dangerous for use underground, but absolutely shines in wilderness situations and mass battles.
• The mobility of the horsemen was key and they were able to hit the orcs from the rear to devastating effect, ultimately forcing multiple units to flee the battlefield after failing morale checks. 
• The pikemen broke the orc infantry at a heavy cost, losing half of their number in the process. Such is the short and bloody life of the merc-for-hire. Capt. Lou is going to have to step up his recruiting efforts when he returns to Tallow Watch. 

The Aftermath

The Bros allow the mercenaries to loot the bodies for battlefield spoils while they make a house to house search of the village for any survivors or prisoners. They find none amongst the blood soaked detritus that is the all too famous hallmark of the orc savages. Gunnolfsfell becomes another tragic footnote in the history of the region, slowly turning into another pile of ruins that dot the countryside.

They have avenged the deaths of their brothers beneath the ruins of the Shrine of Lethria at a heavy cost. They begin the grim trek through the dark forest to meet the Oni.

Campaign Procedures and Generators

This is a sticky post with some random generators and/or procedures for various use cases that aren't explicitly covered in the DMG. Nothing revolutionary, but I wanted a single place for easy reference when I'm generating solo content. I'll update this page as the campaign develops.

Mass Combat Procedure (Super Quick Version)

This is a solo campaign that has the potential for a lot of mass combat. I don't need to do a full tabletop wargame scenario (again solo campaign), so I'm using the following stripped down version inspired by Jeffro Johnson's posts here and here (and I think Purple Druid as well, though I can't find the link). Notes:

1. We're aiming for quick mass battle combat resolution using standard AD&D combat rules NOT a typical detailed wargame scenario.
   
   
2. We'll continue to use Weapon vs AC, morale, surprise, etc. Don't forget that fighters get one attack per level vs critters with less than one d8 hit die, so a 7th level fighter with 3/2 attacks is getting 14(!!) attacks on odd rounds and 7 attacks on even rounds against men-at-arms (d6+1 HD), etc . Blood and souls for Lord Arioch!!
   
   
3. This is all theater of the mind. We're running a solo game so need of minis/maps/terrain that would absolutely matter in a real tabletop scenario. You can also use this pretty easily with Braunstein-style scenarios.
   
   
4. This is for troop battles (i.e. humans/humanoid armies, man-at-arms, etc - basically any "Men", Elf, Dwarf, Orc etc entry in the AD&D MM). Monsters like dragons, giants, etc should be handled by normal AD&D combat rules.
   
   
5. We're tracking hit DICE NOT hit POINTS for damage. What does this mean? Let's say you have 10 berserkers (d6 for HP) with battleaxes (d8 for damage) fighting 10 orcs (d8 for HP) with spears (d6 for damage). 
   
   The berserkers are 2-7hp meaning d6+1 for their hit dice and battleaxes are d8 for damage. 
   The orcs are d8 for their hit dice and battleaxes are d8 for damage. 
   
   If the berserkers land 3 hits, they kill 3 orcs (3d8 damage on a d8 HD critter).
   If the orcs land 5 hits, they kill 5 berserkers (5d6 damage on a d6 HD critter). 
   
   If the weapons are reversed, berserker with spear 3d6 hits equal 18HD of damage which means 18/8=2.25HD damage resulting in 2 dead orcs. Orcs with battleaxe 5d8 hits equal 40/6=6.7 HD damage resulting in 6 dead berserkers (you can either ignore or round fractions based on your personal taste).
   
   Again, remember you're tracking hit DICE not hit POINTS in the interest of speed.

This approach works well for our use case and, most importantly, is fast with minimal bookeeping.

Prisoner Table

Since this comes up with a lot of the various humanoid entries, I made a quick prisoner table loosely based on the encounter frequencies of the DMG Appendix C. I may revisit this in future, but it works for now. 

Enjoy! 

d100     Prisoner
1           Dwarf (Hill)
2           Dwarf (Mountain)
3           Elf (High)
4-6        Gnome (Surface)
7-12      Half-Elf
13         Halfling (Hairfoot)
14         Halfling (Stout)
15-24    Half-Orc
25-35    Peasant
36-40    Men-at-arms
41         Amazon
42-46    Bandit
47-48    Berserker
49-53    Brigand
54         Buccaneer
55         Caveman
56         Dervish
57         Merchant
58         Nomad
59         Pilgrim
60         Pirate
61         Sailor
62         Tribesman

63-100  Human NPC

Random Dungeon Generation Starting Parameters

Although I'm using DMG Appendix A to generate all dungeons, there are no procedures for determining the exact extent and starting lethality of the dungeon since the appendix assumes the DM has an idea of this already in mind. Since this is solo play and I'm relying on emergent play to define the world, I'll need some random starting parameters. I've developed the following which I'll probably revise over time:

1. d4 for number of levels
2. d10 for the starting difficulty level of the dungeon
3. d10 for the starting room of the dungeon (per AD&D DMG pg 169)
4. d8 for number of rooms (repeat for each level of the dungeon)

This will give us anywhere from 1 to 32 rooms per random dungeon which should be more than enough. I kind of want to put a mega dungeon somewhere and may use a commercial product if I decide to do so. I really like Greg Gillepsie's products, and wouldn't mind running Barrowmaze or Forbidden Caverns of Achaia, but we'll see.

Price of Silver Weapons

Silver weapons are super handy for dealing with undead, but their acquisition rules and costs aren't explicitly listed in the PHB/DMG. Our campaign rules are thus:

• Silver weapons can be created as a combined task requiring a blacksmith and an alchemist. This means these weapons will only be available in areas that can support multiple such artisans (i.e. a city)
• The PHB (pg 35) lists the cost of an arrow as 2sp and a silver arrow as 1gp thus implying that silver weapons are ten times the cost of the base version. We'll use this as the baseline for other weapon types (e.g. long sword is 15gp so silver long sword is 150gp)

 

Session 6 Downtime: Pikes Make Right

The bros successfully return to Tallow Watch, luckily not encountering any nastiness on the way back. The city guards are surprised to see no casualties among the pikemen and word quickly spreads of the bros' success in dealing with the hobgoblin horde and wiping out the hydra and hellhounds. 

Blastikus spends some time with Identify and quickly susses out the nature of the interesting items that the party liberated from the hobgoblin shrine. Blastikus claims the wand of frost (since he's the only one who can use it, anyway), Kleptikos gets the leather armor +1 and oil of etherealness while Redneck scores the +3 arrows. Everyone gets equal shares of the coins and gems so much happiness abounds. Blastikus and Kleptikos both have enough XP to level up, but insufficient funds for training means they're stuck for the time being.

While the group ponders the latest developments over copious amounts of alcohol, Mighty Redneck is atypically morose and sullen. Noticing his friend's mood, Brother Fitzy approaches him while out of earshot of the rest of the group. Nudging the man-mountain with a half-filled tankard of passably good ale, he asks "Hey pally - what's bothering you? You're never quiet when we've got good eats and better booze." 

Redneck stares at Fitzy with bloodshot eyes for an uncomfortably long time before responding "We are dishonorable cowards, Fitzy."

"What? Where is this coming from, pally? We just expelled a horde of primitives and killed a terrifying abomination with barely a scratch! We're heroes for saving this place!"

His face twisting in a grimace of disgust he lunges across the table, grabs Brother Fitzy's shirt and growls "What about Blasty, little Shifty and Sir Stabbington?! Those filthy orcs killed them, nearly did us in and we've let the savages live! This is a stain on our honor! A shameful blight on our manhood! We send the mercs on a scouting expedition, they find ogres and we do nothing! How can you sleep with our comrades unavenged?!" He releases Fitzy before heavily sitting back down and dropping his head into his hands, dejected and forlorn.

Taken aback by this unexpected outburst, Fitzy is speechless for a few minutes. He takes a long draw from his tankard before quietly saying "You're right, of course."

Still holding his head between his hands, Redneck looks up and says "You know what we need to do."

"Hmmm...seems like Bro-jira isn't the only one with a vendetta..."

Next morning, Brother Fitzy summons the others and informs them of his conversation with Redneck. Brogallo and Bro-jira, energized from their most recent debauchery, enthusiastically support copious bloodshed in the name of vengeance. "Especially against oni!" as Bro-jira emphasizes.

Blastikus, in a somewhat more sanguine mood, is more than happy to impose his will on the uncouth primitive orcs while noting "The oni, as Bro-jira calls them, are well known to have choice bits of loot that would be much safer in our pockets, after all."

Kleptikos, with his eyes closed and head leaning against the wall behind him, and nursing a hangover that would torment the gods themselves, quietly says "I need gold and ogres always have loot. Let's balance the scales, eh? After I get some eggs in me, please..."

Sully and O'malley, clearly seeing the inevitable tide of avarice, acquiesce. Sully says "It would probably be a good idea to see this godsforsaken village of Gunnolfsfell for ourselves and see if the mercs were over reacting or not. If nothing else, it gives us an excuse to return to Valthrun and get some decent food."