Keep on the Borderlands Solo – 4

Introduction

In session 3 of my solo Keep on the Borderlands adventure, Tangrir the Fencer and Rothwood, his untested man-at-arms, arrived at a ruined fortress in a desolate hill country. This session will begin as they enter the fortress and descend in search of a necromancer that is working in the area. Although we know via Mythic that the necromancer has already left, I doubt that such an inviting dungeon would remain uninhabited for long.

The Party

Tangrir the Fencer (Fighter 1, 41/2025xp): 11-16-9-14-10-6. 6/8 hp. 16 ac (chain+dex). Melee: rapier (+0 dmg, +2 hit). Ranged: bow (+0 dmg, +2 hit). 19 gp 1 sp 11 cp. Inventory (8/10): rapier, bow and quiver (19), bedroll, waterskin, ration (6), 10′ pole, flint, torches (8)

Rothwood (NM 0): 5/5 hp. 12 ac (leather). Melee: club/dagger (+0 dmg, +0 hit), ML 6, MV 40′

Mythic Stuff

Chaos: Out of Control (d8)

NPCs: corrupt priest, castellan, necromancer, captain of the watch (elf), monster raiding parties, rival adventuring party, friendly army officer

Threads: missing merchant, clear the Caves of Chaos, losing control of the countryside, find necromancer’s base, monsters in the Keep

Rumors: Massive dog men live in the higher reaches of the caves (Truth: 4+?)

The game begins after the jump…

Keep on the Borderlands Solo – 3

The second session of my solo Labyrinth Lord game of Keep on the Borderlands eneded as Tangrir the Fencer and Rothwood the man-at-arms headed out into the borderlands to find the secret workshop of a necromancer.

Setup

The Party

Tangrir the Fencer (Fighter 1, 36/2025xp): 11-16-9-14-10-6. 7/8 hp. 16 ac (chain+dex). Melee: rapier (+0 dmg, +2 hit). Ranged: bow (+0 dmg, +2 hit). 20 gp 1 sp 11 cp. Inventory (8/10): rapier, bow and quiver (19), bedroll, waterskin, ration (7), 10′ pole, flint, torches (8)

Rothwood (NM 0): 5/5 hp. 12 ac (leather). Melee: club/dagger (+0 dmg, +0 hit), ML 6, MV 30′

Mythic Stuff

Chaos: Average (d10)

NPCs: corrupt priest, castellan, necromancer, captain of the watch (elf), monster raiding parties, rival adventuring party, friendly army officer

Threads: missing merchant, clear the Caves of Chaos, losing control of the countryside, find necromancer’s base, monsters in the Keep

Rumors: Massive dog men live in the higher reaches of the caves (Truth: 4+?)

After the jump, the game begins…

Keep on the Borderlands Solo – 2

This is a follow up to my first session of solo Labyrinth Lord Keep on the Borderlands. Last time, Tangrir the Fencer made his way to the Keep but was unable to find any paying work or clues to the location of the famed Caves of Chaos, so he has been ranging to get a feel for the environs.

Character Sheet

Tangrir the Fencer (Fighter 1, 26/2025xp): 11-16-9-14-10-6. 8/8 hp. 16 ac (chain+dex). Melee: rapier (+0 dmg, +2 hit). Ranged: bow (+0 dmg, +2 hit). 5 gp 9 sp. Inventory (5/10): rapier, bow and quiver (20), bedroll, waterskin, ration (5)

Chaos: Average (d10)

NPCs: corrupt priest, castellan, necromancer, captain of the watch, monster raiding parties, rival adventuring party

Threads: missing merchant, clear the Caves of Chaos, losing control of the countryside, missing Keep grain wagon

Keep on the Borderlands Solo – 1

Inspired by Damn Elf Press, I’ve decided to start a solo Labyrinth Lord game based on the classic Keep on the Borderlands adventure. This will be a relatively hard core game that’s going to rely on good rolling and clever play. At first I’ll be using straight-d6 damage and rolling 3d6-in-order stats, but I’ll be allowing my PCs to start with max HP at first level.

Tangrir the Fencer (Fighter 1, 0/2025xp): 11-16-9-14-10-6. 8/8 hp. 16 ac (chain+dex). Melee: rapier (+0 dmg, +2 hit). Ranged: bow (+0 dmg, +2 hit). 6 gp. Inventory (5/10): rapier, bow and quiver (20), bedroll, waterskin, rations (7)

My character is Tangrir, a swordsman from a distant land who has come to the Borderlands in search of fortune. He is marked by his lithe strength, sharp mind, whip-fast rapier play, and the hideous scar that mars his face.

I’ll be seeding my adventure with the following Mythic NPCs and Threads, based on my knowledge of the module. Note that this is different from ordinary Mythic behavior in that many of these NPCs and Threads may be unknown by my character, and their presence will only be seen through random actions during events.

NPCs: corrupt priest, castellan, necromancer, captain of the watch

Threads: missing merchant, clear the Caves of Chaos

Arthurian Freeform – 1

This is a quick freeform game I started using just an oracle when I was on vacation and had only a handful of dice and my Mythic tables but no game rules or ability to use character sheets. I have been reading Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, so this is heavily influenced by Arthurian legend.

Since I began it in a journal, I attempt to make heavy use of the oracle to drive the action, with relatively little exposition in between (makes it faster and easier to write). As such, I think this “moves” more quickly than my other stories. I actually like it, and hope to do more like this in the future.

Setup

Character creation was simple. I created two characters with four stats: body (physical strength), skill (dexterity and general competence), mind (learning and willpower), and charisma. Other than those few stats, I left the pair as a relatively blank slate to be developed as I played.

Sir Ermis, knight: Body+2, Skill+1, Mind-1, Cha+0

Calandra, sage: Body-1, Skill+1, Mind+2, Cha+0

As mentioned earlier, I knew that this would take place in a (loose) Arthurian world, so Sir Ermis is a knight of Arthur’s court and Calandra a sage in the Merlin-y sorcerer’s tradition.

P&P Goblin Slayer — 2

In my first Goblin Slayer session, my four-member party was stymied from finding work by a mysterious closure at the Guild Hall. Refusing to be deterred, the adventurers spent the day in town, preparing for the first official Quest.

Reminder: You can find links to every one of my solo session game reports on my Campaign Logs page.

Scene 3. Finding Work.

Another night passes quietly in the town as the four untested warriors rest themselves in preparation of the coming dawn. 

• Is the Guild open for business? +2: yes

The party rises early and heads to the towering hall. A few other parties have beaten them there–mostly other low-ranked adventurers looking for work–but the doors are open already and guild reps are milling about the floor.

Cleric and Fighter move to the front counter while Thief and Magic-User linger on the floor, listening for rumors.

Pits & Perils: Goblin Slayer — 1

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to update the blog. I’ve been distracted by other hobbies–primarily computer role-playing. Over the last twelve months, I’ve beaten Final Fantasy XII, Baldur’s Gate, The Witcher, and am well on my way to beating Dragon Age: Origins. These games are all great values, but they’ve definitely taken away from my ability to get a lot of solo role-playing in.

However, I recently began watching the anime Goblin Slayer online, and I’m hooked. It’s so obviously inspired by early D&D that it’s made me want to break out my Pits and Perils books and roll up a party–so that’s what I’m going to do!

Game and World Setup

GS is a world that seems torn between the tropes of western fantasy gaming and Japanese video role-playing games in a wonderful way. Heroes in the show are vulnerable and enemies deadly, but the characters all align to the strict class-systems of gaming and operate out of an adventurer’s guild replete with published quests.

It’s a straight-forward world, and it’s one that seems like it should lend itself perfectly to solo gaming.

The Undercity – Session 10

The Setup

In my last Undercity game, the party slept through the gates of the City of Spires and began their winding journey toward the ruins known as the Bridge of Light in the employ of a small cult that calls themselves the Circle of the Star.

The road thus far.

Barodan the Ranger – Session 1

I’ve been on a bit of a Lord of the Rings kick lately, and it has inspired me to start a solo game using the Labyrinth Lord + AEC rules and play a ranger patrolling the cold north.

Character Creation

Unfortunately, rolling a ranger is hard in the AEC rules. If you go by the straight 3d6 all the way down, the odds of getting CON 15, INT 12, WIS 12 are very slim. I created an excel sheet to roll 30 characters at a time and it took 3 rounds (90 PCs) before I found one.

When I found him, though, I had two good options (S-D-C-I-W-C order, as always for me):

17-12-16-15-15-11
9-15-15-12-13-12

Although I like the idea of a woodland archer, I’m going to go with the S17 guy, primarily because of his I15 giving him a bonus language, which will be Sindarin (Grey-Elven), since Rangers commonly speak the elven tongue amongst themselves. He has the additional advantage of being almost born into the career: he hits the minimum requirements for the 5% exp bonus for the three prime attributes (S-I-W).

Next, I needed to create my character’s personality. In order to try something new, I decided to just roll up somebody interesting using the Universal NPC Emulator. I got:

Goals:

1. agonize communications (disrupt Shadow activities)
2. achieve literature (seek out the truth of legends and myths)
3. relate compassion (protect the weak)

Barodan the Ranger is warlike first and foremost, doing what he can to take the fight to the enemy. His second driving motivation is curiosity–the old tales draw him beyond the comforts of civilization. Finally, he is truly a compassionate man, and he will risk his own life for those who need his help.

The Undercity – Session 9

The Setup

In my last Undercity game, the party was hired by the enigmatic prophetess of a small cult to escort their caravan out of the city and to a distant shrine. Their errand was hurried when a contingent of the City Guard attacked the cult’s church and burned its ancient records. Horatio, Thudok, Gadroom, and Xevius have now been swept up into the women’s haste and are now trying to leave the City of Spires without attracting any more attention.