Escaping from the Octagon Room

What You Can See When You Arrive in the Octagon Room

1 - 50' by 30' pool of clear water with a small round platform, 4' diameter, in the centre with 2 beams of wood 1' wide leading to the platform.

2 - A glass window 10' wide by 3'

3 - Bees and a large key

4 - Prison bars with three bears inside, 2 adult, 1 juvenile

5 - Kitchen area with stove, cupboards, workbench, utensils and pit filled with ice

6 - 3 beds and 3 closets

7 - piano, drums, violin, xylophone, trumpet and tambourine

8 - glass-walled room with wooden box inside

9 - statue of snaky haired woman, one hand behind her back, the other outstretched, open palmed

10 - 5' long metal zip with weird runes above it

Golem Busting

Three

Moving cautiously deeper into the caverns, Kuticles leading the way, the party come to a large door, 11’ wide and a massive 17’ tall. This provokes Slippey to wonder about this being a home to giants rather than dwarves but Kuticles points to both a key hole 3’ from the ground in the door’s centre and the significant clue contained within glittering crystal: dwarven runes stating this to be the chambers of Z’Tpozz. While the hobb blushes, Idris listens at the door and, hearing nothing, casts Knock-Knock (INT check 4,2 – pass) but the door stays locked. Runeweaver is a little perplexed but casts Omnipotent Eye (3,2 – pass – WIZ cost just 1) and learns the door is Knock-Knock-proof. This allows Slippey to make amends and use his roguery talent to attempt to pick the lock.

Using pick locks and his Roguery talent (here, DEX +2), Faggends makes three successive saving rolls but it still takes 3 turns to work the heavy, unresponsive mechanism. No one is very impressed and now five turns have passed.

Four

When the hobb rogue finally here’s the long hoped for click and moves aside for the dwarf to open the door, the delvers see a 110’ by 70’ chamber with a 40’ high domed ceiling with the imposing feature of a lava curtain cascading into a channel over in the west. An opening can be made into through the lava. At the far end, just as alarming, can be seen an obsidian golem statue, 7’ tall and a bulky 10’ wide, armed with a huge spear. As they entered, its eyes glow red and it speaks in a low rumble: “You are not he. You shall not pass!”

The golem makes Sammy nervous – “I just know it’ll come to life!” As soon as Kuticles takes a step forward, the novice warrior is proved aright but when the dwarf retreats the golem backs off too.

Now conscious that time is ticking away, Runeweaver states his opinion that they either need to go further in the first cavern they entered or plan an all-out assault on the golem since any goodies must be beyond the lava-fall and the golem is guarding the way through.

The elf mage has recovered some WIZ by now and let’s rip with a L3 TTYF (INT check made, WIZ high enough); it costs him just 11 WIZ and does 90 damage. When he sees the sorry state the golem has been reduced to, Kutcicles and Sammy charge at it, the dwarf just using his kukri so as not to waste the Whammy on his war hammer. It is a piece of good judgement and the golem’s head explodes in a shower of powder and razor-sharp shards with only minimum force applied against it. Kuticles is convinced the shards must have some value but the fairy make sit clear that she, at least, cannot afford the time for a distraction and wants to know what they do about getting through the lava.

Kuticles considers borrowing Sammy’s shield and using it as an umbrella but Runeweaver thinks his Wink-Wing spell much safer – except that he would be dangerously low on WIZ… Then he has the bright idea (L4 INT SR with double 3s followed by the 1-2 combination) of deflecting the lava with the golem’s body, having it wedged in the opening diagonally. He has the CHR to persuade Kuticles to ge the job done and with STR of 50, the dwarf just needs a little guiding force from his sidekick, Sammy, to put the golem to good use. A sixth turn has passed.

The Party of Six in the Dungeon

Slammin’ Sammy Saladhin: STR – 11/11/11 WIZ – 13/13/13 INT – 10/10/10 LK – 9/9/9 CON – 14/14/14 DEX – 8/8/8 CHR – 10/10/10 SPD – 13/13/13 ADDS – 0(-1) Weapons – Gladius 3+2/4+2, kukri 2+5 Armour – Leather (6)/(12), Buckler (3)/(6)

Other Possessions – Lantern, backpack and provisions        Talents: TBA      Languages: TBA

Runeweaver: STR – 9/7/13 WIZ – 10/15/20 INT – 10/15/30 LK – 13/13/13 CON – 9/6/12 DEX – 9/14/24 CHR – 15/30/50 SPD – 12*/23/23 ADDS – +13(+19)       Weapons – Kukri 2+5, 2 poniards 2 each Armour – Leather (6)/(6)                Magic – all L1,2,3 plus Wink-Wing, Double-Double, Smog, Protective Pentagram, Upsidaisy     Other – Wand of Focus, lantern, backpack and provisions              Talents: TBA              Languages: TBA

Idris Slackbladder: STR – 10/10/13 WIZ – 10/10/16 INT – 10/10/20 LK – 11/11/11 CON – 4/4/12 DEX – 12/12/30 CHR – 9/9/12 SPD – 9/9/9 ADDS – +13(+19)    Weapons – Kukri 2+5, 2 poniards 2 each, common sling 2 Armour – Leather (6)/(6)          Magic – all L1 plus Poor Baby, Hidey Hole, Omnipotent Eye, Mirage, Little Feets, Cateyes, Fly Me, Rock-a-Bye    Other – Wand of Focus, lantern, backpack and provisions Talents: TBA                        Languages: TBA

Sylphilia: STR – 6/2/10 WIZ – 8/16/16 INT – 11/11/20 LK – 5/8/16 CON – 13/3/10 DEX – 5/10/40 CHR – 12/24/24 SPD – 10/10/14 ADDS – +34(+62)                   Weapons – Kukri 2+5, 2 poniards 2 each, common sling 2 Armour – Leather (6)/(6)      

Magic – Oh Go Away, Knock-Knock, Hold That Pose, Call Flame, Vorpal Blade,    Little Feets     Other Possessions – Lantern, backpack and provisions       Talents: TBA      Languages: TBA

Slippey Faggends: STR – 10/7/9 WIZ – 20*/15/15 INT – 8/8/10 LK – 9/9/13 CON – 7/14/14 DEX – 11/17/20 CHR – 10/10/10 SPD – 10/10/11 ADDS – +9(+17)       Weapons – Kukri 2+5, 2 poniards 2 each, common sling 2 Armour – Leather (6)/(6) Magic – none    Other Possessions – Lantern, backpack and provisions            Talents: Roguery +2         Languages: TBA

Kuticles: STR – 11/22/50 WIZ – 12/8/15 INT – 9/9/12 LK – 31*/20/20 CON – 8/16/20 DEX – 10/10/15 CHR – 7/5/8 SPD – 13/13/15 ADDS – +52(+55)                       Weapons – War hammer 5+2/10+2, kukri 2+5, 2 poniards 2 each                         Armour – Leather (6)/(12)   Other Possessions – Lantern, backpack and provisions, 100’ silk rope, piton hammer and 10 pitons      Talents: TBA    Languages: TBA

(Attributes – I give the dice roll, the modified number (for Kraken continent) and then the number after leveling. NB – wizards get half combat adds only)

Let's Go Down A Dungeon!

The Chamber of Z’Tpozz The Mad Dwarf – A GM Tunnels & Trolls Adventure

Played and GM’d by Khaghbboommm!

“This is an adventure for 4-8 characters, level 1-5.”

OK, so here is the party of 6 characters (we’ll fly in replacements as needed):

1. Kuticles - Dwarf warrior (L5)
2. Slammin’ Sammy Saladhin – Human warrior (L1)
3. Runeweaver – Elf wizard (L5)
4. Idris Slackbladder – Human witch (L3)
5. Sylphilia – Fairy rogue (L4)
6. Slippey Faggends – Hobb(it) rogue (L2)

We’ll see what possessions they have and what their attributes are as we progress – we want to get on with it!

One

The Panjandrum of the Fire Dwarves wants to hire us to recover their princess who has been kidnapped by a mad dwarf wizard. We get a map to take us to the wizard’s lair, located within an active volcano – not good but we do a small supply of Vyron potions to protect us. You can only take one dose at a time (or you die) and we get three each; they last 13-18 turns and you don’t know how long so we’ll only roll once 12 turns have gone by). (As GM, I know that PCs can only last CON divided by 25 turns before their lungs give out so the fairy will be in trouble if not very careful.)

Two

The party enters a lava tunnel and it is clear that the first dose of potion is needed. Even Kuticles the Dwarf swallows a vial of the liquid, saying he will try not to use any more so that he may help anyone else who is less hardy. Kuticles, Runeweaver and Slippery volunteer to take care of one third of the remaining glass tubes each.

The first living thing encountered in the caverns is a strange hen with bright plumage that looks kind of rocky. It is about 2’ tall. Although they are not here to slaughter all life found below ground, Sylphilia suggests Kuticles sees how he does in combat against it so they get a sense of how tough things are down here in the fiery depths of the earth. The dwarf agrees and the fairy hovers above the combat, ready to help the warrior if needed. The wizards are alert and ready with spells.

Kuticles: STR – 11/22/50 WIZ – 12/8/15 INT – 9/9/12 LK – 31*/20/20 CON – 8/16/20 DEX – 10/10/15 CHR – 7/5/8 SPD – 13/13/15 ADDS – +52(+55) Weapons – War hammer 5+2/10+2, kukri 2+5, 2 poniards 2 each Armour – Leather (6)/(12)

Other Possessions – Lantern, backpack and provisions, 100’ silk rope, piton hammer and 10 pitons

(Attributes – I give the dice roll, the modified number and then the number after leveling.)

The dwarf fights with his war hammer and kukri and rolls 12 d6 for 36 (1 spite) plus 59 adds for a total of 95. The G’Zenna hen has MR 13 and rolls 2d6 for 6 (no spite) plus 6 adds for a total of 12.

The warrior smashes the hen flat with his hammer in the first strike of the contest and wipes it clean on his beard. (He gets 13 APs).

Runeweaver casts a Whammy on his hammer and he helps Sylphilia and Idris cast Vorpal Blades on every one’s main weapons (they cannot afford to hang about recovering WIZ so limit the blade-boosting). (Runeweaver gets 16 APs for the L2 Whammy and 9 for the L1 Vorpal Blade; Sylphilia gets 26 APs for two Vorpal Blades; Idris gets 17APs for two Vorpal Blades – no critical fumbles on INT SRs to cast spells (I shall find their INTs later).

One turn has passed and the delvers are ready to go on, not scared of chickens they have no need to count.

Fairies in the Mist

A snippet from yesterday's GM'd game:

To keep it short, the fairy wizard Lelaura had been stopped from snooping on a werewolf-controlled castle that needed to be taken apart by a 'Dome of Impenetrable Darkness' spell cast by the werewolf sorceror.

One of her companions is a vampire who can turn into mist. The fairy took a gamble and climbed into Yasela's pocket before she mist-ified herself. Yasela groped her way to the castle walls, which she then floated up and over until she found a courtyard which, when she entered, was not in darkness.

She then turned back into a solid form (WIZ cost 10).

This was the critical point for Lelaura and the dice favoured her - she emerged solid and unharmed (it was a life or death one-time roll).

Knowing this would work, Lelaura transferred enough WIZ to Yasela so that she could become mist again (having slipped back into her pocket) and the to proceed to find a drain, travel down a sewer to the castle's dungeon level, where they emerged into a bat cave.

Their task is (still) to bury a small box which will stop more werewolves spawning here and then trash the castle (this will be all the easier for the cyclops they convinced to join them by marrying him off to a human adventurer, Lucy Bottom, and the two dwarf warriors, Meatymutt and Wedges, the latter of whom has a talent for explosives). They explored a little further but drew the line when they found a torture chamber with a red-eyed liche pacing back and forth inside.

This game is loosely based on "Send in the Army", a GM adventure of mine available from Khaghbboommm Press via Lulu as a printed booklet but which I have not yet released via DriveThru as a pdf. (Playing it reveals to me that a number key on the maps would be helpful.)

House Elf in The Arena of Khaboom

Charlie's wizard House Elf is currently putting on a show in the Arena of Khaboom. He is L14 and has entered with the benefit of a Born Again spell (it would be very hard to kill him off at this stage as it would be too big a loss in so many ways; he has died twice, both times with BA spells in place: once was late night carelessly when he went down with the idiot hobbit Gibby Honeydew to elven archers in a camp ambush, the other when he helped mastermind the plot to bring down the L98 or somesuch liche-lord).

His one but last combat was against a knight. This is how it went...

The knight galloped out to meet House Elf as he emerged from the Tunnel of Challengers. The wizard had time to cast an Invisible Wall spell and the horse smashed into it, going down in a heap.

The Arena Management had gotten the Wizards' Guild to cast Double-Double spells on every attribute of House Elf's opponents. So the knight was quick enough to react without getting hurt himself and landed deftly on his feet.

As he roared and charged on foot, House Elf cast Slush Yuck under him. The knight would have escaped easily but the wizard is able to cast two spells once each day and he cast Hard Stuff to trap the knight.

(We play the 7.5 INT SR rule so spells can mis-fire.)

The ne'er say die knight threw a gauntlet at the wizard and then appealed for a drew when the failed to reach his target. This was rejected out of hand (sic) so he tried and failed again. House Elf allowed him one more shy and this time he removed his codpiece and missed just as badly with this aerodynamic projectile. House Elf had warned him that after three strikes, he would take a turn at this game.

House Elf threw his kukri at the knight, who easily hoisted his shield to block. House Elf has very high combat adds, even with the house rule we play halving a wizard's combat adds as he/she is not a trained fighter.

The knife went so fast, hard and true that it went straight through the tower shield, straight through his plate armour and went through his heart and out the back, killing him instantly.

The crowd were somewhat shocked but appreciated the aplomb with which the knight was dispatched.

TARO

While playing Lions vs. Citizens, the rules of which I intend to sketch out soon, I rolled TARO three times in a row for one PC's CHR - now that is extraordinary!!

The odds are 1 in 36 x 36 x 36 - worse than 1 in 45,000.

This PC, the elegantly named Sam, was therefore able to make the lions lie down and roll on their backs, waiting to be tickled. The crowd enjoyed this as a change of diet to gore and Sam survived the Arena to make it out into the Wonderful World of Delving :)