Escape Goat (OSE)

2nd Level Arcane Spell

Duration: 3 turns

Range: Conjured to caster’s presence

Conjures a small goat beside the caster. When a humanoid mounts the goat, it rides away from a source of danger threatening the caster.

• Load: Despite its size, the goat is strong enough to bear a medium-sized or smaller creature and their gear.

• Movement: The rider cannot direct the goat toward a destination or steer it in any particular direction. Nor does the goat understand the caster’s commands. The goat attempts to avoid any dangers it perceives in its path (e.g. fire, monsters). The goat climbs up or down even the most precipitous cliff or wall with ease.

• Duration: The goat rides until it is slain, until the caster dismounts, or until it reaches 1 mile from the original source of danger. At the point is disappears.

If no source of danger is present when this spell is cast, the goat refuses any rider and eats nearby plants, other food, or wanders off in search of either for 1 turn before disappearing.

Escape Goat (OSE)

AC 3 (16)

Hit Dice 3 (13hp)

Attacks 1 x horns (1d6)

THAC0 17 (+2)

Movement 150 (50’)

Saving Throws D12 W13 P14 B15 S16

Morale 1

Alignment Neutral

XP

• Escape: The escape goat always wins initiative and counts as its own side. The goat only attacks objects blocking its path. It never attacks creatures.

• Ram: Requires a clear run of at least 20 yards. The goat’s horns inflict double damage. The goat can only attack objects, not creatures.

Escape Goat (5e)

Level: 2nd, Casting Time: 1 Action, Range/Area: 5 feet), Components: V, S, M*, Duration: Up to 20 minutes. School: Conjuration, Attack/Save None, Damage/Effect

*-(a handful of grass)

Available for: Bards, Sorcerers and Wizards

Escape Goat (5e)

Small Beast, Unaligned

AC 13 Initiative +2 (12)

HP 16 (3d8+3)

Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.

STR 17 (MOD +3; SAVE +5), DEX 14 (+2), CON 16 (+3, SAVE +5), INT 6 (-2), WIS 17 (+3, SAVE +5), CHA 6 (-2)

Skills Acrobatics +6, Athletics +7

Senses Passive Perception 13

Languages —

CR —

Traits

Fleet of foot: Opportunity attacks targeting the goat or its rider have Disadvantage.

Actions

Ram. Melee Attack Roll: +5 (can only target objects, not creatures), reach 5 ft., Hit: 6 (1d6+3) Bludgeoning damage. If the goat moved 20+ feet straight toward the target immediately before the hit, the target takes an extra 7 (2d6) Bludgeoning damage and gains the Prone condition.

Notes

This spell was inspired by my friend’s son’s understanding of the word “scapegoat,” during a D&D session. Therefore, it is dedicated him!

I was running the adventure Danger in the Air! written by Michael Curtis at SIMCON 46 in Rochester, NY this past weekend. It is a funnel for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG and one of my favorite adventures.

The party was stumbling into monsters and traps as they explored inside a bizarre organism. They were making guesses about what’s dangerous and taking risks. As a 0-level funnel, the player characters usually have between 1 and 5 hit points. Each player began with 4 randomly generated PCs. Most of monsters did 1d4 or 1d6 damage per successful attack. No damage bonuses.

When a PC was hit by an attack, everyone held their breath and the player visibly prepared themselves to accept their character’s death. But then I rolled a 1 on the monster’s damage die. A PC with 2 HP survived! Players were jumping up. They were high fiving. The character fought on with their 1 remaining HP in good spirits. They have another chance to navigate this alien environment and maybe even learn how to avoid the particular danger that almost killed their PC. They might even find a way to heal a few hit points.

Sometimes a PC with 3 HP ends up surviving two attacks or traps like that, each one dealing just 1 damage as improbable as that is. Two near death experiences! They were having a blast.

It helps that I rolled the damage dice in front of the players, as the DCC RPG recommends. They knew I wasn’t fudging the dice, keeping them alive with plot armor.

No bonuses

The above scenes couldn’t have played out the same way if the monsters or traps had bonuses to their damage dice. If a monster’s dagger deals 1d4+2 damage, then it makes no difference whether the PC has 1 hit point or 3 hit points. They will automatically die if hit. The suspense and possible relief are accordingly less. The bigger the the bonus to the damage die, the fewer times that suspense and relief can occur.

This form of suspense is in addition to that over whether an attack will hit. But as long as we have separate attack and damage rolls, why not have suspense for both? With larger bonuses to damage dice, the greater the feeling of inevitability is, which can lead to despair, and I suspect, subtle frustration. The number of attacks necessary for the target to be slain is also less variable.

Similar dynamics suspense and relief have played out in my Old-School Essentials games. Monsters in OSE and other retroclones also rarely have damage bonuses. NPCs sometimes have damage bonuses granted by ability scores or magical weapons. Spellcasters can have bonuses to the damage dice of magic missile. That makes these opponents fearsome.

I remember when a party went up against a lich in one OSE game. It cast magic missile multiple times as a high HD spellcaster. Combined with the unerring nature of magic missiles and the bonus to their damage dice, this created the terrifying inevitability of doom. But that was exceptional and memorable and forced the players to make hard choices.

Most monsters are best run with no bonus to damage dice. For similar reasons, when a monster deals high amounts of damage, it’s best if their attack deals a single die of damage (e.g. 1d8 is preferable to 2d4). When bonuses are used, they should be kept small (+1 or +2). This way you can maximize the excitement of combat.

Bonuses to monsters’ damage dice became common with 3rd edition and I feel that was a mistake.

Bonuses for players

I don’t feel as strongly about bonuses for player characters. While I generally prefer symmetrical mechanics, mechanics that apply equally to PCs and NPCs, because they promote verisimilitude, I don’t think high bonuses negatively impact player experience.

D&D’s Butter Battle Book: Hit point and damage inflation

My favorite Dr. Seuss book is his Cold War satire The Butter Battle Book. If you haven’t read it or watched Ralph Bakshi’s cartoon adaptation, the premise is that the Yooks and Zooks realize they eat their bread with the butter on different sides. One eats it butter side up and the other butter side down. That sparks a cycle of escalating military armament between the two sides. When one builds a new weapon, the other tries to out do them and the cycle repeats. Just read or watch it.

In D&D the war is between the player characters and the NPCs and monsters. And, most simply, the escalation is of their hit points and of the damage each can deal the other. But other changes to the rules can contribute to this battle as well, such as forgiving dying rules, feats, and the asymmetric presence of saving throw proficiencies.

A new edition makes a change to increase the survivability of players. Then encounters becomes less challenging. Then the developers release an update, either a new edition, a new iteration of an edition, or just new monster books and monster design guidelines, increasing the threat and survivability of monsters. Then the cycle repeats with player characters gaining some new advantage.

Hit point inflation

Over the editions, hit dice have grown. The hit dice of the wizard has gone from d4 to d6. The rogue has gone from d4 to d8. Warriors have gone from d8 to d10. Also, starting with 3rd edition the ability scores needed to gain bonus hit points has decreased. And ability score generation methods have made it easier, or at least more guaranteed, to get those bonuses. Hit points at level 1 went from a die roll to the average to the maximum of a theoretical die roll. Hit points from leveling up went from a die roll to, in many groups, the average of the die roll rounded up. And hit point gain used to slow down dramatically at high levels. Now it keeps apace from level 1 to 20. Ability score increases after level 1 are now common so its easier to increase the Constitution bonus to hit dice. The toughness feat introduced in 3rd edition increased hit points for some characters. Species and class features in 5th edition often increase hit points further. Furthermore, the prevalence of healing has increased. Healing from natural rest has gone from 1 HP per day or 1d3 HP per 24 hours of rest to healing all hit points with just 8 hours of rest. More classes gain healing spells. 2024 D&D has doubled the dice of most healing spells. House rules also often increase PC hit points.

At the same time, monster hit points have also increased dramatically. An adult red dragon has gone from an average of 45 hit points in B/X D&D to 256 hit points in 2024 D&D. A goblin gone from 3 HP in B/X to 10 HP in the 2024 edition.

Damage inflation

Damage has gone from a short bow dealing 1d6 damage in B/X (no bonus from the Dexterity modifier) to 1d6+DEX mod in editions of the last 25 years. Backstab went from something challenging (and especially reward) to set up through clever play and luck to to so-called “sneak” attack damage being all but guaranteed in 4th and 5th edition. Many classes, feats, and spells grant large damage bonuses.

To keep pace with rising hit points, designers include higher bonuses to damage dice and add damage dice. An attack’s maximum damage not only goes up but so does its minimum damage.

The 2024 D&D increased the attack and damage bonuses as well as hit points of many monsters over those in the 2014 books. This is the latest corrective. But its a corrective to an issue of the publisher’s own creation. And it happened at the same time that baseline power of most PCs increased, so its hard to say what the result will be.

The result

The importance of a single hit point goes down like the value of currency with a normal rate of inflation. When will the cycle end? Or even reverse, like a government declaring that all $10 bills are now worth $1 and all $100 bills are now worth $10? The arithmetic becomes simpler at least.

While you could argue that the parallel increases in hit points and damage are proportionate that they still create the suspenseful effect described above just as effectively, that’s not what I’ve observed. Instead, combats can have a feeling of inevitability rather than suspense to them, whether the PCs are victorious or not.

D&D’s inflationary spiral won’t lead to Armageddon but it is futile.

This is a follow-up to my previous post about Old-School Essentials rules.

I’ve been playing Old-School Essentials for a few years but from time to time I still notice rules I missed on previous passes. Or rules that I forgot between reading them and the following session. Many of these are relevant to particular kinds of situations and it might not make sense to apply them as written outside of those cases. I don’t advocate being a stickler for all of these rules, only to spend a moment considering what they might add to the game. You might realize that one of these addresses a problem or question you run into during play, one that you didn't realize the rules provided an answer to.

Rules from Old-School Essentials

The first four rules are referee-facing, although players may wish to be aware of them. The rest are both player- and referee-facing. My house rules or interpretations are in parenthesis.

1. The chance of encountering wandering monsters may increase if the party is loud or carries bright lights. What counts as a bright light? Does a torch? A standard lantern? A bullseye lantern (in Carcass Crawler 3)? Presumably not a candle. (I feel this is most appropriate in spacious environments rather than cramped twisting ones. The text says noise and bright lights can increase the chance, as opposed to the frequency, of wandering monsters, so I interpret this as increasing a 1-in-6 chance to a 2-in-6 chance, or 3-in-6 in extreme circumstances.)

2. Wandering monsters in a dungeon are encountered moving toward the party (at least by default). They can still be surprised so the implication is they were moving toward the party before they detected the party.

3. Parties carrying light sources in otherwise dark areas cannot surprise other creatures, but may still be surprised by them. (Creatures without vision or the ability to sense heat at a distance can still be surprised. A door might block enough light so that a party opening it still has a chance of surprising those inside.)

4. Traps only have a 2-in-6 chance of springing when a character triggers them. (This rule makes some traps more dangerous, since the they may not trigger until a few characters are in a trapped area. Personally, I think a trap’s chance of springing should depend on the specific workings of the trap, the expertise of its construction, and the condition that time has left it in. But 2-in-6 is a good baseline especially for traps found in ruins or set by amateurish trap makers or under circumstances of scarce materials or time.)

5. The AC bonus gained from using a shield does not apply to attacks from behind. (A rule with minimal impact, but thieves attempting to backstab will appreciate it.) When retreating from melee (as opposed to making a fighting withdrawal), the shield bonus does not apply, as one’s back is turned to attacks.

6. Characters wielding slow weapons such as battle axes and crossbows act last during each round of combat, after all sides have gone. (I usually ignore this property since I find it slows down combat with little upside.)

7. Dousing an opponent with a splash weapon like holy water or burning oil only applies damage for two rounds of combat (20 seconds) before the remaining liquid drips off. A 3’ diameter pool of oil burns for 1 turn if lit. Before I noticed this, I let monsters doused in oil burn for longer than two rounds, but I prefer this rule.

8. Using a tinder box to light a fire, such as igniting oil or a torch, requires one round per attempt and only has a 2-in-6 chance of success each try. I like the tension this brings to combat. It also encourages multiple characters to make the attempt if the need for fire is urgent.

9. Standard rope may only hold the weight of 3 people and their equipment. If that doesn’t seem like much, keep in mind standard rope represents lightweight rope made with common medieval technologies, rather than the heavy-duty rope used on a ship or in a siege weapon or modern rope. The referee could introduce superior rope with greater strength, less available than common rope.

10. Any character may attempt to climb a ladder, rope, or steep cliff (but not a sheer cliff) under stressful circumstances by rolling a DEX check. Without stressful conditions, no roll is necessary. Only a thief (or a member of another classes with the climb sheer surfaces skill) may attempt to climb very steep or sheer surfaces without specialized equipment.

11. A thief may only roll once each to find a treasure trap, to remove it, to understand a non-magical text or code, or to open a lock (at least until they gain a level).

12. In order to cast the reversed form of a spell, an arcane spell caster must memorize the spell in that form. An arcane caster may not decide to cast a spell in its reversed form on the fly. (Ignoring this rule probably won't hurt gameplay and is a small act of defiance against Vancian casting.)

13. Divine spell casters serving lawful deities can incur deity disfavor for using spells in reversed form (for example, cause fear is the reverse of remove fear). Spell casters serving chaotic deities may only use non-reversed forms of spells to help allies of their religion. Using these non-reversed spells in other circumstances risks deity disfavor. An individual neutral deity either acts like a lawful deity or like chaotic deity in this regard, depending on the tendencies of the god in question. (I can imagine a lawful god wanting to cause fear in some instances and other exceptions. It might be worth considering each spell on a case by case basis.)

14. Stowing treasure or other items in a backpack or sack requires 1 turn (a turn represents 10 minutes). Packing an additional item without unbalancing a hiking pack can require reorganizing the pack, so this isn't unreasonable. And its one more way to increase time pressure in a dungeon.

15. Drinking a dose of a potion requires one round during combat.

16. The referee rolls to determine how long the effect of a magic potion lasts and keeps that information secret from the player. The referee tracks when the potion’s effect wears off. (I suggest marking when potions run out on your dungeon turn tracker.)

17. When a character is slain by destructive magic or effects, any equipment they carry is destroyed. The referee may allow magic items a saving throw using the slain character’s saving throw values plus any bonuses the item might have. (House rule: I might allow especially durable items like maces or iron spikes to remain intact. If you’re using a house rule where a character doesn’t automatically die at 0 hit points, I’d still consider whether equipment is destroyed by the attack that drops the character to 0. This brings additional costs to being downed, even if the character manages to survive. You could also assign numbers to each row of gear on the item-based encumbrance character sheet and turn it into a random table to determine which items are destroyed.)

18. Retainer loyalty checks are made when the retainer is faced with great peril during an adventure (on a failure, they run from the danger) and after any adventure (if they fail, they stop working for the PC). (This may seem like it will lead to excessive turnover of retainers but retainers with higher loyalty, as a result of PC actions, have a much lower chance of failing loyalty checks.)

Unanswered questions.

Even after playing Old-School Essentials for a few years, I still haven’t found answers to a couple questions, at least not in the rules themselves:

• How do you apply the brace property of polearms and spears in practice? Under what circumstances does it come into effect? Without a charge rule and a ready action rule, it’s unclear to me. That hasn't stopped players from using it when it fits the scene.

• How long must spell casters sleep before they may memorize their spells? Six hours? Eight? This doesn’t usually matter but I’ve seen the question arise in play a couple times, when we were counting the hours. The rules are clear spell casters require an additional hour to memorize spells, once their night’s rest is completed.

Did you miss any other rules on your first passes through the rulebook, only to discover them later?

For an example of OSE play, check out this mostly rules-as-written solo playthrough of B1 In Search of the Unknown.

If you have played other D&D-style games, it can be easy to miss that Old-School Essentials (OSE) and the 1981 rules it’s based on handle certain terms and situations differently. Of course you can change any rule you wish. But knowing the rules allows you to make an intentional and informed choice.

I’ve been running and teaching players OSE for a few years now and here are some rules that both players and referees can easily miss while flipping through the rulebooks. I discuss how I interpret these rules and any house rules I use. Some of these rules are essential for OSE play. Others are not but I find all of them worth trying out.

Summary

1. A prime requisite ability score (such as Dexterity for a thief) may be increased by lowering another score during character creation.

2. A turn represents 10 minutes while a round represents 10 seconds.

3. Room traps and treasure traps are handled differently.

4. Infravision works differently than darkvision from other editions.

5. The referee rolls when PCs attempt to listen at doors, hear noises, hide in shadows, move silently, or find room or treasure traps or hidden doors. The die result is kept secret from the players.

6. Players must declare spells and movement in melee before initiative is rolled each round.

7. The dexterity modifier is not applied to the damage roll for missile weapons, only to the attack roll.

8. Natural healing requires 24 hours of uninterrupted rest rather than 8 hours.

9. The identify spell doesn’t exist. The properties of a magic item is identified by using it or by hiring a sage.

10. Experience points are only awarded when the PCs return to safety.

11. The read magic spell is needed to decipher a scroll of arcane spells (added Sept 15, 2025).

1. Players can increase one ability by lowering another at character creation.

During character creation, after rolling ability scores and choosing a class, the player may increase a prime requisite ability for that class by 1 by lowering STR, INT, WIS, or DEX by 2. An ability may not be lowered by low 9 this way.

Many editions of D&D with random ability scores don’t have a rule like this. It adds a little bit of customization to otherwise random ability scores. It also increases the chance of having a high ability score.

I recommend doing this if your prime requisite ability is just shy of receiving a higher modifier. Increasing a fighter’s STR from 12 to 13 or from 15 to 16, for instance. This will improve the fighter’s melee attacks and increase their experience point bonus.

Many sets of random ability scores won’t have scores high enough for this. For instance, that fighter’s INT, WIS, and DEX might all be 10 or lower. One would need to be at least 11 in order for it to be lowered to raise a prime requisite. And for many character’s won’t have any abilities at the cusp of a higher ability modifier. Others may not wish to sacrifice any ability scores. But it’s a nice rule to take advantage of when it makes sense to do so. I think of it as a character becoming hyperspecialized at the expense of their other abilities. A warrior who neglects the books for instance.

2. Turns and rounds

Turns represent 10 minutes. Turns are usually used to measure time spent in adventuring locations outside of combat. Rounds represent 10 seconds. Rounds are usually only for measuring time in combat and similar situations. An effect with a duration of 6 turns lasts an hour. Turns and effects that are measured in turns should be tracked, such as with the turn tracker from Necrotic Gnome. I recently found another example in the adventure clock from B11 King’s Festival, which has the benefit of numbering the turns, which I wish Necrotic Gnome’s did but I think the latter tracker is more useful overall. I’ll have to make my own.

3. Room traps and treasure traps are different.

Room traps and treasure traps are handled differently. Room traps can be triggered by anyone entering an area. Treasure traps affect those who tamper with or steal an item. Any character may search for a room trap but in OSE Classic Fantasy dwarves rather than thieves are best at detecting non-magical room traps. Thieves are the only class capable of finding and removing treasure traps and have no special ability to deal with room traps. (My interpretation: I rule that anyone can discover and disable any trap if their player describes taking actions that would logically lead to the trap’s discovery or disarmament. But I allow rolls to be made as a fallback.)

4. Infravision is not darkvision.

Infravision is not the same as darkvision, the ability found in more recent editions of D&D. Infravision allows a character to see heat and is disrupted by visible light and large heat sources. Torches and lanterns disrupt infravision. Infravision does not allow a character to see better beyond the edge of firelight (unlike darkvision in 5th edition). Infravision works like infrared imaging technologies, including thermography, and is similar to the thermal sensing ability of some snakes, vampire bats, and some insects, while darkvision (as found in recent editions) works like light intensifying technologies and is similar to the night vision of cats and other mammals.

If darkvision works like a cat’s night vision, then darkvision shouldn’t work in the absence of normally visible light, since cats cannot see infrared light contrary to how darkvision works in 5th edition. But infravision works as long as heat, and therefore infrared light, is present. Both darkvision and infravision should be able to be blinded or dazzled by too much visible light or too much heat, respectively.

In Old-School Essentials all non-human monsters are assumed to possess infravision that works out to 60’ feet unless their description indicates otherwise.

The above distinctions could be seen as overly based in science for a fantasy game but I personally find applying consistent logic based on animal night vision can increase immersion and improve my descriptions of what characters with these abilities can sense in the dark.)

5. Referee rolls if the PC wouldn’t know the outcome of a check.

The referee rolls for PC thieves attempting to hear noise, hide in shadows, move silently, or find treasure traps. The referee should not tell the player the results of the roll. The PC believes they are moving quietly, are well hidden, or able to hear. The referee should also roll for any PC who is listening at a door.

The referee should also roll checks when any PC attempts to listen at a door, search an area for secret doors and room traps. Only if the roll is a) successful, and b) finds something hidden should the referee reveal that the roll was successful. If either of conditions are not met, the referee should keep the result of the roll secret so players don’t know whether they a) failed and missed something or b) if nothing is hidden in this area.

Each character only has one chance to listen at a door or search for a particular secret door or trap. Multiple PCs can increase their chances by searching the same area (one roll for each character).

(House rule: I allow characters further attempts to listen at a door or search for something if PCs spend an additional turn per extra attempt, but they still don’t know if they didn’t hear anything the first turn because they failed or because nothing is emitting sound. This requires them to spend more time in the dungeon, using up more light, and increases the chance they encounter wandering monsters.)

6. Spells and melee movement are declared before rolling initiative.

Players must declare the intent to cast a spell or to move while in melee before initiative is rolled each round. If a spell caster fails a saving throw or is attacked successfully before their side casts spells that round, their spell fails and they forget the spell, as if it had been cast.

If the opposing side goes before the players’ side, they may have an opportunity to disrupt the spell being cast, by successfully attacking the spell caster or by causing an effect that requires a saving throw. This can also be used by PCs battling enemy spell casters. I’ve seen low-level characters disrupt a lich’s spell casting this way.

The two options for moving in melee are retreating and making a fighting withdrawal. Retreating has the advantage of allowing the character to move up to their full encounter rate but at the cost of not making an attack and opponents gaining a bonus to hit the retreating character. A fighting withdrawal allows the character to attack but the character may only move up to half their encounter rate.

7. Dexterity doesn’t affect missile damage rolls.

Dexterity Missile modifier does not apply to damage rolls with ranged weapons, only to attack rolls. This is unlike the Strength modifier, which applies to both melee attack and damage rolls. Melee attacks tend to be more damaging than missile attacks for this reason and, if you are using variable weapon damage, because their damage dice are often larger.

8. Natural healing takes 24 hours, not 8.

Natural healing occurs after 24 hours of complete and uninterrupted rest (not after 8 hours). At the end of the 24 hours, a character or monster restores 1d3 hit points. (House rule: Resting in comfort or in the care of a healer increases the hit points regained. Resting in poor circumstances either prevents any healing or reduces the number of hit points restored. An eight-hour rest also heals a single hit point in my games.)

9. The identify spell doesn’t exist.

The spell “identify” does not exist in Old-School Essentials. The properties of magic items can be identified by trial and error or by consulting a high-level NPC magic-user. Using a magic item allows a character to identify it automatically unless its description says otherwise, as in the case of some cursed items that do not reveal their curses until specific circumstances arise.

10. Experience points are awarded upon returning to a safe area such as a settlement.

Experience points are awarded only when the party leaves the adventuring area and returns to safety. This includes XP for recovered treasure and for defeated monsters. I interpret “returning to safety” as returning to a settlement but I would define settlement loosely in some cases. A secure camp of allied outlaws could suffice. Joining a friendly caravan of nomads for a time might too. As long as the player characters can rest comfortably and conceivably stay for a few days or a week with few worries (this doesn’t mean intrigue can’t occur).

11. The read magic spell is needed to decipher a scroll of arcane spells.

This is 11 because I went back and added it (Sept. 15, 2025). I tend to forget when read magic is needed. Every wizard (magic-user, elf, illusionist, etc.) employs a unique magical script that other wizards cannot decipher without casting read magic. Once a wizard deciphers a scroll of arcane spells, they can activate that scroll by reading the script aloud. The spell cast then disappears from the scroll. A wizard of any level can activate an arcane spell of any level on a scroll. (I also encourage checking out the modified rules and options for arcane magic found in the book Axian Library by Giuseppe Rotondo.)

Conclusion

Old-School Essentials challenges some of the assumptions of later editions of D&D, especially the 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions. The rules may even differ from the memories of people who played B/X D&D in the 1980s. When you store many iterations of D&D, not to mention house rules, in your memory, it’s easy for them to blur together. Plus, every table interpreted rules differently and prioritized different rules.

All of these rules can be impactful on play. I hope new and returning players to OSE and its ancestors find this overview of some of its distinctive rules useful.

Check out the whole series:

• Part 1: The beginning of the first expedition

• Part 2: Finishing the first expedition (includes a step-by-step example of character creation for this game)

• Part 3: The second expedition

• Part 4: The third and final expedition, which will conclude with reflections about B1, Old-School Essentials, and dungeon design

Party (movement rate 90 feet)

1. Thebe (aka Shield, mutoid), whose cat-like eyes see in the dark and whose feet are long like a rabbits giving them the ability to jump long distances, nonbinary, armed with a sword and crossbow, wearing leather armor, survived second expedition

2. Wangi (acolyte), woman, armed with a warhammer, wearing chainmail and carrying a shield, survived second expedition

3. Oliver O’Donnell (fighter), man, wearing chainmail and bearing a sword & shield as well as a sling, step-brother of Aderfi, survived the second expedition

4. Aderfi Sami (fighter), nonbinary, wearing plate mail and bearing a shield and mace, as well as a sling, step-sibling of Oliver

5. Judith Kacinambun (magic-user), possesses arcane magic charm person, woman, bearing a dagger and a ten-foot wooden pole, noted for her calm demeanor and good sense

6. Hadasha (half-elf), detect secret doors (2-in-6), infravision 60’, woman, bearing a sword and shield, as well as a longbow, and wearing plate mail

7. Teja, Hadasha’s mule, bearing saddle bags of food, light, and ammunition

The full stats and equipment for the party are at the end of this post.

Play Log

We set out once more (at 8am) and hoped to make good time to avoid further trouble on the way.

We were a couple hours out from Quasqueton when the sun set so we made camp and finished our day’s rations (-6 standard rations, -1 day of feed).

Day 10

We awoke at dawn and headed to the entrance. We set our marching order. Oliver would be in the lead once more, with Thebe to his right bearing the lantern (-1 flask of oil). Behind them Wangi would follow on the left with Aderfi on the right. Judith would bring up the rear on the left beside Hadasha who would guide the mule.

Turn 1. Venturing inside, we found the first door unlocked and proceeded through it.

Turn 2. The strange lips that formed in the wall welcomed us with their taunting and threatening once more.

Turn 3. (No wandering monsters). We turned right at the top of the stairs, headed toward the staircase down that Tilken had marked on his map. We turned south at the corner.

Turn 4. We reached the door to the throne room marked on the map. It was all as Tilken had drawn so far. The door was not locked.

Turn 5. We ventured within the throneroom and found ourselves face-to-face with a band of goblins. (From Chris Doyle’s stocking example. The PCs are surprised while the goblins were alerted by their lantern when the door opened. The goblins roll 8 on their reaction roll, indicating they are uncertain and confused.)

Round 1. (Surprise round) The goblins drew their weapons, aimed their arrows and then examined us, counting our numbers and evaluating our equipment. One spoke from the darkness in the Common tongue, “We outnumber you, humans, and you have trespassed within our domain. We require restitution for your transgression. You may leave with your lives if you depart with all of your coin and if we find it adequate.” (As referee, I rolled a d4 to determine what the goblins demanded. 1-money, 2-food, 3-weapons, 4-mule.)

Without better options, we took turns depositing our coin in a pile between us and the goblins. The total was 33gp, 3ep, 120sp, 45cp, which Judith counted for the goblins.

The speaker replied, “This is an adequate amount. Turn and leave and do not come back this way again for it is goblin territory.” Hadasha had held 30gp back, putting forward about the same amount as her companions who deposited the most.

Turn 6. (No wandering monsters). We left, returning to the corridor, and headed back west. We decided to take the corridor heading north. The map had not described it.

Turn 7. We were becoming fatigued (having not rested during the first hour) so we rested there, just out of sight of the door to the throne room where the goblins had been. Thebe updated the map.

Turn 8. We headed north, turning a few times before continuing north once more.

Turn 9. (2 wandering giant centipedes 20 feet away to the northwest. The party is not surprised.)

Round 1. (The centipedes have the initiative.) We saw two giant centipedes coming toward us from the corridor to the west of the corner just ahead. Their multitude of legs crossed the distance between us and they bit at us. Oliver evaded one while the other bit Thebe. The poison entered Thebe’s veins but it was not enough to take effect. (Thebe passed their save.).

Aderfi, Wangi, and Hadashah closed in on the creatures and we attacked. Aderfi’s mace crushed one and Hadashah slew the other with her blade.

Turn 10. We decided to head east at the intersection (south of 6) and reached a door.

Turn 11. We decided to listen for any creatures on the far side this time and heard nothing.

Turn 12. (No wandering monsters.) We tried the door and found that it was locked. Aderfi broke the lock and a loud snap echoed through the corridors.

Turn 13. (No wandering monsters came as a result of the noise.) We rested.

Turn 14. We ventured inside but came upon six warriors armed with axes and swords at the ready who must have heard the lock snap. (The PCs are not surprised.) The strangely shaped chamber had racks and pegs with battered weapons and armor hanging on them. We noticed two sturdy looking chests to the south.

Round 1. (The PCs win initiative.) Judith came forward and spoke, “We don’t seek battle with you, honorable warriors. We only seek passage through this corridor.” Just as she finished we heard a faint whistling sound.

(The berserkers’ reaction roll is a 8 with Judith’s +1 bonus due to high Charisma. They are uncertain.) A warrior replied, “Stay back! What is that sound? I don’t trust your words.” The warriors retreated northeast, directing wary looks at us.

Round 2. The door behind us slammed shut, as if by wind. We heard another door slam shut somewhere in the darkness behind the warriors. We watched the warriors for any sign they would attack as a wind howled through the corridor. Our lantern light flickered but its light returned after a moment. Judith cried, “The doors are not our doing! We have no fight with you. Let us go our separate ways.” (The new reaction roll for the berskerks is a 7. The berserkers are still confused.)

Round 3. Hadashah pulled the door open behind us and we left the windy chamber and we left the warrior band behind. We had no wish to battle so many if we could help it. The labyrinthine halls of Zeligar and Roghann’s home must present other ways to proceed.

Turn 15. (No wandering monsters.) We headed west, avoiding the chamber on the map to the north where Tilken’s companions had met their doom, according to his story. We reached the main north-south corridor that could lead us back toward the entrance but instead headed north.

Turn 16. We continued north until the corridor ended. Seeing that a corridor to continue north was only 20 feet to the left, we headed for it.

Turn 17. We continued north, passing a corridor to our right that might lead us back toward the warrior band and passing another passageway on the left.

Turn 18. (No wandering monsters.) We see the end of the northward passage ahead and follow it west.

Turn 19. We rest.

Turn 20. We continue west and follow the passage when it turns back south. We came to an T-intersection of sorts. We were far from anywhere marked on the map by previous expeditions. Since we were likely far from the berserkers now, we headed east and then south. We came to a door to the west and a dead end to the east.

Turn 21. (No wandering monsters.) We listened at the door but heard nothing.

Turn 22. Oliver opened the door. Our lantern light was reflected by a gleaming crystalline formation emerging from the far corner of the chamber. But we saw no other exits. We decided to look around inside.

Turn 23. We search the area inside, each of us examining a section of the room. We found nothing other than the strange crystal. (Unbeknownst to the PCs, they have been teleported to area 16.)

Turn 24. (No wandering monsters.) We left the room. What was a dead end was now a hallway headed east before us, and another passageway headed north beyond the one we arrived on. Thebe checked the map. “Perhaps illusions are at work. Maybe we have uncovered the secret passages we’d heard about. Let’s head back north.” We took the north passage beyond the one we’d come on. It ended in a door.

Turn 25. Thebe filled the lantern’s reservoir with oil and we rested.

Turn 26. We listened carefully at the door. It was quiet.

Turn 27. (1 wandering troglodyte appears west of the PCs having come from the north (which the PCs believe to be south and west, respectively. The PCs are surprised).

Round 1. (Surprise round.) A single two-legged lizard appeared behind us. It ran at our mule and slashed Teja with its claw (5 damage, 10 hp left).

Round 2. (The PCs win initiative.) Oliver, Thebe, and Aderfi charged the creature while Hadasha and Judith backed away from it. Three of us recognized it as one of the fearsome creatures who slew half of our last expedition and knew even one of them could be formidable. It eyed us with loathing. The creature pushed aside Oliver’s blow but Thebe slashed it with his sword (5 damage, 1 hp left). Aderfi struck it with their mace (5 damage) and slew the creature. Teja kicked at the creature as it fell.

Turn 28. We returned to the door, which Oliver opened, finding it unlocked, and we saw a gently curving passageway to the west and a straight passage continuing north. We headed north, coming to two doors in the west wall of the corridor, which ended 20 feet past the second door. The two doors were carved with fanciful patterns.

Turn 29. We listened at the door. Wangi and Judith could hear something skittering around inside. Given the difficulty in reaching this point and the elaborate carving on the fine oak doors, we decided that treasure might lie beyond the door and facing whatever was inside might be worth it.

Turn 30. (No wandering monsters.) Oliver tried to open the left door but it was locked. Aderfi forced the door open, breaking one of its hinges. Our eyes set upon a library of fine decor. The floor was covered in dust. We could not see what had made the noises but the sounds stopped. A strange red glow coming from the walls illuminated much of the room. Cautiously, we entered.

The letters “R” and “Z” were set in the red granite floor.

(The giant centipedes waiting inside the divans roll 8 on their reaction roll and are uncertain.)

We knew something must be alive in here and then we saw the source of the red glow. Large beetles were trapped in cages inset into the walls. We relaxed a bit.

Turn 31. We decided to rest in the room for a bit before searching it further. (Rerolling reaction check. It’s a 4.) As we sat on the divans, foot long centipedes poured out of them. (The PCs are surprised.)

Round 1. (Surprise round.) The centipedes attacked, most biting at Thebe, but we managed to keep them at bay for the moment.

Round 2. (The centipedes win initiative.) The centipedes mandibles couldn’t piece Thebe’s chainmail.

We drew our weapons. Oliver and Aderfi slew one each. Judith stabbed one with her dagger, killing it.

Round 3. (Initiative is tied. The remaining centipede passes its morale check.) Thebe held back the centipede’s feeble attack as they killed it.

We regrouped, sobered by the encounter.

Turn 32. We resumed our rest as it was still needed.

Turn 33. (No wandering monsters.) We set about searching the room for anything of value. Judith found a bag of silver coins (600sp) beneath a scroll rack. While we could find nothing else of obvious value we took the most interesting of books (3 books).

Turn 34. We stowed the coins and books among us, dividing the coins equally.

Turn 35. We left the library, somewhat disappointed, but the silver would cover our expenses and make up for what we’d given up to the goblins. We headed for the gently curving passage we’d passed.

Turn 36. (No wandering monsters.) The passage curved back east and then turned south. We came to a spot where a few corridors intersected, with the option to proceed southeast (actually southwest), east (actually south), or back north (actually east) along another passage again. We opted to head back north.

Turn 37. We continued north. A few more passages split off to the side but we continued north (actually east).

Turn 38. We rested.

Turn 39. (No wandering monsters.) Continuing, we found a door on the left side of the passage and stopped.

Turn 40. We listened at the door. Wangi heard some talking and soft footsteps inside. Turn 41. We didn’t want any more trouble so we continued north (actually east) instead of trying the door. After a series of short turns the corridor ended in a door to the west (actually north.) and we approached it. Right as Oliver and Thebe reached the door the floor opened up beneath us and we fell into darkness. After a moment of terror we were plunged into freezing water and then hit stone hard. The light of the lantern vanished.

(Thebe took 3 damage, 1 left. Wangi 1 damage, 3 left. Oliver 2 damage, 6 left. Aderfi 2 damage, 1 left. Judith 3 damage, 4 left. Hadashah 2 damage, 1 left. Teja, 3 damage, 7 left).

Wangi, Oliver, Aderfi, and Hadashah all began drowning in the water due to the weight of their armor and equipment. Thebe, Judith, and Teja were not so encumbered. Oliver dropped the weight of his shield and pack and was able to push his head above water. Wangi, Aderfi, and Hadasha dropped everything they could, but could not remove their plate armor.

Bad went to worse. As Thebe, Judith, and Teja surfaced, Thebe could see the shore. Judith and Teja could feel the floor beneath them and headed towards where it was shallowest. As they swam, Thebe could see five lizard-like creatures seated around a cave beside the pool with his infravision. They bore long claws and maws of teeth.

(Both sides are surprised.)

Round 1. (Initiative is tied. Reaction roll 5. The lizardmen attack.)

Movement: Thebe shouted, “This way! Monsters are coming from the other way.” Judith followed toward the (south) shore. Teja scrambled toward the nearest (west shore). Thebe headed for the other (south) shore away from the lizardmen. Oliver followed just behind Thebe and Judith. The lizardfolk stood and strode toward the mule.

Wangi, Aderfi, and Hadasha struggled to remove their armor. Having not taken a deep breath they were running out of air quickly and they panicked at the bottom of 8 feet of water. Hadashah could see her companions above swimming away.

Missile attacks. Thebe’s quarrel had come loose from their crossbow in the fall. He began loading another bolt.

Melee attacks. Teja kicked a lizardman (3 damage , 9hp left) as it slashed at her (2 damage, 5hp left). It then sunk its teeth into her throat, killing the mule (7 damage). Thebe drops his pack at Oliver’s feat and shouts, “Find a torch! The others are still underwater.” Oliver obeys. Feeling where the water is Judith, thrusts her ten-foot pole into the pool, hoping to reach a companion.

Round 2. (Initiative is tied.)

Movement. The lizardfolk enter the water and swim to the southern shore, not seeing the drowning people at the bottom of the pool. They lift themselves up onto the shore next to Judith, Oliver, and Thebe. Judith’s ten-foot pole jabs Hadasha and she grabs on to it and begins pulling herself along it. Judith, feeling the pull, tugs as well. (They may Strength checks, Hadasha succeeds.) Hadasha pulled herself to the (southern) edge of the pool and takes a deep breath. Aderfi and Wangi still struggle to remove their armor at the bottom.

Missile attacks. Thebe ditches the reloaded crossbow. 

Melee attacks. Oliver lights the torch from Thebe’s pack with a tinderbox (rolling 2 on 2-in-6 chance). The dire situation became clear. Thebe slashes at the lizardfolk beside Judith and Hadasha but his swing is wild and their flesh tough. A lizardfolk slashed him with a claw (2 damage), killing him. It then bit at Judith but she ducksedjust in time. Another lizardman’s cut into Oliver (1 damage, 5hp left). Its other claw and its teeth found no purchase. A third lizardfolk slashed wildly at Oliver but his armor protected him. Oliver stabbed the lizardfolk that cut him (5 damage, 6hp left). Hadasha punched one of the lizardfolk but her blow was feeble. The lizardfolk attacked Hadasha (1 damage) killing her with a claw as she grapsed the pole. Still holding the pole, Judith thrust her dagger at the same lizardfolk but missed. The fifth lizardfolk dug into her with both of its claws (2 damage, then 1 damage, 1hp left) but its bite missed.

Round 3. Judith begins casting charm person on the lizardman in front of her. (The party wins initiative.)

Judith finished casting charm person (the 5th one). (It fails its saving throw.) She ordered it to turn on its fellows.

Oliver cut the same lizardfolk (5 damage, 1hp left). The charmed lizardfolk slashed and bit wildly at the closest of its companions (2 damage, 7hp left).

Three lizardfolk surround Oliver. The first one’s claws sunk in (1 damage each, 3hp left). The second’s claws finished the warrior (2 damage, then 1 more). The others turned on Judith, killing her. The spell on the charmed lizardman was broken.

Meanwhile, Wangi drowned in the weight of her armor.

Turn 42. (Seven wandering troglodytes arrive from the south. They surprise the lizardfolk. But reaction rolls are neutral or positive for the sides.) Aderfi finally managed to get free of his armor and swim to the surface. Thebe’s torch lay on the ground still lit, sillouhetting the 5 lizardfolk clawing and biting what he recognized as his companions’ bodies. Their backs were turned away as they spoke in a strange tongue to what Aderfi thought resembled the troglodyte from before. Aderfi saw another shore to the right (west) and quietly headed toward it. (The light of the torch prevented the lizardfolk’s infravision from seeing in the darkness beyond the torchlight.) They pulled themself onto shore and crawled behind the body of the mule. Aderfi slowly rumaged through the saddlebags but found little of use. They pulled a torch free but had nothing to light it with. They also took a day's worth of iron rations.

Aferfi quietly waited. They hoped the lizardfolk might leave eventually. They could see in the torchlight that this might be their lair. Gnawed bones and mangy hides lay about. They peeked around the mule’s head and saw the lizardmen offering a body to the troglodytes (unbeknownst to him it was Oliver’s). The troglodytes took the body and left. The lizardfolk began to eat the other bodies. Aderfi wasn’t sure the bodies were those of his companions but he feared they were.

Turn 43. Aderfi rested, although stayed alert. The frigid water still clung to their clothes but they felt warmth return to their body bit by bit.

Turn 44. Aderfi lay in the puddle of water from the pool.

Turn 45. (Seven wandering kobolds arrive. Neither side is surprised. The kobolds are hostile to the lizardfolk, who are uncertain toward them.) Aderfi heard the lizardfolk growl toward something in the darkness. The growls were answered by barking. (The kobolds attack.)

Round 1. (Kobolds have the initiative.) Four of the kobolds launch sling stones at the troglodytes. Two missed. One hit (3 damage, killing a wounded lizardman.). Another hit (4 damage, 5hp left).

The barking creatures charged into the firelight, revealing themselves to be lizard-like dogs. Their claws would not pierce the lizardfolk hides.

The lizardfolk retaliated by gnashing and clawing, killing one of the attacking kobolds.

Round 2. (The lizardfolk win the initiative. The lizardfolk fail their morale check. I used the troglodyte morale score from OSE for this, since the stat block more closely resembles the lizardfolk in the module than the OSE lizardfolk entry. B1 doesn’t include morale scores.) The lizardfolk fled (south).

(The kobolds also fail their morale check.) The kobolds didn’t pursue. They prowled around the southern shore of the pool. Aderfi watched all this, unsure of how much longer the torch would burn.

Turn 46. The kobolds poked and prodded the bodies by the torch, looking inside bags and picking up items. Aderfi saw the glitter of silver coins in their hands. The kobolds pulled a short sword, a dagger, and what looked like rations from two packs, and took another dagger from the ground.

Turn 47. The torch went out. Aderfi listened carefully. They heard soft barking and footsteps receding into the distance.

Turn 48. (No wandering monsters.) Aderfi crawled around the area on this (west) side of the pool. He felt the walls of the cave on all sides. No exit that way. They turned back toward the pool.

Turn 49. Wanting to be gone before the lizardmen returned to their lair, if that’s what this was, Aderfi swam across the pool the short way to the south shore with one hand on the (southwest) cave wall. They had no light but had a sense of the place from when the torch was lit. Feeling around in the dark, they found the bodies and the packs. They felt a sword. Rummaging in the first pack (Thebe’s), they found a tinderbox. It was still sealed and intact (3-in-6 chance) and the tinder was still dry. Aderfi eventually found the other pack and a body clinging onto a sword and a shield and wearing leather armor. Taking these and the backpack, Aderfi emptied it out of everything they did not need, leaving on the iron ration from the mule, a couple more torches, rope, a waterskin which they refilled from the pool, a hammer and iron spikes.

Turn 50. Aderfi donned the leather armor and lit the torch on the first try and rested.

Turn 51. (No wandering monsters.) Aderfy went quickly (south) through the cave. They came to a door to the left (east) and a place where the cave passages intersected. A great deal of gravel was on the ground but they noticed at the intersection the cave floor was devoid of these loose rocks to the point that it was noticeable, as was the passage to the right and ahead.

Turn 52. They decided to stop and listen but heard nothing. They wondered which way the lizardfolk and the kobolds had gone. They also considered that the two passages free from gravel probably had the most foot traffic and one of those passages likely led to the exit.

Turn 53. They headed west and soon found themselves looking at a cavern illuminated by a soft purple glow that seemed to emulate from fungi on the walls. They could see no dangers within. The gravel-free path headed left (south), while the other passages were blocked by piles of stones, so Aderfi followed the path.

Turn 54. (No wandering monsters.) Aderfi continued as the path headed to the right (west). The cave split but the path continued right again (north). Continuing, Aderfi came to a stout wooden door set in the cave wall on the right side of the path.

Turn 55. Aderfi wondered if the door could lead to the surface and stopped to listen.

Turn 56. Hearing nothing, they tried the door but found it locked. Not wanting to attract attention, they left the door and continued following the path. They did not rest (gaining a -1 penalty to attack and damage rolls due to fatigue).

Turn 57. (No wandering monsters.) Aderfi lit the second torch. With only one left, they felt they needed to hurry. Perhaps they should have taken more. They continued following the path, coming to another cave lit by the purple fungus and then another.

Turn 58. The path snaked back and forth (as they headed south and then east.)

Turn 59. They came to a plain-looking cave that split off the path, without any apparent dangers, but continued along the path (heading northeast). They soon came upon an area of worked stone forming a room in a rectangular shape. The purple fungi illuminated this chamber. Beyond it was another chamber of worked stone at the edge of the torchlight. Aderfi could hear the sound of digging and the impact of a pickaxe on stone coming from that chamber. Aderfi put out the torch and moved toward a corner of the first room, seeing by the dim light of the fungus.

Turn 60. (No wandering monsters.) Aderfi rested here (removing the penalty).

Turn 61. A door was set in a worked stone wall, much like that of the upper level, also across this first room, to the left of where the path continued. Aderfi headed toward it, in case it might lead to the surface.

Turn 62. Aderfi listened at the door but could near nothing beyond.

Turn 63. (Three wandering goblins appeared around the corner. Neither side is surprised.)

Round 1. (The goblins have the initiative. 7 on the reaction roll suggests they are confused and uncertain.) The goblins hesitated. Aderfi, just as started as they were, quickly whispered, “If you let me be I will give you what food I have.” The goblins took a step back.

One said, “Fine. We will let you pass but you must also show us what you have in your pack.” The goblins seemed wary of battle. Aderfi quickly opened the pack and showed the goblin in silence. “Give us this rope as well and we’ll let you pass.” Aderfi nodded and handed them the rope. The goblins left (to the southwest), leaving Aderfi a moment of respite.

Turn 64. Trying the door, Aderfi found it too was locked. Breaking it down would attract whoever was digging. This area looked more like the upper level than any they’d seen down here so they decided this was their best chance at escaping.

Turn 65. Aderfi headed around the corner toward the room with the mining sounds. Two troglodites were mining but they soon saw Aderfi. (Neither side is surprised.)

Round 1. (Aderfi has the initiative.) Aderfi charged the first troglodyte, but the creature leaped aside.

The troglodytes closed in quickly but Aderfi deflected their clubs with the shield.

Round 2. (Aderfi wins the initiative.) Aderfi couldn’t get in a cutting blow.

One of the troglodytes smashed its club into Aderfi (4 damage), felling the last of the treasure hunters.

And there ends the 3rd and final expedition of this play through of B1 In Search of the Unknown. Six more lives lost in Quasqueton.

I may revisit B1 in the future but first I would like to try similar solo play throughs of other modules from the B series.

Reflections

About B1 In Search of the Unknown

• B1 proved more difficult than its introductory text led me to believe. But I was a merciless referee and followed procedures to the letter, which isn’t always how I referee for players. I never fudged die rolls (which is also how I referee for players). The rolls were not unusually favorable or unfavorable to the PCs.

• I think the adventure is harder than many of the introductory adventures of the Old-School Renaissance, such as the Tomb of the Serpent Kings, The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford, or Incandescent Grottoes. It’s larger than the Tomb and the distances increase the chance of encountering wandering monsters. While those adventures can wipe out an entire party, usually PC death occurs at a rate of one to three characters at a time. Its rare to face groups of monsters as numerous as those the party faced in B1.

• Despite the end result, I still had fun with the tricks, traps, and labyrinthine passages of Quasqueton. The drop to the pool and the lizardfolk was riveting.

• The adventure evoked the feeling of a swords and sorcery story more than any other I’ve played.

• The placement of the lizardfolk next to the pool beneath the trap door is an especially brutal trap.

• While reducing wandering monster checks to every third turn, as in the original printings, allowed the party to advance farther, it was still quite deadly.

• Finding the marble library was fun but its contents were disappointing. If I ran B1 for players, I’d make sure to place at least one interesting book or scroll and other treasures beside coins.

• Secret rooms could have more of interest than food stores in them. I suppose keeping food stuffs in a secret room has a similar logic to building a secret doomsday bunker. So maybe it’s not unreasonable.

• Because I was running it solo and trying to reduce my own control over the creatures in the dungeon, this play through downplayed the organization of the monsters. You could interpret the goblins, orcs, troglodytes, and berserkers as four factions vying for control of Quasqueton. When I’ve considered running B1 for players, I’ve thought about emphasizing factions more, naming some of the leaders, deciding where each headquarters was and where faction territories started and stopped and overlapped. I’d give faction members some kind of visual identifier to clue PCs in to the existence of the factions. PCs listening at doors might hear factional plans and intrigues. Yet I’d avoid reducing all encounters to factional ones.

• I recommend that anyone running B1 use the monster stats from the early printings rather than the later ones, and to only roll wandering monster checks every three turns rather than every other turn. If you are using the Goodman Games Original Adventures Reincarnated #1 Into the Borderlands stocked examples, bring the monster stats in line with those in the early printings. As far as I could see, no monsters in the early printings have more than 1 attack per round.

• And increase the amount of treasure. Even if you found all of the treasure in the module, I’m not sure it would be enough for a party to even level once, which is rough for such a large module.

• I’m thinking I may create a new stocking of B1 after this play through. I don’t know if I’d stick to the monsters and treasures in the original or introduce new monsters.

About dungeon design

• As mentioned in Part 3, rewarding mapping with secret rooms near the entrance can be fun.

• But add more treasure to secret areas. Barrels of food stuffs aren’t too exciting of a reward.

• Long winding corridors with unclear destinations mean more wandering monster checks.

About Old-School Essentials

• The standard percentile thief skill progressions makes me avoid using many of the skills. I would not want to put a character in a vulnerable spot by splitting off from the party to hide or sneak somewhere, with only a 10% and 20% chance of success respectively, and picking someone’s picket seems too risky with only a 20% chance. The d6 thief skill system elaborated in Carcass Crawler 1 is a must (or a similar solution like AD&D 2e’s % system). By allowing players to choose to focus expertise points in one or two skills, it ensures that at least those skills have a reasonable chance of success at 1st level and worth attempting. I have been using d6 thief skills in my games and this play through going back to the original rules is a reminder of why.

• Wearing the best mundane armor is the principal advantage of 1st-level fighters and similar classes, along with their larger hit die. I’m inclined to change how warrior classes roll on the random armor table in Carcass Crawler 2. Rolling 1d4+2 rather than 1d6 might be enough. This increases their chance of getting plate armor and eliminates the possibility of rolling leather armor. While armor may sink a treasure hunter if they fall into 8 feet of water, the AC bonus will save them from attacks. The 1st or 2nd expedition might have been more successful if I’d implemented this from the beginning.

• 5e's rule allowing a long (eight-hour) rest to be interrupted for up to an hour without the rest needing to be restarted is reasonable. Only one night’s rest was interrupted like this but it occurred to me then. I would only make this ruling for the purposes of getting a night’s rest and memorizing spells, not for the purposes of natural healing. Interruptions of a full day’s (24 hour) rest, in particular any combat, should require beginning the rest anew.

• Against 1st-level characters, monsters with three attacks per round are devastating, even if two of the attacks deal just 1d2 damage each. Five monsters with three attacks each means fifteen attacks, while the party only makes four to six attacks if you use the recommended party sizes for B1.

• Every hit point counts more in OSE compared to 21st century editions of D&D. Because monster damage is usually just the result of a die roll, without any bonuses, its more common for a monster attack to deal only 1 point of damage than it is in many of the newer editions, where almost all non-spell attacks have substantial bonuses (1d6 + 4 for instance; the bonus is often more than the average damage dealt by the dice alone in 5th edition). Because the minimum damage from monster attacks is often just 1, its not unthinkable that a character with 3 hit points might survive two successful attacks. I feel this increases the excitement and uncertainty.

Next steps for solo play

This was my first real solo game. I learned from it and enjoyed it. I am thinking of trying some of the less well-regarded adventures from the B series, such as B11 King’s Festival because I have no plans to run it otherwise and it does have a few fans. And I like seeing the way different authors approach writing introductory adventures.

Have you played B1? How did your game compare? Did you survive and make off with riches and magic? Should the party have done anything different? Should the referee have? If you were the referee, did you change anything? What should I run next?

What I’ve been reading

• An elegant little instrument the Japanese Standards Association and the birth of the modern d20 A short history of how the Japanese Standards Association developed the modern d20 for use in quality control after WWII. They used it to randomly select samples to test in order to improve the quality of Japanese products. It was later used in school curriculums.

• Behind the ‘Monstrous Manual’ I’ve been reading illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi’s blog posts about his many contributions to AD&D 2e’s Monstrous Manual, the first monster compendium I read and in many regards still the definitive version to me.

• Gritty Realism: Adventuring in Weeks, Not Days I've considered writing a similar post about 5e's mythical adventuring day many times, but Knight at the Opera has done it better than what I had in mind. Based on the piece’s intro we are after a similar experience of challenge, an experience we don't get from standard 5e.

• Ludological Alchemy has written a number of insightful posts about 1981 Moldvay/Cook Basic/Expert D&D. This one is about the Caller, least understood and often ignored player role described in B/X and derivative games like Old-School Essentials.

Full party stats

1. Thebe (aka Shield, mutoid), S14, I13, W10, D16, C13, Ch12, +10% XP, AC 15, 4/4 HP, Att +1 melee, +2 ranged, SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14, AL L, back-stab, HS 10%, MI 35%, MS 20%, PP 20%, infravision 60’, spring legs, nonbinary, 6/6 equipped items [sword (1d8+1) 1, crossbow +30 bolts (1d6) 2, leather armor + shield 2, lantern 1, backpack 0], 12/13 packed items [short sword 1, 3 torches 1, 3 iron rations 1, hammer (small) 1, 12 iron spikes 1, rope (50’) 1, 2 flasks of oil 2, wolfsbane (1 bunch) 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, small sack 0, ink (vial) 0, quill 0, parchment (3 sheets) 0, map 0, hard candy 0, 6gp 3ep 32sp, 45cp 1], encumbered MV Rate 90’ (30’), Lawful, Common, and Ogre, 53 XP

2. Wangi (acolyte), S7 I10 W16 D9 C9 Ch4, +10% XP, AC 15, 4/4 HP, Att -1 melee, +0 missile, SV D11 W12 P14 B16 S15, +2 to saves against magic, AL N, Bless (BL) 10, Detect Magic (DM) 30, Know alignment (KA) 20, Purify (PU) 20, Rally (RA) 25, Turn Undead (TU) 50, divine magic, woman, 4/4 equipped items [chainmail + shield 3, war hammer (1d6-1) 1, holy symbol 0, backpack 0], 9/11 packed items [holy water (vial) 1, sling +20 stones (1d4) 1, 3 torches 1, 3 iron rations 1, mirror (hand-sized, steel) 1, rope (50’) 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, hard candy 0, 6gp 30sp 1), encumbered MV 90’ (30’), Neutral and Common, 53 XP

3. Oliver O’Donnell (fighter), S9 I12 W8 D9 C13 Ch11, +5% XP with Aderfi, AC 15, 8/8 HP, Att +0, SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16, -1 to saves against magic, AL L, man, 5/5 equipped items [chainmail + shield 3, sword (1d8) 1, sling (1d4) + 20 stones 1, backpack 0], 10/12 packed items [silver dagger 1, 3 torches 1, 3 iron rations 1, 1 rope (50’) 1, hammer (small) 1, 12 iron spikes 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, hard candy 0, sack (large) 1, sack (small) 0, 1gp 34sp 1], encumbered MV 90’ (30’), Lawful and Common, 49 XP

4. Aderfi Sami (fighter), S16 I12 W8 D11 C10 Ch10, +15% XP with Oliver, AC 17, 3/3 hit points, Att +2 melee, +0 missile, SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16, -1 to saves against magic, AL N, nonbinary, 5/5 equipped items [plate mail + shield 3, mace (1d6+2) 1, sling + 20 stones 1, lantern 1, backpack 0], 12/12 packed items [silver dagger 1, 3 flasks of oil 3, stakes (3) + mallet 2, 4 torches 2, 2 iron rations 1, tinder box 1, waterskin 1, 8sp 1], encumbered MV 120’ (40’), Neutral and Common

5. Judith Kacinambun (magic-user), S10 I15 W15 D11 C18 Ch15, +5% XP, AC 10, 7/7 hit points, Att +0, SV D13 W14 P13 B16 S15, +1 to saves against magic, AL L, 1 spell (charm person), woman, 3/3 equipped items [dagger (1d4) 1, pole (10’ long, wooden) 2, backpack 0], 7/10 packed items [dagger 1, 1 torch 1, 3 iron rations 1, wolfsbane (1 bunch) 1, tinder box 1, waterskin 1, spellbook 1, 10gp 8sp 1], encumbered MV 120’ (40’), Lawful, Common, and Gnomish

6. Hadasha (half-elf), S16 I14 W7 D10 C10 Ch13, +10% XP, AC 16, 3/3 hit points, Att +2 melee, +0 missile, SV D12 W13 P13 B15 S15, AL L, arcane magic, detect secret doors (2-in-6), infravision 60’, woman, 6/7 equipped items [sword (1d8+2) 1, plate mail + shield 3, longbow +20 arrows 2, backpack 0], 9/14 packed items [silver dagger 1, 1 torch 1, 3 iron rations 1, tinder box 1, waterskin 1, small sack 0, 40gp 11sp 2], encumbered MV 90’ (30’), Lawful, Common, Elvish, and Harpy

7. Teja, Hadasha’s mule, AC 12, 15/15 hp, saddle bags, unencumbered carrying up to 20 items, can carry at most 40 items, 20/20 items [lantern 1, 7 flasks of oil 7, stakes (3) + mallet 2, 13 crossbow bolts 1, 14 standard rations 5, 5 iron rations 2, 6 torches 2], MV 120’ (40’)

Series

• Part 1 (The first expedition to Quasqueton with 5 PCs.)

• Part 2 (The rest of the first expedition, followed by a return to the keep, and creating replacement characters. Includes a detailed example of how I approach character creation for this game. Ends with preparations for the second expedition.)

• Part 3 (The second expedition and its aftermath. I discover some discrepancies between earlier and later printings of B1. I also offer my reflections once again.)

Day 5

Around noon, Tilken felt fully rested and healed. We left the keep behind soon after, the scribe at the gate noting our departure, and we set out on the road east. Waiting for us 100 paces down the road was the hooded figure Tilken had seen in the common room. They called out.

“I would accompany you to the stronghold of Rogahn and Zeligar if you would have me. I have many talents and you could need any one of them once inside the cave.”

Wangi answered, “How do you know that is where we head? We could be headed anywhere.”

“I have ears and you haven’t been quiet about your intentions.”

“Show your face, stranger.”

The traveler lowered their hood, revealing a face that was like a deer or gazelle’s, with short fur covering it, and eyes like a cat’s. It was an odd countenance. “Your kind reacts with fear at the sight of my face. For that reason I hide it. If you can put aside your fear, you will find that I can be a loyal companion.”

We glanced at one another. Wangi and Amiyah wore skeptical faces. Oliver looked uncertain. Mati indicated that he was in favor of accepting the stranger’s offer. Tilken whispered, “The dangers of the place we are headed are many. The more our number the more capable of facing its dangers we’ll be.”

He turned. “What is your name stranger?”

“Thebe - although some call me Shield.”

Oliver was swayed by Tilken’s words. “I would have us accept your offer Thebe.” Wangi and Amiyah acquiesced.

We continued our journey together and discussed our plans with Thebe.

(Referee rolls for wandering monsters and rolls a 1. The chance of wandering encounters is 2-in-6 in this hilly forested region. The referee rolls a single crab spider. The referee rolls 1d12 to determine how many hours into the journey the encounter occurs. It occurs in the 8th hour, around 8pm. Neither side is surprised. The spider is 100 yards away.)

Round 1. (The spider wins initiative. The reaction roll indicates it's indifferent.) The spider moved amid the branches of a tree beside the road, putting the tree between us and itself (+5 to AC). The spider wasn’t in range of any of our weapons so we moved 30 yards toward it and Thebe aimed their crossbow from long range but their quarrel went wide.

Round 2. (The spider wins initiative.) The spider was barely visible behind the partial cover provided by the trunk.

We advanced 30 yards once more, putting us in 120’ of the spider. This time Thebe’s bolt struck the spider despite its cover (3 damage, 8hp left). Tilken, Mati, Amiyah, and Oliver launched sling stones from long range but Tilken’s shot was blocked by the tree trunk and others missed entirely.

Round 3. (The spider, now hostile, wins initiative. The referee devises a 1d2 roll to determine whether the tree is an isolated tree or if the spider has other trees nearby to move through to attack the party. The roll indicates the latter.) The spider moves 40 yards through the trees toward the party, staying in the cover of the upper branches and leaves (+3 to AC, ending 30’ of the party).

We retreated 30 yards away from any trees and launched a volley. Thebe’s crossbow bolt hit (5 damage, 3 hp left). Tilken and Amiyah missed. Oliver’s sling stone bashed the spider (3 damage) and the creature ceased moving amid the branches.

Near the base of the tree where we first spotted the spider, we found bones and torn clothing from one of the spider’s victims. Amid the clothes, we found a pouch with 98 silver pieces and divided the coins among us (15sp each). We regrouped, collected stones to replace those we’d lost, and each started on our iron rations for the day. Then we continued our journey into the night.

Tilken recognized the area around the cave and we set up camp 250 yards away and rested for the night at 11pm, rotating who stood watch.

(While I’m using the OSE procedure for wandering monsters during wilderness adventuring, I also use The Keep on the Borderlands ‘ overland movement rates and the chance of encounters while camping near a numbered location, such as the Cave of the Unknown. Within 300 yards of the cave the chance of an encounter while camping is 4-in-6. I roll a 2, indicating a creature from the caves seeks the party out. The encounter occurs at 4am and includes 3 giant rats, rolled on the upper level wandering monsters table.)

Day 6

Tilken was on watch when the rats approached.

(Neither side is surprised. The rats are 150 yards away.)

Round 1. (The giant rats win initiative.) Tilken saw the silhouettes of giant vermin in the darkness 150 yards away, even in the darkness. The rats were headed for the party (finishing their movement 110 yards away).

Tilken woke up the others.

Round 2. (Initiative is tied.) As the others came to their senses and grabbed their equipment, the rats came to within 70 yards. Tilken readied his sling and prepared to send a stone at any dangers that emerged from the night within range.

Round 3. (The party wins the initiative.) Thebe fired their crossbow while the others quietly readied to send a volley at the rats when once they were in range. Thebe’s quarrel missed. The rats came within 40 yards. The others released their volley at long range. Tilken and Mati both slayed their targets. Amiyah missed while Oliver’s stone struck true, killing the last of the rats.

We resumed our rest. While the disturbance put us on edge, we rested in peace after.

We awoke at noon. Mati prayed for the entangle spell while Amiyah for the detect danger spell. Prayers took an hour. Then we headed to the dungeon entrance (at 1pm).

As we entered we decided on a two-column marching order with Oliver at the front on the left beside Mati bearing the lantern. Wangi and Tilken followed in the second rank (on the left and right respectively). Thebe and Amiyah guard our rear (left and right).

Turn 1. We proceeded into the first passage and reached the door. It was locked this time.

Turn 2. (No wandering monsters). Thebe tried forcing the door and failed. Tilken succeeded but makes a racket.

Turn 3. (The referee checks for wandering monsters again due to the noise. 1 orc with a battle axe approaches from 90 feet away. The Party is surprised). We heard a creature striding toward us from beyond the light of our lantern.

Round 1. The creature closes the distance to 50 feet.

Round 2. (The orc wins the initiative.) The creature approached to within 10 feet of us, becoming visible in the light and ready to attack.

Mati slung a stone striking the orc’s head, killing it before it could come closer.

Turn 4. (No wandering monsters.) We proceeded forward.

Turn 5. We continued until we reached two doors (between areas 2 and 3).

Turn 6. (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Turn 7. We listened carefully at the doors. Mati heard rapid tapping sounds from the behind door to the right (to area 3) but none of us heard any sounds coming from the other door. We decided to try the door to the left.

Turn 8. (No wandering monsters.) The door doesn’t turn out to be locked. Inside we find a long kitchen. We come to the door on the north wall at the other end of the kitchen and find it locked.

Turn 9. Thebe forces the door open. (Wandering monsters arrive. 2 berserker. Neither side is surprised. The berserkers are 50 feet to the north of the door.)

Round 1. (The berserkers win initiative. They are uncertain.) Tilken calls out, “We will leave you in peace if you do the same.” The berserker replied, “We’ll leave you in peace in exchance for food.” We discussed and decided we could spare two rations. Wangi offered two rations and the berserkers accepted and headed east.

Turn 10. (Wandering monsters. 4 giant rats. Neither side is surprised.) We heard some vermin moving in our direction. They were 90 feet north of us. We decided to attack since we had the advantage of range.

Round 1. (The party has the initiative.) We advanced 30 feet. The creatures still weren’t visible in our lantern light, although for an instant we saw eyes reflecting back from the darkness. We prepared to send a volley their way if they came into the light.

The rats came toward us, entering the light of Mati’s lantern. Oliver’s sling stone killed the first rat. Mati’s slew the second. Wangi’s and Amiyah’s stones went wide. Tilken’s hit a third (2 damage, 1hp left). Thebe’s quarrel killed another. The rats came within 20 feet of us.

Round 2. (The party wins initiative). Oliver slew his mark while Mati grazed one (1 damage, 2 hp left). Wangi’s stone hits the last rat (1 damage, 1hp left) and Amiyah brings it down (4 damage).

We regrouped after the skirmish.

Turn 11. Checking Tilken’s map, we realize that there is a large space (area 10) on the map between the corridors near this section of the dungeon. The corridors have flagstone walls but no doors facing this space. We wonder if there is something either expeditions have missed. We recalled the legends of secret passages left by Zeligar and Rogahn. We decided to look along the nearby wall (east wall of area 10). Three 10-foot lengths of wall were searched by two of us each, starting at the area just north of the door to the kitchen. We found nothing along this length of wall.

Turn 12. (Wandering monsters. 3 orcs. Neither side is surprised. The orcs begin 50 feet to the north.)

Round 1. (The orcs have the initiative. They are uncertain and confused.) We heard a number of creatures coming from the darkness to the north once more. They ceased their movement.

Tilken said, “We do not wish for harm to come to you, whoever you are. We will not block your passage if you also do us no harm.” (Referee rolls and determines none of the orcs speak common. In OSE 20% of intelligent monsters speak Common by default). The creatures replied in a language none of us could understand. They withdrew further into the darkness and their footsteps grew quieter until we could not hear them anymore.

Turn 13. We rest.

Turn 14. (No wandering monsters.) We continued our search of the wall, repeating the division of labor from before. Thebe and Amiyah both stumble upon the outline of a door well disguised by the very stonework of the wall. They find a loose stone.

Turn 15. We decided to listen at this door. None of us hear anything from the other side.

Turn 16. (Wandering monsters. 2 troglodytes, 40 feet to the south. Neither side is surprised.) A terrible stench filled our nostrils and we turned to see two lizard-like creatures, with skin the color of the stone itself, each walking on two legs.

Round 1. (Troglodytes have the initiative. Due to the troglodytes hatefulness no reaction roll is necessary.) The lizards charged at Amiyah and Tilken (due to being the nearest in the party’s marching order) and swung their claws. The first slashes Amiyah’s throat with two swipes of its claws, killing her instantly. The other misses Tilken with its right claw but catches him with the second (1 damage, 3hp left.) Tilken ducks its bite.

(The party rolls saving throws versus poison to not be overwhelmed by the stench. Thebe fails.)

Oliver swung his sword but the lizard lept away. Tilken’s blade missed as well. Wangi struck the troglodyte who’d slain Amiyah (5 damage, 8hp left). Thebe stabbed the same troglodyte (2 damage, 6hp left). Mati’s club hit the other one (1 damage, 12hp left).

Round 2. (Initiative is tied.) Oliver missed once more. Tilken slashed the wounded troglodyte and killed it (7 damage) just as the other slashed him with both claws, slaying him. Thebe missed due to the nausea. Mati misses as well. Wangi grazes the remaining troglodyte with her hammer (1 damage, 11 left) but one of its claws dig into Mati, the other claw and its bite not piercing Mati’s armor.

Round 3. (The troglodyte wins initiative. It passes its morale check.) It slashed Mati once more, killing the druid. It bit at Wangi but did not reach her.

Oliver’s blade swung wide but Thebe’s caught the lizard (2 damage, 9hp left). Wangi’s hammer pummels the creature (1 damage, 8hp left).

Round 4. (The party wins initiative.) The creature evaded Oliver’s swing, frustrating the warrior. Thebe stabbed the lizard (4 damage, 5hp left) while Wangi brought her hammer down (5 damage) and finally finished it.

Looking around we were shocked by the brutality of the creatures and the deaths of our companions, including Tilken, the most experienced of our number. We’d heard legends of troglodytes and wondered if we had just faced them. Carrying on seemed daunting at this point. We decided we would head for the exit and return to the keep. But first we’d find out what was behind that door disguised as part of the wall. It must guard something important after all.

Turn 17. We opened the door and went inside. We found an unusually shaped room containing dozens of casks and barrels. We pried open a barrel and found it full of hard candy. Another was full of water. We found another one containing candy. Others contained rye flour and sunflower seeds. We refilled our waterskins, took some candies, and sunflower seeds for the journey, and sealed all of the casks and barrels, disappointed that we hadn’t found treasure.

Turn 18. (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Turn 19. We returned to the bodies of our fallen companions. Thebe picked up Mati’s lantern and took his two flasks of oil. We took their coins and rations and much of their other gear. Thebe took Tilken’s sword and silver dagger. We decided we’d try to get their bodies out to the surface even if it slowed us down [to 30’ (10’) since each body counts as 3 items].

Turn 20. (No wandering monsters.) We began carrying the bodies back toward the entrance, leaving their remaining gear behind.

Turn 21. We traveled east along the corridor (south of 8).

Turn 22. (No wandering monsters.) We continued east.

Turn 23. We headed south toward the exit past the door to the kitchen.

Turn 24. (Wandering monsters. 3 giant rats 110 ft to the north. Neither side is surprised.)

Round 1. (The rats have the initiative. Reaction roll of 12. Friendly.) We heard skittering coming from behind us to the north. (Rats reach 70 feet away.) We continue south 10 feet.

Round 2. (The rats win initiative.) The creatures turned east and out of sight.

Turn 25. We rested.

Turn 26. (No wandering monsters.) We headed south toward the entrance.

Turn 27. We continued south.

Turn 28. (No wandering monsters.) We continued.

Turn 29. We continued.

Turn 30. (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Turn 31. We continued south once more.

Turn 32. (No wandering monsters.) We finally reached the surface (around 6pm).

Once we reached the surface, we dragged the bodies toward the woods. We had no digging tools so we searched for a natural depression. Taking short breaks to eat from our rations, we used our weapons and nearby rocks to dig it a foot deep. The ground was hard so we couldn’t go much deeper. After laying Mati down, we tossed his sprig of mistletoe into his grave. We laid the others down too. Then we covered the bodies with all of the twigs, pine boughs, stones, and dirt we could find. Wangi led us in a prayer for souls of the dead.

It became dark and we made camp (9pm). We slept.

Day 7

(The referee rolls and determines creatures of the cave emerge to seek out the encampment. 2 Giant centipedes are surprised.) During the night (at 1am) Oliver saw movement in the distance while on watch. 140 yards away he spotted 2 many-legged insects in the starlight headed toward the camp.

Round 1. He awoke the others.

Round 2. The centipedes moved 20 yards closer. Wangi retrieves her sling from her pack.

Round 3. The centipedes continued at the same pace.

Round 4. (Initiative is a tie.) Same. The centipedes were now 240’ away. Thebe fired a crossbow bolt at long range, missing.

Round 5. (Centipedes win initiative.) The centipedes came to within 180’. Thebe reloaded.

Round 6. (Centipedes win initiative.) The centipedes came to within 120’. Wangi’s sling stone hit one (2 damage) and it ceased moving. Oliver missed. Thebe hit the remaining centipede (1 damage, 3hp left).

Round 7. (The party wins initiative.) Thebe reloaded. Wangi and Oliver missed. The remaining centipede passed its morale check and came to within 60’.

Round 8. (The party wins the initiative.) Thebe missed. Wangi’s stone killed the centipede (3 damage).

We resumed resting.

In the morning (9am), we began the trek back to the keep. (The referee rolls no wandering monsters for the day.) During the trek we ate another iron ration each.

Around sunset (8pm) we arrived back at the keep’s gate. Tired and sullen we headed to the inn and rented space in the common room (3 sp). When we reached the common room we were surprised to find by three smiling faces.

Experience points from the 2nd expedition

98sp = 9 XP from treasure; 3 XP each

While the party consisted of six PCs: 1 crab spider (25 XP), 8 giant rats (5xp per rat), 1 orc (10 XP)

After three PCs died: 2 troglodytes (3 party members died during the fight, 25 XP each troglodyte), 2 giant centipedes (6 XP per centipede)

25 + 40 + 10 = 75 XP divided 6 ways, or 13 XP to each surviving character

62 XP divided 3 ways, or 21 XP to each surviving character

Each of the three surviving characters receive 34 XP each from monsters defeated. They receive a total of 37 XP each plus XP bonuses, leaving Thebe and Wangi with 41 XP each and Oliver with 39.

Reflections after the 2nd expedition

• It's cool that Quasqueton has a few spaces not far from the entrance where a party performing careful mapping could infer the existence of a secret room. I can’t think of another adventure for beginning characters with a similar reward for mapping so early on.

• I rolled many more 1s on wandering monster checks during this expedition.

• In the 2nd printing (scanned and reproduced for OAR #1 Into the Borderlands by Goodman Games), wandering monster checks are rolled every 3rd turn. In the 6th printing, these checks are rolled every 2nd turn. Throughout this play through so far I’ve been rolling every other turn since that is the default for OSE. But the difference between checking every 2nd and every 3rd turn could add up in an expedition like this last one.

• In both expeditions, a single encounter was responsible for all of the PC deaths. Four deaths during the first expedition, three during the second. In each case the monsters made six attacks each round. OSE’s troglodytes and fire beetles are incredibly dangerous monsters, even without surprising the party. I rolled on the high side for the troglodyte’s hit points, which didn’t help. Orcs, giant rats, and spiders have not yet posed a similar threat. I’ve been using the stat-blocks from the OSE rulebook for troglodytes and the other monsters. But rereading the stats for troglodytes in In Search of the Unknown, I’ve realized that the troglodytes in the earlier printing of B1 are have only 1 attack per round while OSE troglodytes and the troglodytes in the latter printing have 3 attacks per round. The latter B1 troglodytes are in line with OSE’s stats. The troglodytes on the wandering monster table have 5 and 6 hit points. While those hit point maximums are perfectly possible for a two HD monster, they are more likely for a 1 HD monster. But checking the troglodytes in the monster stocking section, I found one troglodyte with 10hp, out of the 6 examples in the book. So it's probably that they are two HD monsters. Troglodytes are not listed in the Holmes Blue Box or in original D&D. Even if the number of attacks is the only difference in the troglodytes, it has a large impact on play. I’ll keep an eye out for other differences in the stat-blocks between earlier and later printings.

• Suffice it to say, between the frequency and the monster stat-blocks, wandering monsters are a bigger threat in later printings of B1. Were these changes playtested with this module? In the introduction to B1, Carr writes that the module is “less deadly and more forgiving than one designed to test experienced players”. Is that still true with these two changes? The effect of more frequent wandering monster checks will add up over time.

• Because I doubt the changes in the latter version were playtested, I decided to try to play an expedition with the original module’s frequency of wandering monster checks and number of troglodyte attacks. And if I encountered further discrepancies I’d favor the earlier module.

• I forgot to roll to see if the secret door to area 10 was locked. The module is explicit that all doors in the dungeon, including secret doors, have a 1-in-3 chance of being locked.

• I didn’t check if the north door to area 2 was locked from the inside. I think I acted on the assumption that most doors can be unlocked from the inside. I’m guessing medieval locks needed to be unlocked by a key. But is the keyhole on both sides of the door? I have to assume it is.

• On each expedition, I assume visitors can find doors locked that were not locked during previous expeditions.

• Not having a thief to pick locks meant the party attracted one more wandering monster encounter than they might have otherwise.

• The party entered Quasqueton with a higher movement rate [90’ (30’) instead of 60’ (20’)]. This may have saved us some encounters with wandering monsters early on but when a party doesn’t need to, or can’t, move more than 60’ a turn, the additional speed is not a significant advantage.

• The party would have benefited from a couple more warrior characters. Tilken and Oliver were the two real warriors in the party this time. This party tended to have low ACs, low to moderate hit points, and low Strength modifiers, compared to the party of the first expedition. Perhaps the druid or wood elf could have taken better advantage of the animal friendship spell and gained a crab spider or giant rat companion, they didn’t attempt to. Their druidic and wood elf abilities didn’t come in at all. These classes may be better suited for wilderness adventures.

• Variable weapon damage is an optional rule in Basic D&D and OSE. The default is that all weapons deal 1d6 damage. I wonder how big of a difference it might have made during this expedition if all of the party’s sling and club attacks had dealt 1d6 damage rather than 1d4 damage.

• Another factor that could be making the adventure more difficult is random starting equipment. Rolling 3d6 x 10 gold pieces (average 105gp) and purchasing all equipment allows new fighters to usually be able to purchase plate armor and a shield. They might also be able to afford a short bow. Beginning with the best non-magical armor or weapons in the game is a big benefit of being a fighter at level 1. The random tables provided in Carcass Crawler 2 tends to make starting fighters a little more vulnerable. I still prefer to use the random tables both to save time and to interject an element of happenstance.

• Running encounters with small numbers of intelligent creatures, I wonder if their numerical disadvantage vis-à-vis the party should affect how I interpret their reaction rolls. For instance, a reaction roll of 3-5 is hostile but not necessarily attacking. Is facing a party of 6 armed adventurers enough to keep these monsters from attacking? That could lead to many encounters bypassed without wits, skill, or luck but only with numbers. Since the wandering monster tables in B1 can lead to encounters with just one or two creatures, are wandering monsters less threatening as a result? I do think its fair that indifferent or confused results of the reaction roll can be interpreted in light of numerical balance or imbalance.

New fortune seekers for the third expedition

For the third expedition I wanted to try out the “Who Are You” table from the Notable Novices and Notorious Newcomers section of Axian Library, a 3rd-party supplement by Giuseppe Rotondo. The table gives a a new character a random interesting connection or characteristics. The results are proving to be advantageous.

• Aderfi Sami, a fighter; a hitherto unknown stepsibling to another party member, the two of them happy to have met and both receive +5% XP bonus as long as both are alive and participate in a session. They know 1 legend: 9) troglodytes have moved into the complex in the absence of its normal inhabitants.

• Judith Kacinambun, a magic-user; despite being an adventurer, Judith is sensible and sound-minded and her Int, Wis and Cha scores change to 15, if they were lower. She knows 2 legends: 13) Rogahn’s trophy room has battle relics and slain monster remains from his adventures, and 17) all treasures of Zelligar and Rogahn are cursed to bring ill to any who possess them.

• Hadasha, a half-elf; Hadasha used to be a farmer and still owns a decent wagon and two draft horses. She knows 1 legend: 8) no outsiders have ever entered the complex and returned to tell the tale.

Day 7, continued

One of them greeted Oliver by name and introduced themselves as Aderfi Sami. They handed Oliver a letter.

Dear Oliver. I pray that your travels have been safe. In the time you’ve been away, I have remarried. I spoke of you to my wife’s family. My wife has five children from her previous marriage. Her fifth child was most interested in your doings. I am sending this letter with them. Their name is Aderfi. As a fifth child, they have few prospects and are committed to seeking their fortune out in the wider world. They are strong and skilled in arms and have my blessing in seeking you out to join in your ventures. May you watch over each other as siblings. Godspeed. Ciaran O’Donnell

Oliver looked up from the letter. “Well met Aderfi. Given that your letter is in my father’s hand and you have his blessing, then I will treat you as a sibling.” They hugged.

Aderfi replied, “I’m gladdened by this warm reception Oliver. Along the road to reach you, I met others, Judith and Hadasha here, in need of purpose. I told them of the stories of Rogahn and Zelligar’s stronghold and they are both as committed to finding the treasure as I am.”

“Sibling Aderfi, my companions Thebe and Wangi and I have just come from a few days in the wilds. We have returned from Quasqueton. Let us set down our packs and rest by the fire and I will share with you all that we saw in that place.”

Thebe and Wangi laid in their bunks watching the four gathered by the fire.

Hadasha spoke, “I’m eager to hear of what you found.”

Oliver spoke of the journey. Thebe and Wangi contributed details and suspicions. They spoke of Tilken and all they had learned from him and his tale of his first expedition to Quasqueton. Oliver told of the deaths of Tilken, Mati Keli, and Amiyah Wai to the strange lizards the previous day. The newcomers also shared the stories they had heard of the place.

All grew sleepy, for even the newcomers had been on the road that day and had only arrived at the keep a few hours before us. We drifted off and dreamt of lizards and jewels.

Day 8

Awaking in the morning (7am), the six took inventory over a breakfast of porridge and fruit in the tavern (2sp each). We decided we would try to move quickly and venture deeper within the dungeon than the previous expeditions had. Perhaps the riches lay in the further reaches. Tilken’s map showed a stairway to a lower level. Perhaps the lower level was where greater treasures could be found. Based on Thebe, Wangi, and Oliver’s experience, some monsters might be satisfied with food, so we decided to bring extra.

Hadasha paid for stabling and fodder for her two horses for the previous day (4sp). She considered whether it might be best to sell her horses and wagon and purchase a mule. Mules are said to remain calm while underground. Oliver had said the corridors of Quasqueton are wide and a mule could aid them in carrying equipment as well as any injured or dead. Hadasha decided to go through with it and spent the rest of the day finding buyers for her two draft horses for 40gp and for her wagon for 100gp. She bought a mule named Teja for 30gp and saddle bags for 5gp (leaving her with 105gp more than she’d had that morning).

Aderfi purchased a shield (10gp). Thebe purchased a sling for Aderfi. Hadasha bought a longbow and 20 arrows (for 45gp). Thebe sold their silver dagger (for 15gp) and bought a case of 30 crossbow bolts (10gp), 7 days of standard rations (5gp), and 2 more sheets of parchment. Judith bought a second dagger (2gp). Hadasha purchased 4 flasks of oil (4gp) and 7 days of standard rations (5gp) so we would not need to worry about running out. Hadasha also sold her polearm (3gp, 5sp) and bought a sword, a shield, and a small sack (21gp).

We stayed one more night in the inn (6sp).

Day 9

We set out before dawn once more with our new companions.

(Wandering monsters encountered in the first hour of the trip around 6am. 12 Hobgoblins 200 yards away. The hobgoblins are surprised.)

We saw a band of a dozen hobgoblins and knew we could not defeat them in battle.

Round 1. They could spot us at any moment so we hustled toward the keep, since we were not far from it. (Evasion by the surprising side is automatic in the wilderness.)

We reached the keep within an hour to the surprise of the gate guards. We told them about the hobgoblin band. They let us back in. We wondered if the hobgoblins were a scouting party. Word must have been passed to the captain of the guard. Twenty minutes later, a mounted patrol of 8 heavy cavalry and 12 medium cavalry soon left the keep riding to the spot where we’d seen the hobgoblins.

We waited for news in the tavern.

Two hours later we heard the signal horn that announced the cavalry’s return. We watched as they rode to the inner bailey. We counted all 20 cavalry alive and well. Judith spoke, “Did you route the hobgoblins?”

A heavy cavalrywoman replied, “We charged them and they scattered. I slew three but the rest escaped into the forest.”

(Referee note. A couple years ago I created a spreadsheet to calculate the results of battles using the War Machine rules from the Companion Set (1984) by Frank Mentzer. I decided it could be a fun use of the system to determine what happens when the cavalry met the hobgoblins in battle. The War Machine rules involve answering questions about each force, calculating a few scores based on the answers, and then rolling a d100 for each side. The higher number wins and the difference between the two results determines who controls the battlefield, who retreats and how far, how many casualties occur, and how fatigued participants are afterward. I would not want to do calculations in the middle of the session. It’s not a tactical skirmish system but a strategic-level resolution system.)

Until next time!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.

Turn 67. We opened the door (to 20) and surprised 4 gnomes who appeared to be arguing about where to look for a trap door. We decided to parley. Tilken began, “Hello friends. Perhaps we can help one another. Are you from the surface as well?” (The gnomes are indifferent.) A gnome wearing an indigo cap replied, “You might say that, for we are not from this place. But our purposes are our own and you best move on.” At that we decided to leave them.

Turn 68. (No wandering monsters.) We returned along the path we’d come on (ending up south of 20).

Turn 69. We returned through the door to the south (southwest of 21) and headed west.

Turn 70. (No wandering monsters.) We continued west and then turned north along the long passage the Garani warrior had described.

Turn 71. We continued north down the corridor.

Turn 72. (The end of our 6th hour in the strange complex. No wandering monsters.) We rested. Gemel poured his last flask of oil into the lantern. Tilken and Maria each had another flask if we needed them and we still had torches.

Turn 73. We continued as the passage turned first left then right.

Turn 74. (No wandering monsters.) We headed east and then north as the passage turned.

Turn 75. We continued north and then followed the passage northeast.

Turn 76. (No wandering monsters.) We followed the passage northeast until it turned right.

Turn 77. We continued northeast until we came to a spot where a few corridors intersected (northeast of 10). Still concerned that we might be headed too far from the entrance yet wanting to explore longer, we headed east along the right passage.

Turn 78. (No wandering monsters.) We rested and Tilken updated the map.

Turn 79. We continued east and peered down the side passage to the north. We may need to return that way. Instead we continued east until a corridor heading south intersected with ours. It looked familiar and we decided to see if it led back to the entrance.

Turn 80. (No wandering monsters.) We followed the passage south and saw the mangled corpses of the spiders we’d slain soon after entering the complex as well as those of the fallen travelers who came before us. We also saw the doors we’d listened at earlier, which we’d turned back from after hearing conversations inside. We also saw a passageway headed east.

Turn 81. Heartened by the closeness of the exit, we decided to explore this eastward passage. We came to an intersection and saw a door to the north (to 5). We continued toward it.

Turn 82. (No wandering monsters.) We headed to the door and listened but heard nothing.

Turn 83. We tried the door and found it was locked. Caterina picked the lock.

Turn 84. (No wandering monsters.) We decided to rest before entering.

Turn 85. We opened the door. A strange reddish glow emanated from somewhere on the right side of the room. Caterina snuck forward cautiously. (Referee rolls a Move Silently check for her. It’s a 3 so she fails but doesn’t realize it. The fire beetles are indifferent.) She saw the glow emit from beneath the bed against the east wall. The red light also illuminated a stone carving in the north wall. The relief carving depicted a sorcerer invoking powerful magics from a hilltop while an army below cowers and flees. Looking closer at the source of the red light, Caterina noticed it move and saw the shiny carapace of a number of phosphorescent beetles beneath the bed. A nightstand and table sat beside the bed. On the west side of the room gleaming mugs and a pitcher rested on a table. In the red light, they looked silver. Caterina noticed a door in the south wall on the west side of the room. Deciding the beetles weren’t aggressive, she gestured to the rest of us to follow. She took two pewter mugs as we approached.

Turn 86. (Two wandering orcs approach from the south. Neither side is surprised.) As we started to stow the mugs and pitcher in our packs, we heard footsteps. Two orcs wielding spears approached from the intersection (south of 5), seeing us as well.

Round 1. (Players win initiative and choose to parley.) Tilken called out. “Halt your approach. We mean you no harm.” The rest of us stood at the ready. (The reaction roll is a 4, hostile, may attack.) The orcs snorted, “Give us your coin and any other treasures you bear and we will spare you.” Maria replied, “We will not. You’ll regret it if you intend to harm us.”

Round 2. (Players win initiative.) Tilken and Maria moved to protect the rest of us and we readied our weapons in case the orcs advanced any closer. On their turn the orcs charged us. Caterina let loose an arrow striking her target (inflicting 5 damage, 1 hp left). Enoch’s stone missed its mark. Gemel’s bolt hit the first orc slaying it (5 damage). The second orc continued its charge. Tilken and Maria stabbed at it with their braced spears, both missing the running orc. The orc tried to run Maria through but its spear was deflected.

Round 3. (The commotion agitates the fire beetles and all six advance. The orc wins initiative, with the fire beetles acting between the orc and the party. The lone orc passes its morale check.) The orc thrust its spear into Maria’s shoulder (inflicting 2 damage, 7 hp left). A fire beetle bit the orc (3 damage, 1 hp left). Two more attacked Maria as she was closest to them. One punctured her armor, wounding her (dealing 6 damage, 1 hp left) white the other’s bite could not penetrate her plate. Two more attacked Enoch but he fended them off. Another attacked Gemel but Gemel evaded their bite.

Tilken missed the orc while Maria pushed her spear into the orc’s chest, putting an end to it (7 damage). Caterina stabbed the beetle attacking Gemel with her polearm (inflicting 3 damage, 2 hp left). Enoch slammed his mace into the shell of a beetle but the smooth carapace deflected the blow. Gemel stabbed at the beetle with their dagger but missed.

Round 4. (Gemel’s player declares they will make a fighting withdrawal to get behind the rest of the party to the west. The party wins initiative).

Gemel moved half speed to get behind us and then threw a dagger at the beetle that had attacked them but the dagger hit the wall behind the beetle. Tilken failed to stab a beetle attacking Maria as Maria’s spear missed the same beetle. Caterina’s polearm was deflected off of the beetle she’d attacked previously. Enoch bashed through a beetle’s shell with his mace (inflicting 2 damage, 5 hp left).

The bites of two beetles failed to puncture Maria’s armor but two more found the gaps in Enoch’s (dealing 5 and 5 damage, respectively) and Enoch died before our eyes. A beetle lunged at Caterina but she dove to the side. Another beetle crawled over Enoch and bit Gemel (inflicting 2 damage, 0 left), killing our already injured companion. The rest of us glanced at each other with fearful faces reflecting that red light.

Round 5. (The players of the remaining party members declared they will make a fighting withdrawal toward the door. The fire beetles win initiative.) Maria’s armor protected her from two feeble attacks by the beetles. Two more attacked Tilken, one chomping into his leg (inflicting 3 damage, 1 hp left). The remaining two beetles attacked Caterina. A gap in her armor proved fatal (6 damage). We were two now.

Tilken moved 15 feet toward the door, while Maria moved 10.

Round 6. (Tilken’s player declares he will make a fighting withdrawal past the door while Maria’s player declares she will make a full retreat past the door. The PCs win initiative.) Both Tilken and Maria made it to the far side of the door and Tilken slammed it shut behind him.

Round 7. Maria wedged an iron spike between the door and the floor while both of us leaned against the door.

We rested outside the door, hearing the beetles’ scratching the we leaned upon. Without Gamel’s lantern, Maria lit a torch and we both sharpened our weapons and fixed our armor. We discussed whether to attempt to retrieve our companion’s remains before they are eaten or to head straight for the surface. The six beetles were formidable and we had been unable to slay any of them. We decided on a plan to make a stand and try to recover the bodies.

Turn 87. We poured oil across the floor before the doorway. To be safe we poured a second flask of oil onto the ground a little further back in the hall with a gap between the two pools. Maria set her lit torch on the ground farther back still and then lept to the gap. She dislodged the iron spike with a 10-foot pole, so as not to step in the first pool. Tilken stood back at the intersection, sling at the ready. Maria then reached across the pool and opened the door.

Round 1. (Initiative is tied.) We saw the red phosphorescence of beetles as they pulled at the flesh of our companions. The 3 beetles not feasting turned and skittered toward us as Maria leapt over the second pool toward the torch and dropped the 10-foot pole. She picked up the torch as the beetles reached the first pool of oil. Tilken released his sling stone at the first beetle but it ricocheted off its shell. Then Maria set fire to the nearest pool, which the beetles would still have to cross to reach them.

Round 2. (Initiative is tied. The beetles pass a morale check to determine whether they proceed into the fire.) Maria backed up to the intersection, joining Tilken. The 3 beetles skittered into the burning oil (the first is burned for 1 damage, 7hp remaining; the second suffers 4 damage, 2hp remaining; the third suffers 1 damage, 4hp remaining).

Then Tilken launched another stone at the first beetle, but it fell wide. Two beetles chomped at Maria with their mandibles, but did not catch her, while Tilken’s chainmail stopped another’s bite. Maria dropped the torch and grabbed her spear but it failed to puncture a beetle’s hard shell.

Round 3. Our plan having failed, we ran towards the surface declaring a retreat. (The PCs win initiative.) We ran at our full speeds, Maria making it 20 feet west down the corridor, Tilken making it 30 feet.

The 3 beetles followed, their multitude of legs allowing them to catch up to Maria, but their bites did not find the weak points in her armor (even with Maria’s current AC being 14 due to retreating and not benefitting from her shield against rear attacks).

Round 4. (The beetles win initiative.) The beetles continued to bite at Maria’s heels, the mandibles of two beetles cutting into her legs (1 inflicting 6 damage, the other inflicting 4) and the warrior fell.

Tilken ran into the darkness beyond the torchlight and the light given off by the beetles. He reached the intersection (between 2, 3, and 8) feeling the wall with his shield every 10 feet along the way, and headed south, just barely rounding the corner.

He continued running towards the exit into the darkness, not hearing or seeing the light of the beetles behind him.

He made it down the corridor to the light of the surface by the end of the turn, emerging after seven hours in the dungeon. The sun was high in the sky as it was just past noon. He panted as he leaned against the cliff wall beside the entrance. Now he had to get back to the keep safely.

He stumbled to the site where they had camped the night before and rested for a turn. Having encountered the dangers of the dungeon, he knew he didn’t want to stick around much longer. He headed downhill in the direction of the road, making it to the woods within an hour. After three more hours he’d left the forest behind.

(Referee rolls a 5 on the random encounter check; no random encounter.) Tilken made it to the road after another hour.

By just after 7 PM he reached the portion of the road where it ran alongside the Goblinwater River. He refilled his waterskin. Sunset was coming.

Tilken didn’t think it likely the keep would let down its drawbridge in the darkness, so he hid in the foliage of the forest north of the road, ate one iron ration, and rested until dawn without lighting a fire. He stayed awake through the night to avoid ambush.

Day 3

Around 4:00 AM Tilken set off towards the keep again. The sun rose around 5:30. By 10:00 AM he reached the gates of the keep. The guards on watch recognized him and lowered the drawbridge. The scribe logged his entrance to the keep and he headed towards the inn.

Tilken headed to the tavern. He ordered soup, fruit, and cheese (3sp) and ate, reflecting on the events of the last few days. He went to the temple and prayed for the gods to guide the souls of his departed companions Gemel, Caterina, and Maria to the Elysium Plain. Around noon he went to the inn, where he purchased a bed in the common room for the night (10cp). Tilken finally laid down in the large bunk bed and closed his eyes. He was in and out of sleep until the noon of the following day (healing 2hp).

In town Tilken had counted that he had a total of 22sp, 55cp, and 23ep. He hoped to meet some other fortune seekers. Fortunately, more treasure hunters had heard the news of the discovery of Quesqueton’s location and had arrived at the keep.

Experience points from the 1st expedition to Quasqueton

Tilken brought 20sp, 55cp, 23ep back from the dungeon to the keep, with a value of 14.05gp. He receives 14 XP from treasure retrieved.

The party defeated 5 giant spiders, 1 crab spider, 2 kobolds, 1 giant poisonous snake, and 2 orcs, for a total of 350 XP for the group; Tilken receives 1/5th of this, or 70 XP. 

• 5 giant spiders - 95 XP

• 1 crab spider - 25 XP

• 2 kobolds - 10 XP

• 1 giant poisonous snake - 200 XP

• 2 orcs - 20 XP

He is awarded 84 XP from this expedition, which becomes 92 XP after his 10% bonus XP modifier is added in.

Creating Characters for the 2nd Expedition

I decided the company would be composed of 6 characters this time, the max suggested for the adventure and the minimum suggested as the ideal size for a group by the OSE rulebook.

This time I’ll write out the steps I used to create a character, including optional rules in OSE and from the Carcass Crawler zines, in case that is of interest to any readers.

1st new character

Step 1: Roll Ability Scores (3d6 down the line)

Str 14, Int 13, Wis 10, Dex 16, Con 13, Cha 12

These are really good ability scores. If I rolled an 8 or less in every score or a 6 or less in 2 or more scores, then I would consider rerolling, as per the option for sub-par characters in OSE and in the Dolmenwood Players book, which has more precise guidance.

Step 2: Choose a Class

I selected the Mutoid class from Carcass Crawler 3, which has Dexterity as its prime requisite, so the character receives a 10% XP bonus. I wanted to try a class I’m not familiar with and this solo play is in part to help me expand my rules knowledge. Mutoids are people with the body parts of multiple animals. For the second expedition, I opened up classes from OSE Advanced Fantasy and Carcass Crawler.

Step 3: Adjust Ability Scores

I decided against adjusting any ability scores.

Step 4 and 5: Note Ability Score Modifiers and Attack Rolls

+1 to melee attacks due to Strength, 3-in-6 chance of opening stuck doors; +2 to missile attacks due to Dexterity, +2 to AC; +1 to rolled hit points due to Constitution

Step 6: Note Saving Throws and Class Abilities

Death or Poison (D) 10, Wands (W) 11, Paralysis or Petrification (P) 12, Breath Attacks (B) 13, Spells, Rods, or Staves (S) 14

I rolled spring legs and beast eyes for the Mutoid’s two random mutations. Mutoid Skills at level one are Hide in shadows (HS) 10%, Mimicry (MI) 35%, Move silently (MS) 20%, and Pick pockets (PP) 20%. Mutoids can back-stab like thieves (+4 bonus to hit, double damage) and they may use one-handed melee weapons and all missile weapons. They may wear leather armor and use a shield.

Step 7: Roll Hit Points

I rolled 3 hit points on the first roll. With Constitution modifier the character begins with 4 HP.
If the roll on the die had been a 1 or 2, I would have rerolled until I rolled at least a 3 or higher (an optional rule).

Step 8: Choose Alignment

For this solo game, I determined alignment randomly using a table I’d made. 1d6. 1 to 3 = Lawful. 4 to 5 = Neutral. 6 = Chaotic. The result is Lawful.

Step 9: Note Known Languages

The character begins being able to speak and write the Lawful and Common languages, plus the Ogre tongue (this last one I determined randomly for the purposes of this solo game).

Step 10: Buy Equipment

Using the Quick Equipment optional rules from Carcass Crawler 2, I rolled 6 torches, 5 iron rations, and 15gp, in addition to the automatic tinderbox and waterskin. Based on the armor allowed mutoids, I determined that mutoid characters can roll 1d2 on the Armor table. The result is Leather armor (no shield). I used the Bard Weapons table since Mutoids have the same weapon restrictions as bards and roll a crossbow + 20 bolts and a short sword. On the Adventuring Gear table I rolled a hammer (small) + 12 iron spikes and a small sack.

Step 11: Note Armour Class

Ascending AC is 14 between Leather armor and Dex bonus. Unarmored AAC is 12.

Step 12: Note Level and XP

Level 1. 0 XP.

Step 13: Name Character

I rolled for gender identity. 1d12. 1 to 5 = man. 6 to 10 = woman. 11-12 = nonbinary.

For this character I rolled nonbinary for gender. Then I rolled to determine which real world nationality to choose a name from, using the categories for real names on fantasynamegenerators.com. 

1d6. 1 = Africa, 2 = Americas, 3 = Asia, 4 = Europe, 5 = Middle East, and 6 = Oceana.

The result is an African name and then I rolled again to narrow it down to a Basotho name (a people from South Africa and Lesotho). Since the character is nonbinary and the random names are listed by male and female, I rolled 1d2 to determine whether their name is from the male or female list on the generator. Male list. I rolled a 1d10 to determine which of the 10 generated Basotho male names to use. The result is Thebe, which means shield (ironically, since I rolled that Thebe doesn’t begin with a shield.)

Thebe knows 3 legends of Quasqueton: 8) no outsiders have ever entered the complex and returned to tell the tale; 5) the complex has two levels; 1) the name of the stronghold is Quasqueton.

I repeated this process to create the remaining 4 characters.

Day 4

During his moments of wakefulness Tilken came to recognize the faces and names of the others who were staying in the common room, as the sounds of their conversations interrupted his rest now and then. They were a band of fortune-seekers drawn by the lure of Zeligar and Rogahn’s riches much like himself and his fallen companions. He considered telling them of the doom that awaited them. They were a motley quartet. Wangi seemed to be a priest of some sort. Mati looked the part of a druid, wearing a sprig of mistletoe about his neck. Amiyah was an elf from the forests while Oliver was a human, possibly a warrior. They had come from further abroad than Tilken and the others he’d traveled with. News must have spread across the region if not beyond.

He had caught a glimpse of another figure in the room too. The figure wore a cloak and a deep hood. When a rooster awoke Tilken around dawn, he looked across the room and thought he saw yellow cat-like eyes within that dark hood. He glanced over to check that his possessions had not been stolen and soon drifted back into sleep and forgot about the hooded figure.

At noon Tilken awoke and headed to the well for some water and to the tavern for a meal. He recognized some of the travelers from the inn. They were asking if the bartender had heard anything about Quasqueton. They seemed to know some of the common legends.

Tilken sat beside them at the bar. He said, “If you buy me a drink and meal, I’ll tell you of my journey into the stronghold itself. For I have been within and escaped to tell the tale.” The one called Oliver bought Tilken a pint of wine and a meal of stew and Tilken began the tale. He finished with the sad fate of his companions.

We listened carefully to the halfling’s tale. The story ended on a low note; however, Tilken had spoken of finding jade and coin. We offered to help him recover the remains of his companions in exchange for leading us to Quasqueton and helping us discover its riches. Tilken relished the meal as if he hadn’t eaten well for some time. He agreed to the proposal and retried a map he had drawn during his expedition from his pack.

We discussed preparations and traded tales we’d heard of Quasqueton. Tilken was concerned that none of us was skilled in the picking of locks. We concluded we’d have to make due.

Amiyah sold her battle axe to the keep’s provisioner (for 3gp, 5sp). Amiyah and Mati each purchase shields from the provisioner (10gp each; the provisioner has 5 left). Tilken buys a sword from the smithy (10gp; the smithy has 1 left for sale). Oliver likewise sells his short sword to the provisioner (for 3gp, 5sp) and buys the remaining sword from the smith (for 10gp). Oliver and Amiyah each buy a sling from the trader (for 2gp each). Amiya also bought a small sack from the provisioner (1gp).

Thebe purchases a shield (10 gp; the provisioner has 4 left) and 50 feet of rope (for 1gp) from the provisioner. Wangi also bought Mati a sling (2gp).

(With 6 player characters of little reputation, no retainers are willing to join the expedition. No roll necessary.)

We rested well that night in the inn (6sp), dreaming of the road ahead.

The 2nd expedition [party MV 90’ (30’)]

1. Tilken (halfling), S13 I14 W6 D14 C6 Ch15, +10% XP, AC 14, 4/4 HP, Att +1, SV D8 W9 P10 B13 S12, -1 to saves against magic, AL L, hear noises 2-in-6, man, 5/6 equipped items [sword (1d8+1) 1, sling +13 stones (+1, 1d4) 1, chainmail 2, shield 1], 9/13 packed items [3 torches 1, silver dagger 1, 3 iron rations 1, rope (50’) 1, 0 oil (flask) 0, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, holy water (vial) 1, 67 coins (19sp, 45cp, 3ep) 1, wolfsbane (1 bunch) 0, ink (vial) 0, quill 0, parchment (1 sheet) 0, map 0, sack (small) 0, spear 1], encumbered MV Rate 90’ (30’), speaks & reads Lawful, Common, and Halfling, 92 XP

2. Thebe (aka Shield, mutoid), S14, I13, W10, D16, C13, Ch12, +10% XP, AC 15, 4/4 HP, Att +1 melee, +2 ranged, SV D10 W11 P12 B13 S14, AL L, back-stab, HS 10%, MI 35%, MS 20%, PP 20%, infravision 60’, spring legs, nonbinary, 5/6 equipped items [short sword (1d6) 1, crossbow +20 bolts (1d6) 2, leather armor + shield 2], 10/13 packed items [6 torches 2, 5 iron rations 2, 4gp 1, hammer (small) 1, 12 iron spikes 1, small sack 1, backpack 0, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, rope (50’) 1], encumbered MV Rate 90’ (30’), speaks & writes Lawful, Common, and Ogre

3. Wangi (acolyte), S7 I10 W16 D9 C9 Ch4, +10% XP, AC 15, 4/4 HP, Att -1 melee, +0 missile, SV D11 W12 P14 B16 S15, +2 to saves against magic, AL N, BL 10, DM 30%, KA 20%, PU 20%, RA 25%, TU 50%, divine magic 1 spell per day, woman, 4/4 equipped items [chainmail + shield 3, warhammer (1d6) 1, holy symbol 0], 10/11 packed items [sling +20 stones (1d4) 1, backpack 0, 3 torches 1, 6 iron rations 2, 6gp 1, mirror (hand-sized, steel) 1, rope (50’) 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1), encumbered MV 90’ (30’), speaks & writes Neutral and Common

4. Mati Keli (druid), S10 I9 W14 D11 C14 Ch12, +5% XP, AC 13, 5/5 HP, Att +0, SV D11 W12 P14 B16 S15, +1 to saves against magic, AL N, +2 to saves against electricity & fire, identify plants and animals and discern pure water, only 1-in-6 chance of getting lost in woodlands, divine magic 1 spell per day (entangle), man, 5/5, equipped items [leather armor + shield 2, club 1 (1d4), sling +20 stones (1d4), sprig of mistletoe 0, lantern 1], 10/12 packed items [1 dagger 1, 3 flasks of oil 3, backpack 0, 6 torches 2, 6 iron rations 2, 0gp 0, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, rope (50’) 1], encumbered MV 90’ (30’), speaks & writes Neutral and Common

5. Amiyah Wai (wood elf), S8 I6 W12 D10 C9 Ch8, AC 13, 4/4 HP, Att -1 melee, +1 missile, SV D12 W 13 P13 B15 S15, AL C, only surprised on 1, detect secret doors 2-in-6, foraging 2-in-6, hunting 5-in-6, hiding in woods or undergrowth 90%, immune to ghoul paralysis, infravision 60’, listening at doors 2-in-6, divine magic 1 spell per day (animal friendship), woman, 4/4 equipped items [leather armor + shield 2, sword (1d8) 1, sling +20 stones (1d4)], 8/11 packed items [6 torches 2, 2 iron rations 1, backpack 0, 0 gp and 5sp 1, mirror (hand-sized, steel) 1, hammer (small) 1, 12 iron spikes 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, 1 sack (small) 1], encumbered MV 90’ (30’), speaks Chaotic, Common, Elvish, Bugbear, Dryad, and Gnoll

6. Oliver O’Donnell (fighter), S9 I12 W8 D9 C13 Ch11, AC 15, 8/8 HP, Att +0, SV D12 W13 P14 B15 S16, -1 to saves against magic, AL L, man, 5/5 equipped items [chainmail + shield 3, sword (1d8) 1, sling (1d4) + 20 arrows 1], 10/12 packed items [silver dagger 1, backpack 0, 5 torches 2, 4 iron rations 2, 1gp and 10sp 1, sack (large) 1, sack (small) 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1], encumbered MV 90’ (30’), speaks & reads Lawful and Common

Lessons

• Level 1 is the most dangerous time in the life of an adventurer and OSE is a lethal rule set. I underestimated how tough fire beetles are. I avoided looking at their stats before combat began and I’m used to them being mostly harmless in later editions. If I had avoided pressing through the room knowing the fire beetles where nearby, then maybe more of the 1st expedition would have made it out alive. As a referee, I thought it reasonable that a battle with orcs in the same room as the up-until-then indifferent fire beetles would warrant a new reaction roll. I also had bad luck as I lost the first initiative roll after opening the door back to the beetles, letting them bypass the first pool of oil before I had a chance to light and. Then the burning oil in the second pool did little damage. But two PCs with close to +0 attack bonuses returning to battle six creatures with AAC 15, after having failed to take down any of them, was foolish in retrospect.

• B1 is known for have paltry treasure. I’ve read recommendations to increase the amount of treasure so PCs can earn more XP. Tilken received little XP for the expedition since he was not the one carrying many of the items of treasure and he couldn’t go back for them. So far I’ve decided to run B1 as is since this is a solo game and I’m doing it as an experiment. I might reevaluate this decision later. If I was running it for other players, I’d drastically increase the amount of treasure.

Notes

• In the party member stat-blocks, the number after each item of equipment is how many items the equipment is considered using the Item-Based Encumbrance rules in Carcass Crawler 2.

• I’m using Original Adventures Reincarnated #1 Into the Borderlands by Goodman Games for the dungeon stocking, particularly the example stocking from Tim Wadzinsky’s youth. Since I’ve read the module before, using someone else’s stocking choices preserves some of the mystery. I might also switch the dungeon stocking to one of the other two example stockings in the book, just to create greater unpredictability.

• I was glad to read the positive response to the first part of this play log. Let me know what you think of the second part!

Next: Part 3. The second expedition to Quasqueton.

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1. An overview of my history with 5th edition and Adventurers League

2. Listing all of the 45 Expedition-length modules from the first three seasons, my ratings of the 30 I ran or played in, and a few words about each

3. Sorting the modules into Best and Worst

4. Concluding thoughts about why I left Adventurers League and about organized play in general

5th Edition, 2014 - 2016

In 2014 I dove into the new 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. I began running the Starter Set adventure “Lost Mine of Phandelver” when it was the only 5th edition product available, before the Player’s Handbook was sold. Before that was finished, I started running the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, the first hardback adventure, as an Adventures League (AL) game when AL had just gone official as Wizards of the the Coast’s organized play program for the new edition. I played two out of the three first AL modules at Queens City Conquest, a convention in Buffalo, NY toward the end of 2014.

I met the Northeast regional coordinator of Adventures League there and we spoke about the need for local coordinators so I applied and became the local AL coordinator for my metropolitan area, promoting AL and coordinating with the main gaming shop in the area at the time. Between 2014 and 2016 I ran at least one AL module each week at a store for a mix of friends and strangers during many periods, alongside the longer 5th edition campaigns I ran.

I’ve since moved on from 5th edition for the most part and in the meantime 5th edition and AL have evolved. But I sometimes get curious about trends in D&D design outside of my usual tastes and I don’t find useful overviews of new AL modules. This is my attempt to provide that for the seasons I’m familiar with.

Rating System

1/5 - very little to offer; avoid

2/5 - mediocre, linear, whatever it does well is done far better by other adventures; avoid

3/5 - passable if you just need an adventure, may have a couple decent NPCs or tricks but not many; still avoid unless you really like the concept and want to put in some work to spice it up; alternatively, scrap it for parts

4/5 - some real positive qualities; recommend if it sounds interesting

5/5 - really fun and original; highly recommend to just about anyone

These modules, originally called Expeditions, are all designed to take between 2 and 8 hours to play. Most are Tier 1 (levels 1-4) and 2 (5-10). A few in the 3rd season are Tier 3 (11-16). My ratings are of course my own opinions. All are available on Dungeon Masters Guild.

Tyranny of Dragons

1. Defiance in Phlan - 4/5 (5 mini-adventures, 2 are good, 3 are just OK)

2. Secrets of Sokol Keep - 2/5 (uneventful linear dungeon crawl)

3. Shadows over the Moonsea 2/5 (popular theme but I felt it followed-through poorly and was disappointing)

4. Dues for the Dead - 3/5 (mediocre dungeon crawl, a couple of interesting chambers, not 100% linear)

5. The Courting of Fire - 3/5 (mediocre dungeon crawl, a couple of OK traps)

6. The Scroll Thief - 3.5/5 (liked by some players for theme, disliked by others for lack of player agency, redeemed somewhat by fun final battle with lair actions)

7. Drums in the Marsh (the only one I didn’t run or play in)

8. Tales Trees Tell - 1/5 (I wanted to like it due to fey theme but zero meaningful player agency and the tropes were underdeveloped; a series of things that happen to the player characters)

9. Outlaws of the Iron Route - 4.5/5 (factions, fantastic isometric map, great tension throughout, the final section is an incredibly volatile situation)

10. Tyranny in Phlan - 1/5 (very underwhelming; villainy you can’t meaningfully interact with)

11. Dark Pyramid of Sorcerers Isle - 3/5 (mediocre dungeon crawl)

12. Raiders of the Twilight Marsh - 3/5 (OK dungeon crawl)

13. Pool of Radiance Resurgent - 3.5/5 (promising design with schedule of what happens if the PCs do nothing; I found the NPCs and overall result a bit boring, the DM could spice it up without too many changes)

14. Escape from Phlan - 2/5 (very underwhelming; events you can’t meaningfully interact with)

Elemental Evil

1. City of Danger - 4/5 (5 mini-adventures, I liked the puzzle one the best, the others were fine, especially given their brevity)

2. Embers of Elmwood - 2.5/5 (felt a bit repetitive after City of Danger and generally mediocre, the mansion section provided a decent environment)

3. The Drowned Tower (didn’t run or play in)

4. Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines - 4/5 (great player handouts, best small dungeon map with interactivity, hampered a bit by repetitive monsters)

5. Flames of Kythorn - 2/5 (linear trail of clues)

6. Breath of the Yellow Rose - 4/5 (fun Mulmaster businesses and NPCs make for a more entertaining trail of clues than usual)

7. Bounty in the Bog - 2.5/5 (mediocre and linear)

8. Foulness Beneath Mulmaster - 2/5 (linear slog)

9. Eye of the Tempest - 3.5/5 (interesting environment, more player agency than in many of these, would benefit greatly from DM work to spice it up)

10. Cloaks and Shadows - 5/5 (fantastic fun, multiple paths, great and unusual interactivity, some of the best handouts and maps; I’ve run it 2-3 times and played in it once; one of my favorite adventures of all time)

11. Oubliette of Fort Iron - 3/5 (interesting but linear “cave”, at least its unusual and memorable, challenges are just OK)

12. Dark Rites of Fort Dalton - 3/5 (fights in a slightly more interest environment than usual, player options in the aftermath epilogue are interesting)

13. Howling Void (didn’t run or play in)

14. The Sword of Selfaril (played in, don’t remember)

15. Black Heart of Vengeance (didn’t run or play in)

16. Boltsmelter’s Book - 2/5 (underwhelming)

Rage of Demons

1. Harried in Hillsfar - 3/5 (5 mini-adventures, none really stand out like in a few in the previous 2 season openers, OK)

2. Shackles of Blood (didn’t run or play in)

3. Occupation of Szith Morcane - 2.5/5 (a little too empty, and the encounter that seemed like it should have been most challenging was a cakewalk for Tier 3 PCs)

4. Its All in the Blood (didn’t run or play in)

5. Bane of the Tradeways - 3.5/5 (multiple paths, moral choices, better than average)

6. No Foolish Matter - 4.5/5 (entertaining day at the carnival, humorous and creepy, executes on its themes well)

7. Herald of the Moon (may have played in or run, don’t recall)

8. The Malady of Elventree (may have played in or run, don’t recall)

9. The Waydown (didn’t run or play in)

10. Quelling of the Horde - 2.5/5 (a DM could put in a fair amount of work to make it more worthwhile but many adventures from D&D history do the same things far better out of the box)

11. The Quest for Sporedome (didn’t run or play in)

12. Hillsfar Reclaimed (didn’t run or play in)

13. Writhing in the Dark (didn’t run or play in)

14. Death on the Wall (didn’t run or play in)

15. Szith Morcane Unbound (didn’t run or play in)

The Best of Seasons 1-3

1. Cloaks & Shadows by Will Doyle - 5/5

2. Outlaws of the Iron Route by Will Doyle - 4.5/5

3. No Foolish Matter by Ash Law - 4.5/5

4. Mayhem in the Earthspur Mines by Will Doyle - 4/5

5. Breath of the Yellow Rose by Greg Marks - 4/5

6. City of Danger by Shawn Merwin - 4/5

7. Defiance in Phlan by Shawn Merwin - 4/5

8. Eye of the Tempest by Pieter Sleijpen - 3.5/5

9. The Scroll Thief by Daniel Helmick - 3.5/5

10. Pool of Radiance Resurgent by Chris Tulach - 3.5/5

11. Bane of the Tradeways by Robert Alaniz - 3.5/5

The Worst of Seasons 1-3

1. Tyranny in Phlan - 1/5

2. Tales Trees Tell - 1/5

3. Escape from Phlan - 2/5

4. Secrets of Sokol Keep - 2/5

5. Shadows over the Moonsea - 2/5

6. Foulness Beneath Mulmaster - 2/5

7. Flames of Kythorn - 2/5

8. Boltsmelter’s Book - 2/5

Bonus: Storm King’s Thunder

I’ve only run the first two modules from the Storm King’s Thunder season of AL:

• Treasure of the Broken Hoard by Shawn Merwin - 4/5 (5 mini-adventures, creative twists on the familiar, the group I ran it for was entertained as was I!)

• The Black Road by Paige Leitman & Ben Heisler - 4/5 (solid 2 to 3-hour caravan guard adventure)

• Uninvited Guests - 4/5

• Giant Diplomacy - 4/5

• Bad Business in Parnast - 2/5 (mystery)

• Parnast Under Siege by Robert Adducci - 4/5

The Black Road, Uninvited Guests, Giant Diplomacy, Bad Business in Parnast, and Parnast Under Siege are linked scenarios. Two other AL modules are a part of the story but are barely linked and after reading them I decided to skip them.

Bonus: Miscellaneous Adventures League modules

I’ve also run these Adventurers League-legal modules:

• Rats of Waterdeep by Lysa Chen & Will Doyle - 4/5 (great handouts, clever puzzles, and a few other entertaining elements but the design and specifics weren’t too exciting at the end of the day; one of the few times I disagree with Bryce Lynch’s review)

• Blue Alley by M.T. Black & Alan Patrick - 5/5 (fun puzzles, traps, rooms, and jokes, a less linear dungeon than in most one shot dungeon crawls)

• Pudding Faire by Will Doyle, Cindy Moore & Shawn Merwin - 5/5

Conclusions

Will Doyle and Shawn Merwin have the most 5/5 and 4/5 AL modules and are the standout designers of seasons 1 to 3.

A few more AL modules are on my bucket list, including one from the Curse of Strahd season that tenfootpole has given the esteemed rating of “The Best.” I wouldn’t mind trying a few of the ENNIE gold and silver award-winning AL modules from 2022 and 2023 (in the Best Organized Play category). Plus I’ll play almost anything written by Will Doyle and I’d like to try more M.T. Black adventures.

Reflections on Adventures League

I ran more published modules in those 3 years than in any previous year. As a result, I learned a great deal about what I like and don’t like in adventures, what I need as a DM at the table, and what players respond to.

When Adventurers League revamped around late 2016/2017 with the launch of DMsGuild, they started requiring local stores to buy the AL modules, whereas previously they were provided to the stores for free and the stores would distribute them to volunteer DMs. The local store I was coordinating with was unwilling to buy them. AL also made many changes and seemed to expect the Local Coordinators, all volunteers, to keep up with constant meetings, reports, and announcements of more changes. I already felt a few of the Regional Coordinators (not mine thankfully) were mean to volunteer LCs who asked questions or voiced opinions. It reminded me of power tripping camp councilors or high school seniors.

I didn’t sense most of the local players cared about sticking with AL and I had grown tired of the restrictions it placed on play, which felt arbitrary and impractical at times. Also, the AL administrators dug their heels in on certain issues. For instance, when it was recognized that Rise of Tiamat PCs couldn’t rise to the level necessary to finish the module using AL leveling rules, they did nothing to fix it, despite some obvious options. Other coordinators may have felt differently about that period but it left a bad taste in my mouth as a volunteer and I was becoming busier at the time.

Reading up on it seven years later, it seems like AL has made a few improvements to its rules. In my experience, many AL groups only use half of AL’s rules anyway. Players don’t keep the log sheets they are supposed to (maybe because they don’t plan on playing their character in multiple games or in multiple venues) and DMs let players create characters at the level of whatever they’re running that day, rather than the levels AL allows new characters to be (1st and 5th). I’m not complaining.

Even with improvements, I’m not convinced AL is more than a way to brand a game as somehow more official, for people who feel like that makes a difference. Its a way for a store to say they run the official Wizards of the Coast organized play program, instead of a random DM’s game. Maybe it brings some more players to play in stores on the days AL is run than if the store calendar says, “D&D Day” or “TTRPG Day.” But in reality, AL games are still run by random DMs. It just restricts them in what modules they can run and in how they run them. Some AL DMs are good. Some are mediocre. Just like any DM. Some follow AL rules. Others don’t. The number of modules legal for AL play is massive today and I’m not sure it means much in terms of quality to say a module is AL legal.

Goodman Games has just launched a 5th edition organized play program through the Road Crew starting with Castle Whiterock and I’m curious to see how it goes. They say they want to give judges more freedom than they have in other organized play programs, which I think is great.

Organized play should be about what it says on the tin: organizing play. If more people play more often because a company is actively organizing players into games, then I think its successful.

The next post should be part 2 of my RAW OSE play through of B1 In Search of the Unknown.

1. The stat blocks for my randomly generated party of five beginning adventurers

2. A log of my 2 short sessions of playing B1 by Mike Carr (1978), controlling all members of the party, using the Old-School Essentials Classics Fantasy Tome and the Carcass Crawler zine

3. Lessons learned

For the rest of this four-part series: Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

Party [MV 60’ (20’)]

1. Tilken (halfling), S13 I14 W6 D14 C6 Ch15, +10% XP, AC 14, 4 HP, Att +1, SV D8 W9 P10 B13 S12, AL L, hear noises 2-in-6, man, 5 equipped items [spear (+1, 1d6+1) 1, sling +15 stones (+1, 1d4) 1, chainmail 2, shield 1], 10 packed items [3 torches 1, silver dagger 1, 4 iron rations 2, rope (50’) 1, 1 oil (flask) 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, holy water (vial) 1, 100 coins (22sp, 55cp, 23ep) 1, wolfsbane (1 bunch) 0, ink (vial) 0, quill 0, parchment (2 sheets) 0, sack (small) 0], encumbered MV Rate 90’ (30’)

2. Maria (dwarf), S12 I8 W6 D9 C15 Ch6, AC 17, 9 HP, Att +1/+0, SV D8 W9 P10 B13 S12, AL L, hear noises 2-in-6, detect room traps 2-in-6, woman, 7 equipped items [platemail 2, shield 1, crossbow +17 bolts (+0, 1d6) 2, spear (+0, 1d6) 1, 3 torches 1], 14 packed items [mace 1, 5 torches 2, 4 iron rations 2, stakes (3) + mallet 2, iron spikes (12) 1, 10’ pole 2, oil (flask) 1, rope (50’) 1, tinder box 1, waterskin 1, 1, sack (small) 0], encumbered MV 60’ (20’)

3. Caterina (thief), S9 I9 W10 D13 C9 Ch7, +5% XP, AC 13, 3 HP, Att +0/+1, SV D13 W14 P13 B16 S15, CS1 TR2 HN 3, HS1 MS1 OL2 PP1, AL L, woman, 5 equipped items [leather armor 1, polearm (+0, 1d10) 2, short bow + 16 arrows (+1, 1d6) 2], 11 packed items [6 torches 2, 5 iron rations 2, short sword 1, thieves’ tools 1, crowbar 1, rope (50’) 1, sack (large) 1, tinder box 1, waterskin 1, ornate leather belt 0], encumbered MV 90’ (30’)

4. Enoch (cleric), S10 I8 W9 D12 C8 Ch11, AC 13, 4 HP, Att +0, SV D11 W12 P14 B16 S15, AL L, man, 5 equipped items [mace (+0, 1d6) 1, sling +16 sling stones (+0, 1d4) 1, leather armor 1, shield 1, holy water 1, holy symbol 0], 9 packed items [staff 2, crowbar 1, tinderbox 1, waterskin 1, 2 iron rations 1, 6 torches 2, 95 coins (1sp, 50cp, 17gp, 7ep, 20pp) 1, backpack 0, sack (small) 0, white jade stone 0], encumbered MV 90’ (30’)

5. Gamel (magic-user), S10 I9 W8 D8 C9 Ch8, AC 9, 2/4 HP, Att +0/-1, SV D13 W14 P13 B16 S15, spells: charm person, AL L, nonbinary, 5 equipped items [light crossbow +18 bolts (-1, 1d6) 2, dagger 1, lantern 1, chalk (10 sticks) 1], 12 packed items (2 torches 1, 4 iron rations 2, 7 standard rations 3, waterskin 1, spell book 1, 1 flask of oil 1, 52 coins (2sp, 50cp) 1, tinder box 1, white jade stone 0, backpack 0, sack (small) 0], encumbered MV 90’ (30’)

Legends

Tilken has heard three legends: (1) the name of the stronghold is Quasqueton; (18) Zelligar and Rogahn have returned to their stronghold and woe to any unwelcome visitors! (9) Troglodytes have moved into the complex in the absence of its original inhabitants.

Maria has heard two: (4) Zelligar and Rogahn had orc slaves to do the menial work, and some lived permanently at the stronghold; (9) repeats

Caterina hasn’t heard any legends.

Enoch knows two legends: (6) Part of the complex is unfinished; (14) There is a room with many pools of water within the complex.

Gamel has heard one legend: (19) The complex has secret doors, rooms, and passageways.

Preparations

Hearing of the map purporting to show the location of Zelligar and Roghan’s secret stronghold, we made preparations.

We sought out retainers in the keep but to no avail. No one would follow us given our meager experience.

We considered what we would need for our journey and visited the keep’s shops.

Maria purchased 12 iron spikes, a ten foot pole, 6 torches, 1 oil (flask), 50 feet of rope, and a spear. Enoch bought a shield. Tilken bought 50 feet of rope, a small sack, a sling, 1 flask of oil, a vial of ink, 2 sheets of parchment, and 1 quill. Caterina bought a large sack, a short sword, and 6 torches. She also bought a sling for Enoch. Gamel bought a small sack for Enoch and 7 days of standard rations for the party. They also bought 10 sticks of chalk.

The night before we headed out, Tilken shared that he'd heard Zelligar and Rogahn have returned, contrary to common belief, and suggested we be careful and leave if we find evidence confirming this. He also mentioned hearing a story of troglodytes moving in. Maria had also heard this rumor. Caterina listened intently since she seems to have the least knowledge about the stronghold. Enoch relayed that part of the stronghold is said to be unfinished. He's also heard of a room with many pools in the complex. Gamel shared stories of secret passages and rooms, likely containing Zelligar and Roghan's most valuable treasures.

We pooled our remaining 3 gold pieces and ordered meals of fruit, porridge, and soup at the inn, and purchased a spot on the common room floor for one last night’s rest before setting off.

Day 1

We headed out around dawn (5:45am). After 5 hours of traveling, a herd of antelopes saw us before we saw them and fled into the forest. It was a 2.3 mile (40 squares or 4000 yards) trek to the caves, much of it on the road and the last leg ascending the forest slope. 2.3 miles (40 squares) took 13 hours to traverse. At 6:45pm we found the cave entrance hidden by vegetation and set up camp 100 yards away from the entrance. We each ate 1 day of rations that day. We camped through the night, leaving a watch. We rested without disturbances, despite winds whistling through the trees all night.

Day 2

We awoke before dawn (5am) and entered the cave. The cave walls were a blackish slate and the air was thick and musty. Gemel lit the oil in his lantern and held the light forth while Caterina led with a ten foot pole, knowing that Zeligar and Roghan had hidden their home so as to not be disturbed and traps might await. The others proceeded with weapons drawn. We marched in two columns. Caterina and Maria in the lead, left and right, respectively, followed by Enoch (left) and Gemmel (right), and Tilken picking up the rear. We moved 60 feet per turn.

Turn 1. We reached the first door and found it unlocked. It showed signs of having been forced.

Turn 2. We passed by the first alcoves. (No wandering monsters.)

Turn 3. We passed a second set of alcoves and reached a third. Large mouths appeared in each alcove. The east spoke first, “Who dares enter this place and intrude upon the sanctuary of its inhabitants?” Maria began to introduce herself but was interrupted by the west mouth, “Only a group of foolhardy explorers doomed to certain death!” They both shouted, “Woe to any who pass this place - the wrath of Zelligar and Rogahn will be upon them!” They both went on to laugh loudly before vanishing.

Turn 4. (No wandering monsters.) We climbed two steps to find the signs of a battle. Five bodies layed before us included three adventurers from the surface and two apparent strange warriors. Two giant spiders also appeared to be squashed against one of the walls. Five large spiders clung to the ceiling above the bodies gazing at us with their numerous eyes. (The party is not surprised.)

Turn 5. Round 1. (The spiders win initiative. 6 on the reaction roll. They’ve fed recently.) The spiders gazed at us indifferently, neither attacking nor fleeing. We made a slow retreat of 10 feet (Maria) and 15 feet (the rest of us).

Round 2. (Spiders win initiative). They stayed motionless. We continued to back up at the same rate.

Round 3. (Initiative is a tie.) After moving yet further, from a range of 30 and 45 feet respectively we drew our slings, bows, and crossbows and let loose a volley. Tilken’s sling struck the closest spider (dealing 4 damage, 5hp left). Caterina’s arrow strikes (6 damage against the same spider) slaying it. Enoch’s stone and Maria and Gemmel’s bolts missed.

Round 4. (Initiative is a tie.) We continued our guarded retreat while the spiders advanced 20 feet, reducing the distance between us to 20 feet (Maria) and 40 feet (the rest of us). We let loose a volley. Tilken’s stone struck (1 damage, 6hp left) while Caterina’s arrow did as well (6 damage) slaying the second spider. Enoch’s stone missed. Maria and Gemmel reloaded their crossbows. (RAW I should have rolled a morale check for the spiders this round, since the first of their number died in the previous round.)

Round 5. (The spiders win initiative. The remaining 3 spiders fail their morale check and flee at full speed.) We attacked with another volley from a range of 40 and 60 feet. Tilken, Maria, and Caterina missed. Enoch’s stone hit (3 damage, 2hp left) while Gemmel’s bolt also struck the spider (6 damage), slaying it.

Round 6. (Initiative is tied.) We pursued the spiders as they fled and sent a volley a distance of 40 and 50 feet. Tilken’s and Enoch’s stones missed as did Caterina’s arrow while Maria and Gemmel reloaded.

Round 7. (Spiders lose initiative.) Tilken’s stone struck (3 damage), slaying a fourth. Maria’s bolt slew the last of the spiders.

Tilken spent 5 stones. Maria spent 3 bolts. Caterina spent 4 arrows. Enoch spent 4 stones. Gemmel spent 2 bolts.

We regrouped.

Turn 6. We rested and Gemmel worked on a map. (No wandering monsters.) Tilken acknowledged that the spiders seemed more like predators than guardians. This might indicate that Zeligar and Roghan have not returned after all.

Turn 7. We found a pile of coins (55cp, 40sp, 30ep, 10gp, 20pp) lying in the hall around the corner and collected them. The fallen adventurers bore a pouch of 5 gold pieces, another containing 2 gold pieces, and a pouch full of garlic buds. A dwarven adventurer clutched a war hammer and lay beside a turned out sack. The two strange warriors had damaged weapons and a small sheathed dagger on a belt of ornate decorated leather, both of which we collected. Tilken, Maria, and Caterina stowed the coins, dagger, and belt.

Turn 8. (No wandering monsters.) We approached the doors beside the corridor and listened for noises from within. Maria and Gemmel could hear footsteps and whispering from within the door to the west.

Turn 9. We decided to head down the first corridor to the east, before either door, and avoid whoever is whispering.

Turn 10. (No wandering monsters.) We continued south down the corridor east of the entrance. We headed east at the intersection (southwest of 4).

Turn 11. We headed east after the following intersection (southeast of 4) reaching a door to the south.

Turn 12. We rested and added to our map.

Turn 13. We listened at this door and heard only silence from byond.

Turn 14. (No wandering monsters.) We tried to open the door and found it unlocked. We headed south into the chamber (27), which looked like a throne room with two white marble thrones on a platform. Clinging to a pillar before a throne was a spider, its carapace blending into the red granite of the pillar. We spotted the spider just as it seemed to spotted us.

Round 1. (The spider wins initiative. The spider does not attack and wants to avoid a confrontation with an 11 on reaction roll). The spider crept up to the ceiling and towards the far northeast corner of the room moving behind yellow and purple drapes. We decided not to approach the east side of the room and to explore the corridor to the west for the time being.

Turn 15. We came to a door on the north wall of the corridor (26).

Turn 16. (No wandering monsters.) We listened outside the door (26). Tilken heard a great deal of skittering from within. Not liking the sound of that we decided to continue west.

Turn 17. We moved further west and listened at the door (30). We hear nothing within. 

Turn 18 (3rd hour). We rest. (No wandering monsters.)

Turn 19. We opened the door (to 30) and it opened freely. We found a barren room and a stairway leading down. We became concerned we were getting too far from the entrance in the event that we needed to retreat from the dungeon.

Turn 20. (No wandering monsters.) We turned back and headed north and then west down the hallway.

Turn 21. We continued south down the hallway, continuing south at the intersection.

Turn 22. (No wandering monsters.) We continued through the hallway eventually heading east (southeast of 29).

Turn 23. We reached the corner and turned back north.

Turn 24 (end of 4th hour). We rested and refilled the lantern with oil. (Wandering monsters.) 2 berserkers round the corner north of us, 30 feet away. (Neither side is surprised. 3 on reaction check. Hostile, may attack.)

Round 1. (The berserkers lose initiative.) Tilken, who was keeping watch, called out. “Hail friends. We wish you no harm. We only wish to talk.” The berserkers, seeing they were outnumbered, decided not to fight. They said, “You should leave. This is Garani territory.” Tilken answered, “Do you claim this entire complex?” ”Yes. Go back to your lands. This is your final warning. If we see you again, you will pay a steep price.” We decided to turn and return to the area of the throne room.

Turn 25. We traveled west down the corridor, then north and east back toward the throne room. (3 times normal rate in familiar areas reaching southwest of 30).

Turn 26. (No wandering monsters.) We traveled east down the corridor (south of 30 and 28), approaching the throne room from another direction. We couldn’t see the spider within our lantern light this time.

Turn 27. Deciding we might find riches in the throne room, we proceeded carefully. Too late.

Turn 28. The spider ambushed us from the south wall. Its skin was now the black color of the slate walls.

Round 1. (Surprise round.) The spider descended upon Caterina but she managed to dive out from beneath it before it could sink its fangs in (spider misses).

Round 2. (Spider wins initiative.) The spider skittered once again toward Caterina, its fangs closing too soon (misses). Tilken stabbed the spider with a spear (2 damage, 6hp left). Maria missed. Caterina lunged with her polearm and stabbed the spider (8 damage), slaying it. We regrouped. (No wandering monsters.)

Turn 29. We explored the throne room, finding 100cp scattered behind the thrones.

Turn 30 (end of hour 5). We rested. (No wandering monsters.)

Turn 31. We gathered up and stowed the copper pieces.

Turn 32. (Wandering monster. 3 giant rats 70 feet away. The rats are not surprised and the adventurers are. The rats roll 11 on the reaction roll and are indifferent.) The giant rats entered the throne room taking us off guard and eyed us for a long moment. Then they headed away down the southern corridor. We didn’t pursue them. Instead we headed back to the door to the west of the throne room (28).

Turn 33. We listened outside of the door and didn’t hear anything.

Turn 34. (Wandering monster. 2 kobolds. Neither side is surprised. They open the door to the north. Hostile, may attack). Tilken calls out, “Friend kobolds. We wish you no harm.” The kobolds prepared to launch stones at us from their slings.

Round 1. (Initiative is tied.) Maria and Tilken moved towards the kobolds reaching the door. Caterina moved out of the kobold’s line of sight back behind the pillars of the throne room. The kobolds sent a volley of stones. A kobold missed Maria while the other’s stone slammed into Gemmel (2 damage). Maria swung her mace, missing. Tilken thrust with a spear barely missing the kobold.

Round 2. (Kobolds win initiative.) The kobolds retreat 20 feet down the hall to the west (-2 to AC, long hallway between 1 and 25). They readied slings to attack anyone who emerged from the door (here I imported the readied action rule from 5e because I feel it’s the simplest solution for this tactic). Maria and Tilken gave chase. The kobolds launched their stones, missing. Maria’s mace slammed into a kobold, slaying it (7 damage). Tilken’s spear stabbed the other, slaying it (4 damage). They bore 6cp and 10cp, which we collected.

Turn 35. Returning to the door to 28 we found the door locked. Caterina attempted to pick the lock and failed.

Turn 36 (end of 6th hour). (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Turn 37. We decided treasure could be found within and Tilken attempted to force the door, failing (wandering monster check, none). Maria made an attempt and succeeded, bursting the door open with a bang, revealing a chapel (wandering monster check, none). An idol sculpted from the slate wall itself depicted a horned head with a cruel visage and open mouth, about 6’ high, surrounded by religious symbols and runes. The idol’s eyes were pieces of white jade. A sacrificial pit lay in the middle of the room, 3’ deep.

Turn 38. (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Turn 39. We decided such a place could be dangerous and searched for room traps. We found none.

Turn 40. We entered the room and approached the eyes. Caterina tried to pry them off with her crowbar. She failed. Tilken tried, but while doing so, a serpent lunged out from the mouth of the statue at him. (No wandering monster.)

Turn 41.

Round 1. The snake gnashes at the air.

Round 2. Gemel began casting sleep on the snake. (Initiative is tied.) Tilken made a guarded retreat away from the snake as the giant snake advanced from the mouth towards him. Gemel finished casting sleep but it had no effect. (The snake turned out to have too high of a HD to be affected.) Melee attacks commenced simultaneously. Maria smashed the snake with her mace (6 damage, 11hp left). Tilken stabbed it with a spear (4 damage, 7hp left). The snake missed once more. Enoch slammed his mace into the serpent (4 damage, 3hp left). Caterina missed.

Round 3. (Snake loses initiative.) Tilken, Maria, and Enoch missed. Caterina sliced down with her polearm (10 damage), killing the snake.

Turn 42. (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Turn 43. Tilken finally managed to pry the white jade out of the eyes of the idol (worth 100gp each) and stowed them.

Turn 44. (No wandering monsters.) We left the worship chamber and decided to head toward the cave entrance. (3 times speed, reaching just southwest of the number 3.)

Turn 45. We moved east, peering south down the long corridor paralleling the entrance passage. We headed south a little further.

Turn 46. (No wandering monsters.) We continued south.

Turn 47. We continued south.

Turn 48 (end of 8th hour). (No wandering monsters.) We rested. Gemel refilled the oil in the lantern once more.

Turn 49. We headed east and listened at the door. We heard nothing on the far side. The door was unlocked and we opened it.

Turn 50. (Wandering monster. 2 berserkers 40 feet away to the south. Neither side is surprised. 8 on reaction roll, indifferent, may negotiate). The berserkers called out to us, “Hail.” Tilken replied, “Hello friend.” “We want no trouble. Only to pass.” Tilken responded, “As do we. Also, what lies beyond that way?” The Garani warrior answered, “What will you give us in exchange for information?” “How about a fair amount of coin? 20 silver pieces?” “That is a fair trade. It is a long and strange corridor but safe. Beware. You can easily become lost in this maze.” We passed one another and headed south.

Turn 51. We headed south then west down the corridor.

Turn 52. (No wandering monsters.) We approached the door (southwest of 21) and listened. We heard nothing beyond.

Turn 53. We found the door to be locked. Caterina picked the lock and we opened the door.

Turn 54. (No wandering monsters.) Seeing longer corridors to the north and south and a shorter one to the east, we rested.

Turn 55. We head east and then north, reaching the door to 21.

Turn 56 (end of the 9th hour). (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Turn 57. We listened at the door (to 21). Caterina heard a number of high pitched voices barking within. We decided to head back to where the hallways intersect.

Turn 58. (No wandering monsters.) We headed south and then back west (3 times normal speed until passing the door) and then headed north at the door for 40 feet.

Turn 59. Continuing north we reached a room with unusual fungal growths extending into the corridor spreading away from the large chamber. The floor and walls were covered in molds of many clashing colors, with many areas covered in a yellow mold. We decided to turn around.

Turn 60. (No wandering monsters). We headed back south and then west to the unexplored corridor.

Turn 61. We continue west then north.

Turn 62. (Wandering monsters. 2 giant rats coming from the north towards the party. The party is surprised.)

Round 1. The rats (reaction roll 11) were indifferent and a little curious, approaching a few feet more and smelling the air. Then they fled back north then east.

Turn 63. We continue north then east.

Turn 64. (No wandering monsters.) We continued east then south, reaching a door.

Turn 65. We listened at the door (to 20). Maria heard more high pitched voices barking at each other but it sounded like fewer of them.

Turn 66. (No wandering monsters.) We rested.

Lessons learned

• Precisely following all procedures for dungeon exploration, including stopping every turn to ask the players what they are doing for that specific turn, rather than using those procedures as a framework to interpret the players’ more free form decisions, made me more attuned to specific rules (checking for wandering monster is the first step of the dungeon adventuring procedure but the third step during wilderness adventuring) and the rationale behind specific orderings. And it was fun for me, even though B1 is a vanilla dungeon.

• By carefully tracking turns, it became clear my usual ballpark estimates of how long the party spends in a dungeon are far short of what they should be RAW. Precisely tracking turns and being both the referee and the player, I felt more time pressure as a player than I think my players usually feel (since I usually keep the total to myself on a turn-by-turn basis, rather than interrupt play, and then relay how long how much time has in the dungeon every few hours).

• While precisely tracking turns, I had an easier time remembering the rules requiring resting every 6th turn of dungeon adventuring to avoid fatigue penalties, a rule I often forget.

• The random starting equipment rules in Carcass Crawler 2 make the first dungeon more harrowing.

• The item-based encumbrance rules also in Carcass Crawler 2 meant the party was slower than when I’ve used the fast encumbrance rules from OSE. This slow speed added to the tension.

• Luck played a large role. The party faced no wandering monsters until turn 24 (1 out of 12 checks, despite a 1-in-6 chance per check). The monsters also missed an unusual number of attacks. Only one party member took damage (2hp) the entire time.

• Tactics, especially during the first battle, mattered greatly.

• Rereading the rules carefully during this play through, my sense is that a monster’s reaction roll and the party’s first opportunity to choose how they react (e.g. parley, combat, evasion) to a monster both occur after the first initiative roll. Each determines their approach to the situation in initiative order, rather than simultaneously. This adds tension and can also be used by one side to pull one over on them, like the party did with the first spiders.

• While I prefer playing with live players, I had more fun than I expected and would do it again, even if the dungeons are bland. I don’t think it’d be as fun using other D&D rulesets. At least not in the same way. A solo game also makes it easier to interrupt play to carefully check rules. And it makes it easier to follow procedures consistently in play, since in a group setting everyone has a tendency to understand rules differently or have different degrees of familiarity with the rules.

• This play through will inform how I referee OSE for live players and will help me remember and explain certain rules. The logic of the B/X rules runs deep and I think I can articulate it better now.

I will continue this play through of B1. Tell me if you caught any mistakes in following rules-as-written or if you’d have ruled anything differently. And I’d love to hear what you think of this play log. Was it entertaining to read? Enlightening? Dry?

Next: Part 2. The end of the first expedition.

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Into the Court of the Fairy Queen

My new (as of 2024) RPG of forays into the fairy realm. Designed to feel like a fairy tale, Into the Court of the Fairy Queen is a game about entering fairy land to retrieve something and escaping before you forget your way home or why you came in the first place. Time and space in fairy land can prove to be a challenge on their own, as can fairy society and its rituals. Available on DriveThruRPG.

A Game of Fairy Tale Beauty, Romance, and Horror

I participated in the PocketQuest game jam run by DriveThruRPG this year and my new game In the Court of the Fairy Queen, along with all of the other entries, is out today.

One of the rules of PocketQuest is that you must use an original system. While there may be some exceptions it was enough of a prompt for me to create a new lightweight ruleset, which I am calling the Fate & Fortune System (after all one of the main etymologies of “fairies” involves “fate”). I had two goals for the ruleset:

1. Playing with these rules should feel like a fairy tale.

2. They should leave a clear path for roleplaying and player ideas.

I based the rules on elements I have ended up house ruling into my games. My working title for these rules was the X-in-Y system. Unlike B/X D&D and its X-in-6 rolls, the 6 can be replaced with other dice. A greater number of sides makes the roll harder. A lower number of sides makes the roll easier. Its a simple and fast system and a referee has more options because it requires Zocchi dice like d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, and d30. I also made all the task rolls player facing. NPCs can affect the difficulty of a roll but do not roll themselves. The only rolls the referee makes are for procedures.

Players characters only have four stats, which are attributes. I removed attributes representing charisma, wisdom, resolve, and general intelligence. My thinking is that these can signal to a player how they should roleplay their character and how much they should try to be clever. Players will say, “I don’t think my character’s intelligence is high enough to do this but…” So I wanted to avoid that.

The theme of this year’s PocketQuest is heists and for some reason that led me to thinking of stealing from fairies. For a while, I’ve noticed a number of games avoid giving direction to referees for PCs entering the fairyland itself (I realize WOTC and Kobold Press have done this in at least one adventure each, and before them White Wolf did it in Changeling, but I’m thinking more of games with OSR design principles). Dolmenwood takes you right into the paths between fairyland and Dolmenwood but not farther. In the Gardens of Ynn you explore the ruins of a fairy realm. Maybe because to OSR designers, the fairy realm needs to be too bizarre. I wanted to take a plunge into fairyland while keeping its strangeness in tact.

A Procedure for Dreamlike Time

I think I came up with a fun dreamlike procedure for time in fairyland. Its inspired by films like Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, Coraline, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Adventures of Baron Von Munchausen, and less fairy-inspired films with dreamlike journeys like 12 Monkeys. Its also heavily inspired by written fairy tales and folk tales. Folktales of Norway edited by Reidar Christiansen and translated by Pat Shaw Iversen was one of my favorite books as a teenager, especially the stories of people going to live with the huldre-folk, and memories of those stories were in my mind while writing, along with Grimm’s Fairy Tales and many more sources of fairy tales from picture books to films. Time works different in fairyland and often that that is mainly shown with the amount of time that has passed by the time a character returns home. I wanted to go farther.

The solution uses a fair amount of randomness. Each day is a random number of turns. It begins at a random point in the ordinary day-night cycle. Days can end abruptly like scenes in a dream and immediately shift to a new day and a new place.

The dreamlike nature of fairy makes stealing from the fairies all the more challenging.

Is it an NSR game?

I don’t know but I was mainly influenced by OSR principles and layout. I tried to adhere to control panel design as much as possible but didn’t succeed on every page, in part because I wanted to fit as many ideas into the allowed 25 pages as possible. I took out a fair number of ideas that I liked and am saving them for an expansion.

The game can be adapted to other rulesets, especially rules-light and OSR/NSR games. The one mechanic that might require adding an equivalent is the Blessing attribute and how it interacts with fairy. Luck in the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG could be adapted.

One element that exists in OSR games that I wanted to bring out and emphasize much more is what I wrote about in the post, “When do characters define themselves in RPGs?” While I feel like its almost a happy accident in old D&D games that characters end up being differentiated more by magic items and the effects of magic pools than by any decisions during character creation, this definition-through-play element still often ends up a smaller part of the game than it could be. In the Court of the Fairy Queen allows character attributes to change dramatically through their deeds in fairyland. If you win a race in fairyland, even if by luck (everyone else tripped on an animated vine), your Swiftness attribute rises by 1. Achievement precedes improvement because practice is not the stuff of dreams and fairies don’t have time for it.

While I didn’t mention it in the text, if a character’s attributes greatly improve in fairyland, when they return home I was thinking they could still keep some of that but may not all of it. Like whatever is their new highest attribute stays that high but the others return to where they were before they entered. I’m still thinking about it and I’m open to ideas.

This is my first published RPG so I can’t wait to hear more feedback. I’m really curious whether players feel like they are in a fairy tale (the playtest was positive!) and whether they like the dice mechanic. I hope it prompts players who haven’t discovered Zocchi dice to pick some up (although you could easily do without them, but it’d make for bigger jumps in the degrees of difficulty).

To try it, you can find In the Court of the Fairy Queen here.

3 YouTube channels that really deserve more subscribers:

Sword Coast Soundscapes (76K subscribers)

My go-to fantasy RPG ambience channel. A wide range of biomes and other environments, and practical sounds for RPing such as the sound of a cart or wagon or the sound of horses on a long journey, taverns of varying crowdedness, and dungeons with levels of moisture or wind. He is a DM who creates ambience for his games. When he finds a situation he doesn’t have the right ambience for he makes it and puts out a video. 2 hour and 55 minute videos with no ads. He also has a Patreon.

Owen Edwards (1K)

Owen’s videos cover RPGs, including reviews like this one of S2 White Plume Mountain, but he makes videos about an eclectic range of media such as novels he’s read recently (for instance Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales) or Franco-Belgian comics. I find his reviews to be thoughtful and based on a depth of knowledge and experience.

Fabr1s (63K)

This channel probably has the largest collection of Romanian and other Balkan dance music on YouTube. The recordings are older but no less invigorating. Balkan dance music is among the most distinct in the world, due in part to the use of compound time signatures. Like the music of the Tool, Balkan dance music is often in 5/8, 7/8, or more complex time signatures like 13/8, so if you like Tool’s music or the music of Philip Glass, check it out. You might discover that you’re a fan. In college I took a class for phys-ed credit in International Folk Dancing, which has a big focus on Balkan dancing. It was one of my favorite classes, enough so that I joined a Balkan dance group after college as well. Along with Latin dance (salsa, bachata, merengue, cha cha cha, etc.), Balkan dance is my favorite (Balkan might win out slightly). The recordings may be older but it’s still a great find. Balkan and other dance changed how listen to and experience music. If you’re a musician this music will probably improve your ability to count and play complex rhythms. Jovano Jovanke is the most popular and probably most famous song on the channel. A more typical song.

The Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG has four primary strengths: fun rules that reflect common tropes from fantasy literature more closely than other games, the many well-designed and imaginative modules, evocative and entertaining cartography, and making the funnel the default way adventurers begin their careers.

In a funnel adventure, each player begins with about four randomly generated level 0 peasant farmers, cooks, scribes, and others who are utterly unprepared for the otherworldly perils they will face. Armed with little more than pitchforks and rolling pins, these nobodies are thrust into otherworldly situations of incredible peril, that in other games would be reserved for high level adventures. Those who survive this first adventure advance to level 1 and acquire a class. Players test their wits, imagination and luck!

Here I briefly review and then rank the funnels I have run so far. Every one was fun for the group playing and is suitable for a wonderful one-shot or start to a campaign! While I avoid real spoilers, this is aimed mostly at judges (game masters) deciding on what to run next.

DCC 67: Sailors on the Starless Sea

by Harley Stroh

The first and probably the most widely-played funnel published for DCC has a lot going on. After reading forum posts describing Sailors of the Starless Sea as a DCC rite of passage, it became the first DCC game I ran (which was in 2021). My favorite part is the above ground section, in part due to the greater open-endedness and variety here. Each group is likely to interact with different areas. The later part is a bit of a railroad. About 4-5 hours.

DCC 79: Frozen in Time

by Michael Curtis

A wonderful science fantasy adventure with many tropes deployed to great effect. Frozen in Time may have not been written as a funnel. It can be run as an adventure for 1st level or 0th level characters. It gives players many buttons to push, each with big consequences. Discovering how the strange technologies work is fun. The module has more areas than other modules this list. This is the module I most look forward to running again in anticipation of seeing players’ reactions. The Forlorn North setting added as an appendix to a later printing also intrigues me. Playtime is about 2 sessions or 5-8 hours.

DCC 86: Hole in the Sky

by Brendan LeSalle

Every part of this adventure is memorable. While in many ways a railroad, players have agency in how they approach most situations in this larger-than-life memorable adventure. The situations are unusual enough that players need to think through them and get creative. The only reason I don’t rank it higher is because player agency is limited to how they solve problems, not in choosing what to interact with. I have run Hole in the Sky three times for good reason, although part of it is that I enjoy doing the Lady in Blue’s many voices and I know I can finish it in most RPG time slots. And the Wheel of Fate gives players a little more agency in determining which characters survived, especially useful if its the first session of a campaign. About 3.5 to 4 hours.

DCC Core Book: Portal Under the Stars

by Joseph Goodman

We enjoyed it, but compared to other modules on this list I found it a little underwhelming. I can imagine interweaving it with a bigger campaign, tying a couple of the chambers in with important entities and places of the campaign and allowing players to reenter the portal in order to make use of one of the chambers. Better than the average module for the broader D&D family of games. Its low rank here is a testament to the overall high quality of Goodman Games’ DCC modules. It’s also found in the free DCC Quick Start Rules. About 3 to 4 hours.

DCC Horror 5: Creep, Skrag, Creep!

by Stephen Newton

I think its a coincidence that this nautical horror adventure is both the deadliest funnel I’ve run and also my favorite funnel that can easily be run in a single session (Frozen in Time can be run as a funnel but is a bit too long to be completed in a single 3 to 4 hour session, the usual length for my sessions), but I’m not sure that its entirely a coincidence. Every decision the players’ make counts. The clues to what is going on in Creep, Skrag, Creep! feel like significant rewards for the risks taken to acquire them. A ship makes a great dynamic and claustrophobic environment. Players know they can swing from the rigging and they enjoy piecing together the ship’s layout based on their intuitive understanding. About 4 hours.

Free RPG Day 2022: Danger in the Air!

by Michael Curtis

A bizarre opening leads to an excellent one session funnel, with so much for players to interact with throughout. Each science fantasy situation is weird in a new way. It reminds me of what Gus L calls jewelbox adventure design due to the high density of interactive elements and details that draw on less familiar inspirations. Danger in the Air! is on my short list to run again with different players. About 3-4 hours.

My Rankings

In sum my rankings of the DCC funnels I have run so far:

1. Frozen in Time

2. Creep, Skrag, Creep!

3. Danger in the Air!

4. Sailors on the Starless Sea

5. Hole in the Sky

6. Portal Under the Stars

If I have a single session such as a 4 hour convention time slot or a pickup game, my top picks are Creep, Skrag, Creep! and Danger in the Air! But I would choose Danger over Creep if the players have never played DCC or deadly OSR games before or if they aren’t interested in horror.

Once your players complete their first funnel and one or more of their characters survives to reach level 1, they can begin to play with many more of the innovative rules of DCC like the spellcasting systems, mighty deeds of arms, and more!

I can’t wait to run more funnels and even play in one! When I run more, I will update this page. Do you recommend any others?

While reflecting on how to explain Dungeon Crawl Classics to people, a thought came to me. I realized every RPG can be measured in terms of a dimension that I had not read discussion of, at least not in as clear terms as had occurred to me in that moment.

On one end of the scale are RPGs with extensive character creation processes. Players select lineages, classes, backgrounds, assign points to skills, feats, merits, flaws, etc. During play they level up or gain XP and during downtime players make decisions about what to improve or what new abilities they gain from that advancement. Characters are differentiated during character creation and any further decisions about their development are made during downtime.

On the other end of the scale are RPGs where beginning characters are largely undifferentiated. They don’t have classes. They might all be human. Their abilities are the same. During gameplay, they might come to a city. In the city are many experts. Fighting experts, alchemists, sages, religious experts, healers, blacksmiths, mages, and many more. During the session, they decide who to introduce themselves to, to forge a relationship with, and seek instruction from. Some characters learn from the alchemist while others learn from the mages. Even if it only takes a minute of gameplay they do play through making those decisions. Or the initially undifferentiated characters arrive at a strange shrine with the symbol of the god of destiny. They hear a voice asking them whether they will pursue the path of the rabbit, the path of the bear, or the path of the owl. Some choose the rabbit and become supernaturally fast. Another chooses the owl and gains the ability see in the dark. Or they come to a fountain. They each drink from the fountain. With each drinker, the GM rolls on a random table to see how the fountain will affect them. The first drinker’s hair turns green and they gain gills. The second drinker grows feathers, loses bone density and gains the capacity to fly. The third sees beyond the superficial forms and learns magic. In all of these examples, characters are differentiated during gameplay not during character creation or downtime advancement.

Most games fall somewhere in the middle. But they vary greatly in where they fall on that scale. Post-2000 D&D and Pathfinder fall quite close to the first end of the scale. Once in a while, there are gameplay effects that change a character but otherwise all rules for a character’s development happen during character creation and downtime advancement.

I don’t know of any games that fall so close to the second end of the scale. Most games I have played have some differentiation of characters during character creation. Knave might come the closest out of games I’ve played. I suspect many one page RPGs come even closer.

But games like Dungeon Crawl Classics and Basic D&D tend to fall somewhere closer to the middle. For instance, whereas a warlock in D&D 5e chooses their patron during character creation. In DCC, a wizard must specifically contact a specific otherworldy patron, cast the spell “patron bond,” roll on the table for that spell to determine what kind of relationship they’re able to forge. Then that relationship can develop through gameplay. Furthermore, they can be warped and changed through their interactions with the patron as part of gameplay. In DCC wizards have the capacity to forge a bond with a patron. The decision to play a wizard was made during character advancement when they became 1st level and gained a class. During downtime in other words. That’s why DCC is somewhere in the middle of the scale.

Also in DCC, warriors are not differentiated by a fighting style chosen during character creation or by any subclasses or feats. Initially warriors are largely undifferentiated. They are only differentiated by their ability scores and equipment. With the mighty deeds of arms ability of warriors, they can perform all of the maneuvers that in D&D 5e would require a special feat or battlemaster maneuver (like disarming attack, trip attack, etc.) chosen outside of gameplay. In DCC all warriors can perform all of the maneuvers that in the D&D 5e Player’s Handbook are only available to fighters with the battlemaster subclass and characters with the martial adept feat. In DCC the player chooses what maneuvers they attempt during gameplay. In D&D 5e these are narrowly prescribed by character creation and advancement decisions. This places DCC warriors closer to the second end of the scale, while D&D 5e fighters are very close to the 1st end of the scale. (Moreover, DCC takes this further since even which character you end up playing is determined by gameplay if you start at level 0 and run a funnel.)

World of Darkness games like Vampire: the Masquerade and Changeling: the Lost are probably closer to the first end of the scale. Character creation defines a great deal about a character. But in each of these games, characters have a characteristic like Humanity or Clarity that fluctuates during gameplay as a result of events and player decisions and that characteristic plays a large role in defining them at any given time. A low Humanity vampire is bestial and monstrous while a high Humanity vampire may be contemplative and lifelike. A high Humanity vampire can descend into a monster through decisions of the player. In other words gameplay shapes this crucial dimension of who they are at any given time so I put Vampire: the Masquerade closer to the first side of the scale but with a significant element that keeps it from being as close as D&D 5e or Pathfinder.

Players of early editions of D&D (or games based on them like Old School Essentials) point out that two fighters in these games aren’t very different in terms of their capabilities. What ends up differentiating characters of the same class in these editions is the magic items they acquire during gameplay. Did they stumble on them through lucky? Did they seek them out to acquire these objects of power? Either way, magic items can give characters wildly different abilities. Discussions of this aspect of early D&D come the closest to the point I’m making in this piece. I’m just extending that observation to more ways characters are differentiated.

In early editions of D&D I find that it’s up the DM or the module author to determine whether opportunities for gameplay to shape or reshape a character. What magic items are included? Do the characters encounter a wish-granting genies? Do they come across a statue that grants a permanent boon if they pass a test?

The dimension of RPGs I’m talking about is primarily mechanical. The abilities of characters are defined by the rules. You could consider how characters are defined outside of the rules. Their personality, motivations, habits, and fears as the player and the others at the table see them. Are these determined when the player conceives of the character and then not changed? Do they evolve through player? Or does the player leave them open-ended for a few sessions until they get a feel for the character in the situations that arise during the game? I believe this form of characterization is more up to the player and group than the rules system so I won’t consider it in as much detail here. But I wonder to what extent the rules affect the players’ approach to these non-rules-based ways characters are differentiated.

I know that for some players character creation is one of the aspects of RPGs they most enjoy. Designing a character can be an empowering act of self-expression and/or strategy before a game even begins. Like dressing a doll, filling a plate at a buffet, or assembling a Magic: the Gathering deck. DCC may disappoint if they are attached to that aspect. But I wonder if they would come to appreciate the pleasures of gameplay-based characterization if they played a DCC game up through 2nd or 3rd level. The concept of a warlock with a perilous relationship with an otherworldly patron is fun. But is it more fun if most the interesting bits of that relationship happen offscreen or if you actually played through your first time reach out to that mysterious patron, risking your life and limb and sanity in wielding the power they offer, not just as explanatory text in the class description in a rulebook but as an actual part of roleplaying, as it is in DCC?

What do you think about this dimension of RPGs? Has anyone else written about this explicitly? Do you know of any games that are closer to the second end of the scale, where characters are entirely differentiated during gameplay and not at all during character creation or offscreen advancement?

The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford by Chance Dudinak has already been reviewed by prominent Old School Renaissance (OSR) reviewers. But great adventures deserve more reviews to get the word out. And this one deserves to be played by anyone who enjoys fantasy roleplaying whether they follow the OSR or not. Plus I’ve run it a couple times now.

What is it?

Published in 2020, The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford is an adventure for 4-8 characters of levels 1-3 written for B/X rulesets (systems based on 1981 Moldvay/Cook Basic/Expert D&D, including retroclones like Old School Essentials, Basic Fantasy RPG and Labyrinth Lord). It will take most groups between 3 and 6 sessions to complete.

This adventure has 3 strengths that put it ahead of most others:

• A setting that evokes medieval and Romantic era legend more than Gygaxian D&D, complete with NPCs and points of interest out of folk and faerie tales.

• A layout is a pleasure for the referee because it requires minimum looking down at the page and page flipping, and uses evocative descriptions that are easy for the GM to riff off of and look good doing it.

• A mini-sandbox setting combined with an overarching goal of slaying a dragon that sets the game up for open-ended exploration and player choice and creativity in pursuit of that goal.

Each time I’ve run it players had a blast.

Classic Romantic Legend

Brandonsford has few trappings of gonzo Gygaxian Dungeons & Dragons or of Appendix N literature. It is more reminiscent of 19th Century Romanticism more than 20th century weird tales. Its in a world of knights and faeries rather than of beholders and orcs. This will make it more familiar and accessible to many audiences who aren’t immersed in the roleplaying hobby. It’s oddly uncommon for fantasy RPG authors to create classic storybook fantasy adventures, which makes this refreshing.

One direction OSR authors have followed is to create adventures and settings inspired by fictional genres and settings with greater fidelity to the feel and tropes of those genres than earlier D&D publishers usually attempted. For instance, an OSR take on Alice in Wonderland would likely have greater emotional resonance with the experience of reading the Lewis Carroll's stories or watching screen adaptations than Gary Gygax’s Dungeonland (1983) does. The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford is a good example of that direction. While mythology and Romantic legend have an influence on classic D&D, they were often so blended with the influences of Tolkien, the Lovecraftian mythos, and sword & sorcery, that the affects fairy tales often evoke could get lost in the shuffle. That blending produced all manner of creativity but taking elements out enables new roleplaying experiences as much as adding them in.

That said most classic D&D settings like Mystara or Greyhawk have room for Brandonsford and the nearby woods. (And to be clear, I feel Gygaxian D&D has a great deal to offer).

Playing in the Sandbox

The adventure is a sandbox area that would fit comfortably within a single 6 mile hex. It is full of things for players to discover and interact with, from the fears and goals of characters in Brandonsford to the sites and random encounters of the forest. Players can devise their own schemes to stop the dragon based on their explorations. The town itself also has plenty going on that I will not spoil.

The dangers of the woods are real and players are forced to use all of their wits in navigating them. A few player characters or retainers died during each of our playthroughs.

The random encounter table includes a variety of encounters and specifies how each creature reacts to the adventurers, which saves the GM time and mental energy at the table. The random encounters add to the picture of the forest players create in their mind and some are linked to the story. In a sandbox campaign random encounters can easily be 50% or more of the encounters in a game so a well-designed table like this one can go a long way.

The black and white GM-facing regional map is clear and easy to use. Its stylistic simplicity improves its clarity. It uses a 1 inch = half mile scale and relies on the referee to eye the map. A referee can understand it at a glance and adjudicate travel times by eyeing the map or, if they want, by using a ruler.

The simple dungeon maps prove that even the most basic map is adequate if a dungeon is well constructed. The main dungeon is modestly Jaquayed, giving players some options as they explore it, putting it ahead of many small dungeons.

This sandbox is full of bits and bobs for players to interact with.

The New Standard for Layout

Aside from front matter and OGL legal information in the back, the adventure is 16 pages. The text has a comfortably large font size and spacing, and uses judicious bolding and bullet points for ease of reading. Many adventures with far less for the players to do use many more words. No paragraphs or sections are divided across pages. Dudinak employs a two column format that reduces the need for both vertical and horizontal scanning, allowing a referee to m9re easily refer to it at the table. You could read this for 20-30 minutes and run it. (A novice referee may need longer.)

Bulleting information and keeping a section to a single page or spread has become the norm in some parts of RPG publishing but this is a model way to do it. Necrotic Gnome’s adventures for OSE such as The Hole in the Oak, which Dudinak may have imitated, are the closest comparisons.

Conclusion

The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford is an excellent standalone adventure or opening to a longer campaign. It’s easily a contender for my favorite out of the adventures I’ve run, which is why its the first I’m reviewing here. New players will experience the joys of sandbox play in an familiar setting while many experienced players will find it refreshing. Highly-recommended for any roleplayer who enjoys fantasy. I would love to see more authors of adventures draw on this model.

• Player fun 5/5

• Ease to run 5/5

• Player agency 5/5 (high for the length and scope)

• Creative setting, characters & objects 5/5

• Maps 4/5 (simple, clear and effective)

• Art 3/5 (sparse but well-used public domain art)

Other reviews (warning: may have spoilers!) from Axian Spice, Questing Beast, and Ten Foot Pole.

Death & Dying Rules in Every Edition of D&D and More

1. Coups de grâce

2. Massive damage

3. Core dying mechanics

4. Coming up

My goal for this series is for you to gain the knowledge and confidence to modify the death mechanics in your games. Rules covering death loom over play. They decide the outcome of many of the most dramatic moments in many games. As a result, players develop a sense of how much danger their characters are in and this sense informs their decisions.

Once you have played enough versions of Dungeons & Dragons, you may start to miss subtle yet decisive differences among the rules. Tables also introduce rules from other versions of the game without noticing. Putting these rules side-by-side may help draw your attention to the distinctions and can help you think about how they affect your games.

Part 3 and the upcoming Part 4 describe and compare the core death mechanics in every edition of D&D and in many related games. Parts 1 and 2 covered less well-known rules that expose different priorities among their authors. But Parts 3 and 4 deal with the dying rules most used at the table.

I cover these rules in genealogical order: Part 3 covers the editions made by TSR (1970s-1990s) and the newer games based on those editions created by other companies. I’m throwing in 3rd/3.5 edition because its dying rules are closer to the earlier games than to those that come after.

Between Part 3 and 4, I describe and analyze the death and dying rules of the following games:

• Original Dungeons & Dragons (OD&D, 1974, retroclones like Swords & Wizardry, and a house rule for OD&D attributed to Gygax)

• Basic D&D (1977 Holmes edition)

• Basic/Expert D&D (1981 Moldvay/Cook edition and retroclones like Old School Essentials and Basic Fantasy RPG, including BFRPG’s optional rules)

• BECMI (1983)

• Rules Cyclopedia optional rule (1991)

• The Black Hack, 1st edition

• Stars Without Number & Worlds Without Number

• Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC)

• Knave, 1e

• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D), 1st edition (1977 - 1979)

• AD&D, 2nd edition (1989)

• D&D, 3.5 edition

• Pathfinder, 1st edition

• D&D, 4th edition

• 13th Age

• D&D 5th edition

• Five Torches Deep

• Starfinder

• Pathfinder, 2nd edition

For the purpose of illustration, I give an imaginary example, a 3rd level character named Aelez with 22 maximum hit points (a likely or unlikely number of hit points for a 3rd level character depending on the edition). How much damage must Aelez be dealt in order to meet the Grim Reaper using these dying rules?

The TSR Editions of D&D

Death at 0 Hit Points

A character or monster dies when damage reduces their hit points to 0 or fewer.

Aelez meets her end when she is dealt 22 damage.

Games employing this rule: OD&D (1974), Holmes Basic D&D (1977), Moldvay Basic D&D (1981), BECMI D&D (1983), Rules Cyclopedia (1991), AD&D 2nd edition default rules (1989), Dungeon Crawl Classics (0th level characters only)

Unconscious at 0 Hit Points, Death at the negative of the character’s level

When damage brings a character down to 0 HP or less without killing the character, that character is unconscious and begins bleeding to death. They lose 1 hit point every round if unassisted. When a character’s hit points are reduced to the negative of that character’s level, including from further damage, they die.

Aelez, a 3rd level character who begins with her maximum hit points (22), is knocked out of action when she is dealt 22 damage and meets the Reaper when she is dealt 25 damage.

Games employing this rule: Original D&D (1974) house rule attributed to Gary Gygax (also shows up in Swords & Wizardry as an option)

Save vs. Death Ray at 0 Hit Points, Again for Further Damage and Every 10 Minutes

When damage brings a character down to 0 HP or less, they must roll a Save vs. Death Ray. If the roll fails they die. They must roll again if they are dealt additional damage. They must also roll every 10 minutes or until healed by magic up to 1 hit point or a healing skill roll made with a -5 penalty.

Aelez has a chance of meeting her end when she is dealt 22 damage.

Games employing this rule: The Rules Cyclopedia (based on BECMI suggests using this variant rule if you remove resurrection spells from the game).

Save vs. Death at 0 Hit Points

When a character’s hit points are reduced to 0 or fewer, roll a Save vs. Death Ray. If the roll fails, the character dies. If the roll succeeds, the character remains unconscious yet alive for 2d10 rounds. If their wounds are not bound or magically healed within by the end of this time, they die. If their wounds are treated or magically healed, they awake after the end of the 2d10 rounds.

A spellcaster who was reduced to 0 hit points and ends up regaining consciousness loses all remaining prepared spells.

Aelez has a chance of meeting her end when she is dealt 22 damage.

Games employing this rule: Basic Fantasy RPG optional rule

Out of Action at 0 HP, Random Result Once Danger Passes

A character reduced to 0 Hit Points is taken “Out of Action” and is unconscious and cannot take actions. Once the danger passes, they may roll on the Out of Action table to determine what happens to them.

Damage needed to outright slay Aelez with full HP: 22 but only 1-in-6 chance of death once the battle is over (so essentially its not possible for Aelez to be slain outright since they could be healed in the meantime).

Games employing this rule: Black Hack, 1st edition

Dead, Dying or Incapacitated at 0 HP, Depending on Source of Damage

A character reduced to 0 hit points is defeated. Unless they receive aid, they die after at most six rounds. If they were defeated by a heavy weapon, an explosive or other severe injury, the referee may rule that they are instead killed instantaneously. If they were defeated by less-than-lethal means and their attacker was not attempting to kill them, they might become incapacited or rendered unconscious instead of dying.

To aid a dying character, an ally must use their main action and make an appropriate skill check to save them. A stabilized character regains 1 hit point after ten minutes of recovery. While they may move and act, any further damage kills them automatically. They require a week of bed rest and care to recover further.

Damage to outright slay Aelez with full HP: 22 if circumstances are right

Games employing this rule: Stars without Number, Worlds Without Number

Bleeding Out at 0 HP, Death in One or More Rounds, Chance to be Spared

When a character reaches 0 hit points, they collapse and start bleeding out. They will “die” after a number of rounds equal to their level unless healed.

If the character was bleeding but is healed, they permanently lose 1 point of Stamina (an ability equivalent to Constitution) and gain a scar from their wounds.

Additionally, if a “dead” characters body is found after the battle and within an hour of “dying”, the dead character’s player rolls a Luck check. If successful the “dead” character turns out to have been merely incapacitated. They awake with 1 hit point and receive a -4 penalty on all rolls for 1 hour and and lose a permanent point of a random physical ability (Strength, Agility/Dexterity, or Stamina/Constitution) due to a permanent injury.

Aelez must be dealt 22 damage to be knocked unconscious and start bleeding out. Without aid she would appear to die in 3 rounds but even then she might survive. Aelez cannot be slain instantaneously.

Games employing this rule: Dungeon Crawl Classics (characters of at least 1st-level only, all others die at 0 hit points).

Unconscious at 0 Hit Points, Death at -1

As it says.

Games employing this rule: Knave 1st edition

Unconscious at 0 Hit Points, Death at -10

When damage brings a character down to 0 HP or less without killing the character, that character is unconscious and begins dying. They lose 1 hit point every round if unassisted. When a character’s hit points are reduced to the negative of that character’s level, including from further damage, they die.

Other characters may take one round to bind the wounds of the dying character to prevent further hit point losses, while leaving the stable character unconscious. Any cure spell restores the character to 1 hit point, and no more, and to consciousness. If the character regains consciousness, they are weak and feeble, unable to fight and barely able to move. They no longer have access to spells they had prepared and is feverish. On the other hand, a heal spell restores hit points as normal and the healed character is restored to health, able to move and fight normally, but prepared spells are still lost.

Attempts to bind a dying comrade’s wounds seem to automatically succeed.

Aelez becomes unconscious after being dealt 22 damage and meets her end when she is dealt 32 damage.

Games employing this rule: AD&D 1st edition default rules, AD&D 2nd edition optional rules and Player’s Option: Combat & Tactics.

AD&D 1st edition default rules also adds ambiguous text that could suggests a character many only loses consciousness at -3 hit points (so perhaps they can act normally at -1 or -2 HP). A character brought back to 1 or more hit points remains in a coma for 10 to 60 minutes and then must rest for a full week before doing anything other than moving slowly to a place of rest (implying they cannot rest in a dungeon as I interpret it) and eating and drinking. A character who has reached -6 to -9 hit points will bear scars and possibly loss of a member, based on the source of the damage dealt to them.

The negative hit point optional rule in Basic Fantasy RPG works similarly to 2nd edition’s optional rule except that a character with negative hit points remains consciousness. They may not fight, cast spells or move more than a few feet without help.

Disabled at 0 HP, Unconscious at -1 HP, Death at -10 HP

If a character’s hit points fall to 0 hit points exactly, they are “disabled” and only able to take a single move or standard action each turn (a turn is when a character acts during a round in 3rd edition and later editions, rather than 10 minutes as in earlier editions). If the character takes any strenuous actions, they suffer a further point of damage after that action.

A character with hit points between -1 and -9 is considered dying. They fall unconscious and cannot act. They lose 1 hit point every round until they die or become stable. On the turn after a character’s hit points are reduced to -1 to -9. Roll a hundred-sided die. If the result is 10 or less, they become stable and no longer lose 1 hit point each round. Another character can also try to stabilize a dying character by getting a 15 or higher on Heal skill roll or automatically by any healing effect that restores 1 or more points of damage.

When character’s hit points reach -10 or lower they die.

Healing that increases the dying character’s hit points to 1 or more restores them to their normal capacity. They can cast spells they had prepared before they were dying.

Aelez is slain outright when she dealt 32 damage.

Games employing this rule: D&D 3.5 edition. D&D 3.5 likely has the most detailed death and recovery rules in any edition of D&D.

Pathfinder 1st edition works almost the exact same way except that instead of death at -10 HP, death occurs at a negative amount of HP equal to a character’s Constitution score, which likely exceeds 10. With this rule and a Constitution of 12, Aelez would need to be dealt 34 damage before she meets her maker.

This concludes the list of core mechanics in this article. Graphed the numbers look like:

I took out the games where characters don’t die at a certain number of hit points.

Families of Death Mechanics

• Death at 0 or -1 HP (OD&D, Basic D&D, AD&D 2e, Basic Fantasy RPG default, Knave 1e)

• Dying and incapacitation or unconsciousness at 0 HP, lose 1 HP per round, death at a negative number of HP:

  • Negative of character’s level (OD&D Gygax’s possible house rule)

  • -10 (AD&D 1e, AD&D 2e option, Basic Fantasy RPG option, 3rde/3.5e D&D)

  • Negative of character’s Constitution (Pathfinder 1e)

• Possibility of instantaneous death at 0 HP, otherwise must be healed in a number of rounds (Basic Fantasy RPG option, Stars Without Number, Worlds Without Number, Dungeon Crawl Classics)

• Schrodinger's death: death is determined randomly after the immediate danger passes (Dungeon Crawl Classics, Black Hack)

The above mechanics constitute a large branch of the D&D family of death rules. What distinguishes the above from those that I’ll cover in Part 4 is that none of these mechanics involve accumulating a number of failed or successful death saves or introducing other values to track.

I am fond of death at a certain number of negative hit points. It preserves the possibility of instantaneous death from a trap or from the blow of a giant’s club. Without the cushion of other intervening rules, players must do their utmost to avoid such dangers rather than mitigate them after the fact. When we talk about effects that deal damage in D&D we are talking about sharp swords, a dragon’s fiery breath, and falls from great heights. We shouldn’t need to clutter the system with additional mechanics beyond hit point loss to determine whether these are deadly.

Rankings

Based on my experiences playing in most of these games, here are my rankings of systems from the deadliest to the most forgiving based only on their core rules covering death:

1. OD&D, Basic D&D (all), AD&D 2e, Knave, Basic Fantasy RPG, Dungeon Crawl Classics at 0th level

2. Rules Cyclopedia (optional rule for games without resurrection)

3. Stars Without Number, Worlds Without Number

4. Basic Fantasy RPG with save vs. death option

5. OD&D with Gygax’s supposed house rule

6. DCC if body cannot be recovered

7. AD&D 1e, AD&D 2e death at -10 option

8. D&D 3e/3.5, Basic Fantasy RPG with -10 option

9. Pathfinder 1e

10. DCC if body can be recovered

11. Black Hack 1e

When it comes to systems where a dying character has time to be stabilized or healed, the number of allies and availability of magical healing factor in.

What role for randomness?

The above mechanics vary in whether they involve randomness. Aside from the damage dealt to a character, in some of these systems a dying character has a predictable clock. In AD&D 1st edition, if a spear through the shoulder reduces a character to -4 HP, the players at the table know they have exactly 6 rounds before they die of a bleeding wound because their untreated wound causes them to lose 1 hit point each round. Barring further attacks that is. I find this implausible. For me death should be surrounded by chaos and uncertainty. One rule I have introduced to address this in my games is to roll to determine the number of hit points lost each round. I have experimented with 1d3 and 1d4. This way the character reduced to -4 HP in the above example, could die in 6 rounds if their wounds are left untreated or they might only have 2 rounds. Are their allies going to gamble and wait? Another option I’ve considered is 1d6-1 (average = 2.5). That leaves the chance that the dying character loses no hit points in a given round, even if their wounds aren’t stable.

First aid

In describing the mechanics of each game, I have sometimes noted the rules governing how wounds are treated. Can a dying character only be saved by magical healing or can mundane first aid also stave off death? In every case, magical healing is guaranteed to work. In some games, mundane medicine is also guaranteed to work. In others, it requires the provider of that aid to roll one kind of check or another. Either way this first aid usually takes just one round. Depending on the game, a round can represent anything from six seconds to a whole minute. A minute is plausible to me but six or ten seconds is not.

Another rule I’ve played around with is the idea that the provider of first aid rolls an ability or skill check. If successful, they make progress towards stabilizing the dying character. For instance, in one implementation of my previously mentioned system where a dying character loses 1d4 hit points every round, a successful first aid check only reduces the die rolled from 1d4 to 1d3, then from 1d3 to 1d2, and then finally from 1d2 to stable. (This is inspired by Dungeon Crawl Classic’s dice chain). This makes even more sense to me if the progression is from 1d6-1 (average = 2.5) to 1d4-1 (average 1.5) to stable. With these variations, performing first aid is a dramatic race against death. Its not a one and done application of a Band-Aid nor can you set your watch by it.

Another question regarding first aid is whether its always necessary. In the Dungeon Crawl Classics rules for recovering the body, the “dead” character might turnout to be alive and stable. The body’s ability to heal can be astonishing and I think DCC’s rule reflects that. Further building on my home rules, I’ve considered a rule where a dying character who loses no hit points for a round becomes stable and is no longer dying (unless they receive further wounds). While rolling 1d6-1 each round to determine hit points lost this only occurs 1/6th of the time, reflecting that its unlikely if the wound isn’t immediately treated or if the first aid is thus far unsuccessful. While rolling 1d4-1, it occurs 1/4th of the time, reflecting how some first aid maybe benefit the character.

After effects

I’ve described the after effects of being dealt mortal blows and somehow surviving them. But I haven’t analyzed the rules governing lingering injuries or scars. And I don’t intend to here. More interesting to me is the immediate after effects. In D&D 3.5 once a character has been healed back to 1 or more HP, they immediately regain all of the capacities they had before facing off with Death. Yet in earlier editions, that character is barely able to move and cannot attack or do anything else arduous. They also cannot remember spells they had prepared before they were knocked out. They may require days or weeks of bedrest to fully recover. This renders them quite vulnerable rather than bouncing back like a superhero or demigod. Their life becomes quite humble a while as they would not be able to defend themselves even from the commoners in the towns where they seek rest. The tables are turned and this could lead to new roleplaying opportunities in the place of respite. If it wasn’t for bedrest, how would Faramir have met Eowyn?

In Stars Without Number, the rules indicate that even a single blow during their week of recovery can kill a character. This means they may wish to find a safe stronghold with sturdy doors and trustworthy guards or their allies may need to protect them for this period. Due to rules like this, I feel these rules relate to the deadliness of the system and I factored them into a couple of the rankings as a tie-breaker.

In compiling this list I noticed how AD&D 2nd edition introduces a distinction between cure magic and heal magic. Heal spells are significantly higher level. The first cure spell is a 1st-level spell while heal is 6th level, requiring an 11th-level priest to cast. While both are miraculous from a certain standpoint, heal spells remove all injury and restore a character at death’s door to their full capacities immediately, while cure magic leaves them alive but with a recovery period ahead of them. I may keep an eye out for opportunities to introduce this distinction to more games I run.

Do you use any other rules covering death? Next week, I’ll cover the rest of the systems on my list and add them to the rankings. After that, I may cover miscellaneous death mechanics like ability score loss, energy drain, exhaustion, and poison.

For playing!

Buy no more books that will lie on shelves and coffee tables gathering dust.

Spend no more time building characters for games you are not about to play.

Beautiful art and book design have their pleasures, but to play is the highest pleasure.

You need no more dice to play.

You don’t need a complete collection of rulebooks and supplements to play. You can play now. Just with the core book or even the free basic rules.

You need no more minis to play. You can use anything to represent your characters or just your imagination.

Spend no more time studying combos of character options that would break the game. Instead play.

Play often.

For supporting RPG products that play well!

Play often to discover what products play well.

World building is admirable. But some worlds play better than others. Play to find out.

Maps may be pretty but some play better than others.

Rules may be light or heavy, comprehensive or not, innovative or derivative. But do they play well?

For critical reviews based in experience!

If a product plays well, tell others. If it doesn’t play well, tell others. Whether by a big company or small. Whether the art is beautiful or not. Whether the setting is enjoyable to read or not. Be a part of the feedback loop that rewards products that play well.

Does the new game breaking Kickstarter records play well? What about the game by the famous person? Find out by playing. Let others know.

Play a lot to develop the faculty to predict whether a game or module plays well, even without playing it. You might be wrong but you will enjoy more.

Adventures may have evocative titles, wonderful art, and back cover blurbs. But reviews should go beyond describing those. Can players really pull off a heist in the heist adventure? Can players choose their path in the open-world adventure? Can the players explore the hexcrawl within the time constraints of the plot?

Is the game really rules-lite and fast-to-play? Are the rules easy to find when you need them? Is the game really about existential ennui and insatiable hunger or is that just the stories at the beginning of the rulebook chapters? Can players engage in political machinations? Is the game really gritty and deadly?

None of these can be taken for granted.

So play. In groups. Duets. With and without a game master. In person. Online. Play by post. One shots. Mini-campaigns and long campaigns. Modules or homebrew or both. With friends or strangers.

Then the game you’ve always dreamt of will reveal itself.

1. Coups de grâce

2. Massive damage

3. Core dying mechanics

4. Coming up

As mentioned in Part 1 on coups de grâce, D&D characters with large numbers of hit points can trivialize otherwise devastating amounts of damage and as a result threaten verisimilitude. D&D’s designers have thought to include rules to mitigate this tendency. Whereas coup de grâce rules address this problem in situations outside the fray, massive damage rules attempt to lend plausibility to gameplay when even awake and capable characters are harmed in ways that the game’s fiction suggests should be life threatening, such as being crushed by a titan’s hammer, being engulfed by an ancient dragon’s flames, or being unsaddled while riding a griffon through the clouds.

Massive damage rules were introduced to address situations where a single attack or other instance of damage inflicts so much damage that the fiction of the game demands that the victim face the prospect of immediate death, no matter how many hit points they have.

In AD&D 2nd edition and D&D 3.5, a character dealt 50 or more damage by a single attack or effect must roll a saving throw (vs. death in 2nd edition, a Fortitude saving throw in 3.5 edition). If the saving throw fails the character dies regardless of current hit points.

Pathfinder 1st edition has an optional rule that works the same way except the amount of damage that must be dealt by a single effect is 50 or a half a character’s hit maximum hit points, whichever is higher.

D&D 5th edition has two rules that could be called massive damage rules. One optional and one a part of the default dying rules. The optional “massive damage” rule is closest to the previous examples, so I’m including it first.

When a single source deals damage to a creature equal to or greater than half the creature’s hit point maximum, the creature must roll a Constitution saving throw. If that roll fails, the referee or player rolls on the System Shock table.

You can see that worst result on the table merely commences 5th edition’s dying rules, where the character can make three to five saving throws over the course of the same number of rounds to determine their fate, rather than instant death as in the previous examples. And that worst result only has a 1-in-10 chance of occurring. But between the first two results there is a combined 3-in-10 chance that a character’s hit points are bypassed.

Now three games have rules that bypass special dying rules rather than bypassing hit points.

Player characters in D&D 4th edition die when they are reduced to negative hit points equal to half their hit point maximum. This doesn’t require the damage come from a single attack or instance since negative hit points are tracked in between instances of suffering damage. The character dies regardless of where they are at in the death saving throw process.

By D&D 5th edition’s default rules characters die instantly when reduced to negative hit points equal their hit whole hit point maximum. This however does require the damage to come from a single attack or instance since 5th edition doesn’t track negative hit points. Damage cannot reduce a character below 0 hit points unless it deals enough to slay them. As in 4th edition, the character dies regardless of where they are at in the death saving throw process.

In Starfinder, a character dies if they are reduced to 0 hit points and the remaining damage from a single effect would reduce them the negative of their hit point maximum.

These last three almost shouldn’t count as a massive damage since it doesn’t so much mitigate the effects of high hit points. But they do bypass the death saving throw mechanics in the 4th and 5th editions of D&D and the dying rolls involving loss of Resolve Points specific to Starfinder, thus they hasten the journey towards death and raise the stakes. These last three rules also only apply to player characters since monsters and NPCs usually die when they reach 0 hit points already. You could say these are limitations on the plot armor granted to player characters by the game.

I could not find similar damage rules in other versions of the game. As with coup de grâce rules, massive damage rules may be less necessary in versions of the game with lower hit point totals. Keeping the number of hit points down (or more precisely, keeping the hit point-to-damage ratio down) is a more elegant way of avoiding the problem than introducing another rule. But some games like Pathfinder 2nd edition have large numbers of hit points and also lack massive damage rules.

Deadliness Rankings

If I only include the tradition massive damage rules that bypass hit points, from most to least deadly the rankings are:

1. AD&D 2nd edition, D&D 3.5 edition

2. Pathfinder 1st edition (optional rule)

3. D&D 5th edition (optional rule)

Few sources can deal over 50 points of damage in the editions where that it is the threshold for damage to be considered massive but those that can should be feared. But the massive damage rules can also benefit the player in these editions since they often battle creatures with more than 50 hit points.

Death is not automatic with any of the traditional massive damage rules where damage must reach or exceed a threshold (50 hit points of damage or damage half of the victims maximum hit points in these examples). All examples include a roll.

Introducing these rules means that even very high level characters venturing into dungeons with full hit points must be wary of the unknown dangers that lurk in the darkness. They don’t have to wait until they’re a few battles and traps in to start feeling the pressure.

If we also include rules for bypassing death saving throws and dying levels the rankings become:

1. AD&D 2nd edition, D&D 3.5 edition

2. Pathfinder 1st edition (optional rule)

3. D&D 4th edition

4. D&D 5th edition default Instant Death rule, D&D 5th edition optional Massive Damage rule, Starfinder

In the six years I spent playing D&D 5th edition, I only saw say the Instant Death rule come up with really low level characters, often level 1s playing in games that also had higher level characters.

While death is not the only form of stakes in many battles, its still one of the stakes. Deadlier systems raise the stakes of battle, which can encourage players to look for solutions other than fighting or at least to approach battles in a more clever way. It can also make battles more thrilling and decisions more meaningful. Other tables may wish to give players more plot armor. They want the possibility of death to exist but made unlikely.

Rulings & Rules

If characters’ hit points are growing so high they are rarely threatened or your game’s dying rules delay death to a degree you find implausible, you can introduce massive damage rules to partially mitigate this. These are probably best introduced as house rules agreed to in advance rather than as on the fly rulings, especially when player characters are hit by massive damage. But you could use them as rulings when monsters suffer mighty blows by player characters or if the player characters manage to knock a huge monster off a perilous cliff and the fall damage deals a tremendous amount of damage but not enough to slay the monster outright. You could also rule that some monsters are big or strange enough that massive damage rules don’t apply.

The threshold for damage to count as “massive” could also be lowered. If you want to level the playing field between high level characters, including monsters and NPCs, and low level characters or monsters, you could make 20 or even 10 the threshold. This would mean most attacks only subtract hit points but if the low level characters get especially lucky or are able to engineer some unusual circumstance letting them do more damage than the maximum of their usual attack, such as hitting their target with a ballista bolt point blank. Battles could become more decisive, where the goal isn’t just to chip away at hit points but to discover a way to set up a single tremendous blow or trick an enemy into a powerful trap to end the battle “early” and with minimal casualties.

You could instead consider a house rule to 1) reduce the number of hit points characters gain per level, 2) for characters to stop gaining hit points after a certain level, or 3) to stop leveling entirely after a certain level (the most common house rule along these lines that I’ve seen stops leveling at 6th or 7th level. This rule is popular enough that it pops up in D&D rules variants published by smaller companies). These solutions would likely obviate the problem that massive damage rules attempt to solve.

The next part of this series will cover the core death mechanics in TSR-era editions of D&D and newer games that take their inspiration primarily from those editions.

Rules governing death in Dungeons & Dragons shape gameplay even in games where they seldom arise in play. Subtle distinctions between death rules can have an outsized influence in the long run as the game trains the players. This is part 1 of my morbid look at rules for death & dying in games within the D&D family. I hope this series makes you more confident to make rulings and house rules at your table to foster the gameplay you desire.

Death & Dying Rules in Every Edition of D&D and More

1. Coups de grâce

2. Massive damage

3. Core dying mechanics

4. Coming up

Coup de grâce translates as “blow of mercy.” It usually refers to a blow that kills a mortally wounded enemy or animal. D&D authors have expanded its meaning has at times to include any attack against a helpless enemy, such as an enemy that is sleeping, magically frozen in place, bound, or incapacitated by wounds. This broader meaning of coup de grâce includes simpler methods of assassination that players and NPCs might consider.

Hit Points: Go Around or Through?

Higher level characters in D&D usually have enough hit points to withstand many successful attacks with swords, axes, and claws. While game designers and players debate whether hit points represent how wounded a character is or how tired, lucky and otherwise able to avoid becoming wounded they are at the moment, coups de grâce force your game to decide which interpretation of hit points you are using.

If hit points represent a character’s current capacity to avoid blows, then a coup de grâce should bypass hit points entirely since the target is helpless. If hit points represent how wounded a character is, then a coup de grâce might involve loss of hit points. But if hit points are high enough then it starts to strain credulity when a dagger to the heart of a magically sleeping character would only cause them to lose a tiny fraction of their hit points (such as losing just 5 out of their 44 hit points) simply because they are an experienced adventurer, at least for me and many of the designers of D&D’s rules.

Fiction First?

You can also argue that how a game or referee handles the niche situation of a coup de grâce is one test of whether the game puts fiction first or rules first. In many genres, the fiction of an assassination by blade of a motionless and defenseless victim who does not awake before the killing blow suggests that the coup de grâce should more or less automatically slay a human or human-like victim, regardless of hit point rules and other mechanics.

In other genres, that might not be the case. Comedies about bunglers, chosen one fantasies and any other genres with plenty of plot armor for the protagonists and archvillains to name a couple.

D&D’s designers have written a number of distinct rules to address these niche circumstances.

Coup de Grâce Rules

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) 1st edition provides rules for attacking magically sleeping or held opponents. If this happens in the fray of battle where the attacker must still evade attacks, the attack against the helpless target automatically hits and the maximum damage of the weapon is dealt. The attacker can make twice the number of attacks against the target as they normally could. On the other hand, outside of battle one bound or magically sleeping or held target can be slain per round. It seems that only the assassin class has special rules governing attacks against naturally sleeping creatures and their chance of success is based on how their level compares to their targets.

AD&D 2nd edition has similar rules except any victim that is sleeping or held is automatically hit and dealt normal damage, regardless of whether the sleep is magical or not. If the attacker has no other opponents around, the target may be slain automatically.

In D&D 3.5 edition and Pathfinder 1st edition, an attacker can deliver a coup de grâce to an incapacitated creature as long as that creature is not immune to critical hits such as a golem. The attack requires a melee weapon or a ranged weapon fired within melee range. The attack automatically hits. Delivering a coup de grâce provokes attacks of opportunity from nearby opponents (compare with the AD&D 1st edition distinction between being in and out of the fray). The attack scores a critical hit. If the target survives the damage, they roll a Fortitude saving throw and die on a failed roll. This roll represents the possibility that no amount of hit points can save a victim from a coup de grâce.

D&D 4th edition has an explicit coup de grâce rule that works similarly to 3.5 edition’s. The attack automatically hits and scores a critical hit. But instead of forcing the target to make a saving throw to avoid dying, the target dies if the coup de grâce dealt damage greater than or equal to half the target’s maximum hit points. Hit points still protect from coups de grâce in this system but less effectively. Coups de grâce work similarly in 13th Age in that they also automatically score a critical hit, but it is no more likely to slay its victim than any other critical hit. In 13th Age hit points provide their full protection against coups de grâce. Sneaking into an enemy camp and delivering a coup de grâce will likely initiate a more typical battle.

D&D 5th edition also has a de facto coup de grâce rule. If a creature is unconscious, attacks against them have advantage (as opposed to automatically hitting like it does in prior editions). If an attacker is within 5 feet of the creature and the attack hits it deals damage as a critical hit. If a character is dealt damage while they have 0 HP, they receive a death saving throw failure. If that damage was dealt by a critical hit, they instead suffer two death saving throw failures. A coup de grâce would therefore deal damage if the victim’s hit points were 1 or more or if they are stable. Otherwise it would inflict two death saving throw failures (a character dies when they reach three). If the damage is so much that it reduces the victim to the negative of their maximum hit points, they would also die, although this is unlikely unless the victim is very low level.

I could not find other coup de grâce rules in other games I looked at in the D&D family. Basic D&D has lower hit points and death at 0 hit points. Perhaps coup de grâce rules are less needed as a result. Ordinary attacks are deadly enough. And earlier designers may have trusted the referee with adjudicating niche circumstances like coups de grâce in a sensible way on their own. This may also be the case for Old School Renaissance games following the philosophy of rulings over rules.

The key questions that rules or referee rulings handling coups de grâce must answer are:

• In what circumstances can coups de grâce be performed?

• Do coups de grâce automatically slay their victim?

• If not, do coups de grâce automatically hit? Do they count as critical hits? (in systems with critical hits)

• Do hit points provide any protection from coups de grâce? If so, how much?

Coup de grâce rules ranked from deadliest to least deadly:

1. AD&D 1st & 2nd editions

2. D&D 3.5 & 4th editions, Pathfinder 1st edition

3. D&D 5th edition

4. 13th Age

Over the decades designers have seen a role for these rules but the designers at TSR and Wizards of the Coast have consistently made surviving a coup de grâce more likely.

Deadly coup de grâce rules mean that characters are vulnerable when they sleep or when a mage captures them in a hold person spell. They mean that even the toughest heroes and villains can still die to a knife in the hand of a cook or cobbler in some circumstances. Everyone but the sleepless dead are vulnerable sometimes. Posting a watch and casting the alarm spell has higher stakes. Coup de grâce rules that lack deadliness tend to force enemies into stand-up toe-to-toe slugfests. In this case, the game dictates that villains can only be slain in climactic battles.

Part 2 will look at massive damage rules across the editions, another niche within D&D’s death and dying rules. Later parts in this series will look at the core death and dying mechanics in every edition of D&D and many other games in the D&D family.

Despite the title, not all methods require rolling dice. You can learn about the design philosophy and genre of a game in the D&D family by looking at how ability scores are generated. At the end I will consider these design philosophies.

This article covers all of the methods that I could find published in the official editions of the following games:

• Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974; also its retroclones like Swords & Wizardry)

• Holmes Basic D&D (1977)

• Moldvay Basic D&D (1981; also its retroclones like Labirinth Lord, Basic Fantasy RPG, Old School Essentials)

• BECMI (1983)

• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 1st edition (1979 Dungeon Master’s Guide)

• AD&D, 2nd edition (1989) including the Player’s Option: Skills & Powers options (1995)

• D&D 3.5

• D&D, 4th edition (including the Essentials line)

• D&D, 5th edition

• Pathfinder, 1st edition

• Pathfinder, 2nd edition

• Starfinder

• Dungeon Crawl Classics

• The Black Hack, 1st edition

• Knave, 1st edition

• Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number

• Cairn

• Castles & Crusades

• Project Black Flag (added 2/22/2024)

Despite my efforts, I’m certain this article misses some methods. I only just remembered that Dark Sun had its own methods using d4s. Please point out any methods I’ve missed in the comments. I’ll add any that feel distinct enough. I hope I’ve hit all of the big ones and then some. I thought about including house methods that I’ve run across but that rabbit hole would be deep. Post any homebrewed methods you favor in the comments.

Every Method in Chronological Order

1. 3d6 six times in order

Roll three six-sided dice. Write the total next to Strength. Then repeat these steps in order for Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma.

This method is used by Original D&D (OD&D), Holmes Basic D&D, Moldvay 1981 Basic D&D, BECMI, Dungeon Crawl Classics and Cairn. Its also Method 1 of 2nd edition AD&D, the Classic Variant in Pathfinder 1e, and the rolling method for Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number. Its the method of generating “random average characters” in the 3.5 edition Dungeon Master Guide (DMG). This is also the method of retroclones like Swords & Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, Basic Fantasy RPG, and Old School Essentials. It requires rolling 18 dice.

Variations & rulings:

• Moldvay Basic (B/X) D&D, BECMI and the Rules Cyclopedia let the player raise the prime requisite of their class by lowering certain other abilities by 2, as long as the lowered abilities are not reduced below 9. B/X does not allow Dexterity, Constitution or Charisma to be lowed in this way. Also, thieves cannot lower Strength. The Rules Cyclopedia is similar but without the stipulation for thieves.

• Holmes Basic D&D lets characters lower abilities to raise their prime requisite scores as B/X does but the options and rate vary by class and ability lowered.

• BECMI explicitly allows the player to reroll all their scores again if their highest score is less than 9 if the player desires and it encourages discarding a character with two or more ability scores that are less than 6. Old School Essentials suggests the referee allow the player to do the same. The 3.5 DMG adds that the player may reroll all scores if the total ability modifier of all scores is -3 or lower or if no score is higher than 11.

• The Dark Sun Campaign Setting (1991) player characters roll 4d4+4 instead of 3d6 while nonplayer characters roll 5d4. With Optional Method 1 in the same book, player characters also roll 5d4. I only mention the standard method since the optional methods are variations of other 2nd edition methods that replace d6s with d4s and result in a maximum starting score of 20 rather than 18 but otherwise work similarly.

• Cairn allows any two ability scores to be swapped.

• Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number allow the player to change one score to a 14 after all scores have been rolled.

2. 3d6 six times and assign each total to an ability

Roll three six-sided dice and record the total. Then do this five more times. Assign each of these numbers to one of the six abilities.

This method is Method 3 in 2nd edition AD&D, the method of generating customized average characters in the 3.5 DMG (with the same conditions for rerolling as above), and the Classic method in Pathfinder 1e. Its also the method used by Castles & Crusades. It also requires rolling 18 dice.

3. 4d6, drop the lowest die six times and assign each total to an ability

Roll four six-sided dice. Remove the lowest die and record the sum the of other three dice. Do this five more times. Assign each of the totals to one of the six abilities.

This method is Method 1 in the 1st edition AD&D DMG, Method 5 in 2nd edition AD&D and the rolling method in 4th edition D&D. It is the standard method in 3.5 D&D, Pathfinder 1st edition, 5th edition D&D, and Starfinder. It requires rolling 24 dice.

Variants & rulings:

• 3.5 D&D allows a player to reroll all six scores if the sum of the modifiers is +0 or lower or if the highest score is 13 or lower.

• 3.5 D&D DMG allows a floating reroll. Once during the process of generating the six scores, reroll the lowest die instead of discarding it. After the die is rerolled, remove the lowest die of the four and total the rest normally.

• 4th edition D&D mentions that if the total ability modifiers are lower than +4 or higher than +8 the DM can rule that the character is too weak or too strong compared to the other characters in the group and decide to adjust the scores to fit better within the campaign.

• Project Black Flag adds a final step. The player adds 2 to one score of their choice that is 16 or lower and adds 1 to a score that is 17 or less. This is to compensate for the lack of ability score improvements gained from lineage (their updated term for race). I don’t address lineage or racial ability score bonuses or penalties for the other systems, so I only note it in this case, in case it gives readers ideas for their own homebrewed methods. Since I don’t include lineage modifiers in this article, this variant isn’t comparable to other systems I’m describing.

4. 3d6 twelve times, assign highest six scores

Roll three six-sided dice and record the total. Do this eleven more times. Assign each of the highest six totals to one of the six abilities.

This is Method 2 of AD&D 1st edition and Method 4 of AD&D 2nd edition. It requires rolling 36 dice.

5. 3d6 six times for each ability, retain the highest score from each group

Roll three six-sided dice and record the total. Do this five more times. Write the highest of the six totals next to Strength. Then repeat all of these steps for the other five abilities in order.

This is Method 3 of AD&D 1st edition. It requires rolling 108 dice.

6. 3d6 six times in order for each of 12 characters. Choose which character to play.

Roll three six-sided dice and record the total next to Strength. Repeat this for the remaining five abilities, in order. Then repeat all of the above steps eleven more times, as if creating twelve different characters. Then choose which of these “characters” to play and discard the rest.

This is Method 4 of AD&D 1st edition. This is probably the slowest method on this list requiring 216 dice to be rolled unless a computer is used.

7. 3d6 twice for each ability, assign either result

Roll three six-sided dice and record the total. Repeat this once. Then choose one of the totals and write it next to Strength. Then repeat each of the above steps for the five remaining abilities, in order.

This is Method 2 in the AD&D 2nd edition PHB. It requires 36 dice to be rolled.

8. 7d6, assign each die result to abilities, abilities start at 8

All six ability scores begin at 8. Then roll seven six-sided dice. Assign each individual die to one of the abilities and add its result to the score. No score can exceed 18.

This is Method 6 of AD&D 2nd edition.

9. Allot 75 points among abilities

Allot 75 points to among the six abilities. No score can be below 3 or above 18.

This is Method 7 of AD&D 2nd edition and Method 10 of AD&D 2nd edition Player’s Option: Skills & Powers.

Variants & Rulings:

• Player’s Option: Skills & Powers clarifies that fighters can purchase 10 points of exceptional strength (for fighters with an 18 strength only) for each extra character point spent.

10. Allot 24d6 among the six abilities before rolling, sum the 3 highest for each ability

Assign each of 24 six-sided dice to one of the six abilities. No ability can have less than three dice or more than six dice assigned to it. Then roll the dice and sum the three highest and discard the rest. Record the result next to Strength. Repeat this for the remaining five abilities.

This is Method 8 of AD&D 2nd edition (in Player’s Option: Skills & Powers) and the Pathfinder 1st edition dice pool method.

11. Roll to determine pregenerated ability scores

Roll a one twelve-sided die. Consult the Pregenerated Ability Scores table. Record the results.

This method is suggested in the AD&D 2nd edition Complete Paladin’s Handbook as a way to guarantee that a character will meet the high ability requirements to qualify for the paladin class (minimums of Strength 12, Constitution 9, Wisdom 13, and Charisma 17). Similar tables are presented in other Complete Handbooks of classes that are also difficult to qualify for through the methods in the Player’s Handbook.

Variants:

• The AD&D 1st edition Method V, published in Unearthed Arcana and expanded in Dragon 140, is similar in effect even if it gets there on a different path. The player first chooses a class. Then they consult a table in the book and roll a number of dice shown on the table for each ability according to their class. Sum the three highest dice for each ability. If they roll below the minimum needed for their class, their ability score is increased to the minimum. And if they roll over the maximum allowed for the class, decrease their score to the maximum.

12. 2d6, consult the table, and assign points according to the table

Roll two six-sided dice and total the results. Consult the table to determine how many points to allot to the six ability scores and what the maximum of any score may be. No ability score can be allotted less than three points.

This is Method 9 in AD&D 2nd Edition Player’s Option: Skills & Powers.

13. Point buy, scores begin at 8

All ability scores begin at 8. Then spend 25 (or another number) additional points among the six abilities according to the costs on a table.

This is the Standard Point Buy method in the 3.5 DMG and the variant “Customizing Ability Scores” method of 5th edition D&D. D&D 4th edition also uses a variant with different starting scores.

Variants & Rulings:

• The 3.5 DMG suggests changing the number of points available to spend from 25 to: 15 points for a low-powered campaign, 22 points for a challenging campaign, 28 points for a tougher campaign, and 32 points for a high-powered campaign.

• 5th edition D&D characters have 27 points to spend instead of 25 and scores of 14 and 15 cost one more than in the 3.5 DMG method. 15 is the highest possible score using the point buy method (before racial and feat adjustments). To start with scores below 8 or above 15 in 5th edition, one must roll instead of using the standard array or point buy methods.

• The 4th edition D&D method of customizing scores is similar but five scores of the player’s choice begin at 10 instead of 8. Then the player may spend 22 points to increase scores using the costs on its own table.

• Project Black Flag uses the same costs as 5th edition D&D but gives players the option of purchasing scores of 16, 17, and 18 (11, 13, and 16 points respectively). Players also have 32 points to spend instead of 27. I believe both of these changes reflect the lack of ability score improvements gained from choice of lineage (an updated term for race).

14. Assign an array of scores

Assign 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8 among the six abilities.

This is the 3.5 D&D DMG Elite Array method and the 5th edition D&D Standard Array method. The 4th edition D&D Standard Array works the same way but uses different numbers. The Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number also use a standard array but with different numbers.

Variants & Rulings:

• The 4th edition D&D Standard Array replaces the scores with 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, and 10.

• The Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number array is 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, and 7.

• Project Black Flag’s Standard Array is 16, 14, 14, 13, 10, and 8. The slightly higher scores, compared to its model 5th edition D&D, reflect the lack of ability score improvements gained from the character’s lineage.

15. 4d6, drop the lowest die six times in order, reroll one score, swap two scores

Roll four six-sided dice. Remove the lowest dice, sum the remaining three dice and write the result next to Strength. Repeat for the remaining five abilities. Then reroll any one ability score of your choice and take the new roll if its higher than the old one. Then swap any two ability scores.

This is the 3.5 D&D DMG Organic Characters method. This requires 28 dice to be rolled.

16. 5d6, drop the lowest two dice, assign each total to an ability

Roll five six-sided dice. Remove the lowest two dice, sum the remaining three dice and record the result. Repeat each of these steps five more times. Then assign each of the six generated numbers to one the six abilities.

This is the 3.5 D&D DMG method for making high-powered characters. This requires the rolling of 30 dice.

17. Choose between arrays, assign the scores

Choose between the balanced array of 16, 14, 14, 11, 10, and 10, the specialist array of 18, 14, 11, 10, 10, and 8, and the dual specialist array of 16, 16, 12, 11, 11, and 8. Then assign the scores of the chosen array to the six abilities.

This is the 4th edition Essentials Rules Compendium Standard Arrays method. The Starfinder array method is similar but uses three different arrays.

Variants & Rulings:

• Starfinder’s three arrays are the versatile array of 14, 14, 14, 10, 10, and 10, the split array of 16, 16, 10, 10, 10, and 10, and the focused array of 18, 14, 10, 10, 10, and 10.

18. 2d6+6 six times, assign the totals

Roll two six-sided dice. Sum the result, add 6 to the total and record the new total. Repeat this process five more times. Assign the totals to the six abilities.

This is the Pathfinder 1st edition heroic method. This could be the fastest random method since only 12 dice are rolled.

19. 3d6 six times in order; if 15+ is rolled, 2d6+2 for the following ability; swap two

Roll three six-sided dice and record the sum next to Strength. Repeat this process for the next five abilities, except if a 15 or greater is rolled for an ability, the following ability is determined by rolling two six-sided dice and adding two to the result. Then return to rolling 3d6 until another 15+ is rolled. Then swap any two scores.

This is the method of The Black Hack, 1st edition.

20. 3d6, lowest becomes bonus, in order

Roll three six-sided dice. Remove the two highest dice. Record the number on the remaining die as a bonus to Strength. Add 10 to this bonus to find the Strength defense. Repeat for the other five abilities. Decide whether to swap any to scores.

This is the Knave 1st edition method. It works differently than all of the previous methods since it uses both ability bonuses and ability defenses. Ability bonuses scale with ability defenses on a 1-to-1 basis.

21. Scores start at 10, apply boosts & flaws

Ability scores start at 10. Apply ability boosts and flaws from ancestry, background, and class. A boost increases a score by 2 while a flaw decreases it by 2. Then apply four more ability boosts to any of the abilities.

This is the standard Pathfinder 2nd edition method. A variant method allows rolling 4d6, drop the lowest and assign, as above, and then adding about half the number of ability boosts and flaws as in the standard method for the game.

Families of ability score generation

Looking through the above methods, a few families become apparent to me.

• Rolling in order: Methods 1, 15, 19 and 20. Methods 5, 6 and 7 are supercharged versions.

• Roll, then assign: Methods 2, 3, 4, 8 (with a twist), 16 and 18

• Assign dice, then roll: Methods 10

• Distribute points: Methods 9 and 12

• Point buy methods: Method 13

• Array: Methods 14 and 17

What do the methods mean?

The Human Condition

Method 1 of this list, 3d6 in order, the oldest method, suggests to me that player characters come from ordinary people. Their ability scores fall on the same bell curve as the population at large. They are not assumed to be more talented or have fewer deficits than anyone else. Also Method 1 suggests that your character could begin life as anyone. While some might be quite talented and exceptional in their capacities, they have no greater chance of being so than anyone else in the land. They are not the chosen ones of the story. They have no plot armor. They are not free from the human condition (even if they are not human). They are not destined for great things. They might one day become heroes or villains with enough cunning, judgement, and good fortune. You do not choose who they are or where their strengths and weaknesses lie. That is up to fate. How do you make the best of the capacities you’ve been granted?

The variants where you can lower certain ability scores to raise your prime requisite acknowledge that your life decisions can come a cost. You could have been an athlete but you spent your time in books and your muscles withered somewhat.

The Angel

I envision a player using the lesser known Method 6 as a god-like being keeping tabs on six mortal lives and then choosing which one to incarnate into. Most likely one who is quite capable but the being can choose which capabilities it prefers and at what cost in other areas. With paper, pencil, and physical dice this approach could also be at least six times as time consuming as Method 1.

The Spark of Destiny

Method 3, 4d6 drop the lowest and assign, one of the most widespread from AD&D 1st edition to the present, reflects the idea that most player characters are somewhat more capable and fortunate than the average person. And they aren’t just anyone. As the 3.5 Player’s Handbook states, “That’s right, the average player character is above average.” They have the spark of a great destiny yet there are no guarantees. Fate or luck still play a role. And they are your character with the talents and deficits of your choice. They reflect you in some way even if they are nothing like you because you made the creative choice of where to assign their scores. Method 4 has a similar philosophy as Method 3 but uses a different approach to increasing the average. Method 18 is the more powerful and assured cousin of Method 3.

The Designer Baby

Point buy methods like Method 13 are another widespread method starting with 3rd edition D&D. They descend from earlier methods of distributing points directly on a 1-for-1 basis but they create greater trade offs if a character is to have any high scores (usually 14-15 or higher). In point buy systems, high scores come at the cost of lowering the average of all the character’s ability scores, a goal shared by the earlier Method 12. 5th edition removes the possibility of beginning with more than a 15 in any ability entirely (at least until racial modifiers and feats are applied). Unlike Method 12, fate or luck play no role. It is entirely up to the player to determine everyone of their character’s strengths and weaknesses, within the confines of the allotted points and the costs of higher abilities. This is the designer baby of methods. The player becomes a tinkerer and a character designer. A point buy method enables the player to optimize the character towards goals they choose. An average or below average character is impossible using all the point buy methods that I’ve looked at. Even if you reduced the number of points available to spend, the minimum score is 8 or 10, not 3 like in most rolled methods. Also characters in the party are all equal in some sense. While some could be optimized better than others (or their players just care more about that), their strengths are balanced against their weaknesses.

Standard arrays are another popular method today that arises from the 3rd edition/3.5 era. I feel they share the same design philosophy as point buy methods except they are easier to understand, faster and less granular.

The Gambler

A less common approach is Method 10 in which players assign dice to abilities before rolling. Here the player is something of a gambler deciding on how they wish to hedge their bets. Or it can be compared to a worker placement game. Do they place the maximum number of dice on Intelligence in the hopes of generating a powerful wizard but at the risk of very low rolls in the other abilities? And no real guarantee that the wizard will be brilliant? Or do they distribute the dice as evenly as possible to see where they land and prevent any ability from being too low? This is the player’s character. They cast the bets. But fate gets the final say. The total number of dice is the same as 4d6, drop the lowest (Method 3 on this list) and it likewise tends to produce above average characters.

Hopefully, you can see where these conclusions could be applied to other methods. I have tried to avoid inserting my preferences. Perhaps this overview will help you choose the methods you use at your table or inspire you to create something new. In the spirit of folk roleplaying, you can swap methods you like into the game of your choice without too much trouble.

A Few More Considerations

Another variable in each game is whether the ability scores are modified after the original scores are determined, either during another step of character creation or later in the game. In some editions, a characters race or lineage increases, and sometimes decreases, the ability scores generated by the above methods. The newest iterations of 5th edition let the player increase a couple ability scores regardless of which race or species they choose. In 4th and 5th editions characters can improve their ability scores in the normal course of leveling up.

Games also vary in how ability scores affect other parts of character creation.

• In early editions characters are required to meet a minimum score in order to qualify for class (or a race/lineage in editions that distinguish between the two). In the case of races/lineages, there might also be a maximum score that a character could not exceed in order to choose some races, as in 2nd edition.

Games vary in how ability scores affect rolls, which can make comparing the numbers like comparing apples and oranges.

• In early editions, the modifier associated with each ability score reinforces the bell curve formed by the method of rolling. Modifiers scale at a diminishing rate the further they get from 9-10 rather than at a fixed rate. Positive modifiers don’t start until 13 and an 18 grants a +3 modifier.

• In later editions the modifier associated with an ability score scales at a rate of +/-1 for each two points in the ability. Positive modifiers start at 12 and an 18 grants a +4 modifier.

• In Stars Without Number modifiers are even smaller with positive modifiers starting at 14 and an 18 only granting a +2.

• At the same time in early editions an alternative way that ability scores came into play is rolling the ability score, a sort of general purpose roll the referee can call for if the ability is relevant to the task at hand. A d20 is rolled and if the result is equal or under the ability score, the roll is successful. In this case the chance of success (out of 20) scales at a rate of 1-to-1 with ability scores so in early editions ability scores both mechanically matter more and less than they do to rolls in later editions, depending on the kind of roll.

• At the same time most editions still define average as around 10-11 so most conclusions based on the relative capability of player characters to ordinary people still apply.