[OSE Solitary Adventure] Defending Fyrwood Town
by ShesheyanStarted a new solo adventure yesterday. I'm using OSE and OSE advanced.
Four adventurers are hired to rid the country side of a band of gnolls that attacks caravans and farmers living in the area near Fyrwood Forest. Tomark the human (m) magic-user (L4), Vodinn the dwarven (m) cleric (L4), Servyna elven (f) thief (L6) and Aminda the human (f) fighter (L4) have followed leads to the ruins of a burned down farm house located three hours from Fyrwood Town.
• Race and class are separated.
• The characters have maximum HPs.
• The magic-user is allowed to use a staff, a dagger and a sling.
• I'm using side initiative but the characters do a full activation on their turn (move+attack).
• Spells caster have extra spells for each "plus" on their attributes.
• The thief has +5% per "plus" on his attributes.
• The fighter is a specialist of the sword so he deals 1d10 with it instead of 1d8.
The gnolls were hiding at the edge of Fyrwood. The characters activated first. The combat lasted 4 rounds. The gnoll on the far left survived and ran into the forest. Vodinn lost 12 HPs on a total of 28. Servyna lost 7 on 36. Voddin casts two Cure Light Wounds on himself and heals 2x [1d6+1 (+ Wis bonus 3)] 27 HPs on 28.
Do they run after the gnoll or do they return to town? To be continued.
A look at side A, round #1. I won't be doing a blog this time. It takes too much time. I prefer playing instead.
In short: DAY 1
• Servyna (thief) moved to intercept the gnoll on the far right. She managed to kill him alone. But was injured.
• Vodinn (cleric) got into trouble because he venerates a god of war and his impetuous. He moved to get closer to the gnolls before using his sling.
• The two gnolls charged Vodinn and both hit.
• Tomark (magic-user) threw his magic missile at the gnoll on the far left. The creature wasted three arrows unable to hit AC2 (shield).
• Aminda (fighter) charged to the rescue of Vodinn. Together they killed the two gnolls.
• The immobilized gnolls (hold person) were killed with a coup de grace.
Round #1 Side B Gnolls
DAY 1 continued:
- The band of gnolls had 100gp among them.
- It is mid-day. The PCs (roll) decide to continue.
- They camp at the ruins to heal.
- No night encounter.
- Servyna and Vodinn are back at maximum hit points.
- Rations 7 - 1 = 6 days
DAY 2
- The heroes manage to follow the gnoll tracks in the forest.
- There is a random encounter.
- Two Killer Bees surprise the party.
- Tomark is hit but succeeds his save vs poison.
- Arminda is not so lucky. She fails her save and dies.
House Rule: Upon a Death result PCs fall to the ground with zero HPs. They are unconscious for a number of rounds equal to 1 + their constitution bonus. If they are healed magically within this period they survive. Otherwise they are Dead. Roll a new character.
- Vodinn immediately casts 3 cure light wounds on Arminda.
- Arminda regains consciousness. She is at 23 hit points.
- They decide to continue despite this set back.
- Do they find the Gnolls lair: No.
- Camp for the night.
- Rations = 6 - 1 = 5 days left.
- No night encounter.
DAY 3
- Arminda regains 5 hit points = 28 (on 42 maximum)
- Morning. Do they find the lair? No.
- Encounter? Yes
- It is a chimera at 140 yards.
- No surprise
- Heroes win the initiative resulting in Evasion !!!
- The Chimera is, roll, indifferent. No pursuit. That was a close call.
- The heroes put as much distance as they can from the chimera.
- They decide to hunt and forage for half a day.
- They find enough foraging for 2 people. No game is hunted.
- Rations = 5 - 0.5 = 4.5 days
- Night camp. No encounter.
DAY 4
- Arminda naturally heals 6 hit point = 34.
- They resume the search for the Gnoll lair.
- Do they find it in the morning? Yes!
The road travelled so far
Day 4 continued
- The lair entrance is 160 yards away from the adventurers.
- There are no sentries.
- Vodinn casts a cure light wounds on Aminda. She now has 41hps on 42.
- They heroes advance towards the entrance.
- There are no hidden enemies.
- The lair as a cave entrance on the face of a large hill.
- The adventurers go down a steep stone staircase, followed by a 50' tunnel.
- They advance slowly, arriving at the entrance of a 30'x50' cave. It has 1 other exit.
- There is no surprise.
- 4 gnolls and 2 feral dogs are in foul mood and ready to attack.
- Initiative. The PCs go first.
Round 1: Heroes and gnolls attack each other.
DAY 4
- The combat lasted 4 rounds.
- Heroes going first round 1 and 2.
- The gnolls first round 3 and the 4th was simultaneous.
- Sernya was attacked by the two wolves and lost 12hps.
- Arminda lost 7hps but killed 3 gnolls.
- Vodinn casted Bless which gave +1 hit / +1 damage.
- He killed one gnoll but suffered 11 damage.
- Tomark injured a wolf with a magic missile and hit it with his staff killing it.
- He sustained no damage.
- After the battle Vodinn cast a cure light wound on himself +6 = 23 on 27.
Round 4: The heroes prevailed
The heroes press on and enter the other tunnel... (top left)
DAY 4 continued
- The short tunnel leads to a 50'x50' room with six columns and a throne of stone at the opposite end.
- At the entrance a pair of broken doors are on the ground.
- 2 gnolls archers are ready to shoot arrows.
- Next to the throne stand a very large gnoll (chieftain) and what looks like a second in command.
- These gnolls look elite with better armour and weapons.
- No parley.
- The chieftain screams something. No one understands.
- Initiative. The gnolls go first...
- The fight lasted 5 rounds.
- Gnolls going first on rounds 1, 2 and 4.
- Heroes first on rounds 3 and 5.
- The chieftain and second used the columns as cover.
- The archers both missed on the first round.
- Arminda and Voddin killed an archer.
- After that Vodinn couldn't hit until the very last round.
- He took a total of 19 damage from the chieftain. He is at 4hps only.
- Arminda fared better and killed the second in command, taking only 8 damage.
- Sernya and Tomark killed an archer. She was uninjured during the fight.
- Tomark was shot for 4 damage. After which he remembered to cast shield. His last level 1 spell.
- Sernya only hit the chieftain on the last round.
- Tomark threw the killing sling stone (4dmg) against the chieftain.
Round 1
Round 5
DAY4 continued
- There are no other tunnels in the throne room.
- The adventurers search the room for hidden doors.
- They find one on the wall behind the throne.
- Sernya manages to find the way to open it.
- There is a hidden lever in the back of the throne.
- They find short tunnel behind the door. It is a dead end.
- Two bags of gold are on the ground.
- They contain 2000gp and 4 pieces of jewelry (200, 600, 700, 900gp)
- There are no hidden doors in this tunnel.
- The adventurers do not find any secret passages in the first room of the lair.
- After pilling the corpses in the woods nearby, the heroes decide to spend the night in the hidden treasure room.
- No night encounter.
- Rations -1 = 3.5
DAY 5
- Voddin naturally heals 5 and casts 2x CLW on himself (+12). 21hps on 23.
- Arminda heals 6. 32 on 34.
- Tomark wakes up fully healed.
- The heroes divide the coins to carry them.
- They begin the return trip to Fyrwood Town.
DAY 5 continued
- They adventurers follow their own trail in the forest.
- There is no encounter.
- Rations -1 = 2.5
- Night camp. No encounter.
DAY 6
- Arminda heals 5. She is at 37. (I made a mistake earlier. Her max is 40hps.)
- Everyone else is in top shape.
- The heroes cross the area of the Chimera and Killer Bees with extra vigilance.
- No encounter.
- Rations - 1 = 1.5
- Night camp.
- A ravenous grizzly bear attacks during the night.
- Tomark is killed by the grizzly's first surprise triple attacks.
- He can survive unconscious 2 rounds. 1+1 Con bonus.
- Vodinn gets to him quickly and casts CLW for 5. (5hps)
- The combat lasts 4 rounds.
- Arminda lost 16hps (26hps).
- Servyna lost 9hps trying to backstab the feral bear (15hps).
- Vodinn casts his two other CLW on Tomark. He is now at 14hps.
DAY 7
- No natural healing in the morning.
- Vodinns casts one CLW on Servyna (+4=19hps) and one on Arminda (+6=32hps).
- The PC's breakfast that morning is 100% grizzly meat over a fire.
- They cook extra meat just in case.
- Rations : 3 days.
- By midday the heroes come out of Fyrwood Forest.
- They do a forced march in the farmland to return to Firewood Town today.
- They arrive at 7pm. It is Summer and the Sun is still up.
Experience
- 4200 gold pieces.
- Encounters 500.
- Each PC earns 1,175 xps.
- Arminda, Tomark and Voddin are at 10,000 + 1,175.
- Servyna is at 20,000 + 1,175.
DAY 8
- The adventurers sleep at the local inn. The Golden Mug.
- Natural healing and 3 cure light wounds.
- In the morning they report to Jorl Bardor, the captain of guard who hired them to kill the gnolls.
- The captain gives them 100gp each as agreed.
- He tells them they should stay in Fyrwood town.
- As a frontier town there is always work for competent adventurers.
- The heroes say they will think about it.
- During the rest of the day many towns people thank them for their courage.
- Back the inn a decision is made that night.
- They agree to stay in town.
- The heroes want to buy a property.
DAY 9
- Natural healing and 3 cure light wounds. Everyone is in top shape.
- They find a 2-level stone house, with 4 rooms on the second level, on the border of the town.
- Value 3000gps.
- It is in good shape. No major repairs. Just the usual maintenance.
- They make a first payment of 1500gps.
- 4600-1500= 3100 gold pieces left in the treasury.
- The next payment is due in six months.
- They exchange most of their gold and jewels in gems at the local jewellery. Mona Hirnan.
- They keep 200gp each in coins.
DAY 10
- The heroes relax at home happy with their purchase.
DAY 10 continued
- That night the captain of the guard knocks at the door of the adventurer’s house.
- He explains that he has a bandit problem.
- They plague the road leading to Inverburg, the lord’s fortified city.
- Usually at this time of the year the town’s mayor must send the taxes to the lord.
- The captain of the guard is worried they might try to steal the taxes.
- Jorl proposes the adventurers protect a decoy tax delivery en route to Inverburg.
- They will be accompanied by two town guards unaware of the ruse.
- Inverburg is 5 days to the East of Fyrwood town.
- He does not know the exact number of bandits.
- Reports by survivors talk of at least 5.
- The lord has promised a reward for the capture or death of the ruffians.
- The bandits usually setup ambushes in the Stoney Hills section of the road.
- It is midway between Fyrwood and Inverburg.
- If they accept the decoy would leave the day after tomorrow.
- The adventurers accept.
- Servyna secretly wonders if she knows any of the bandits.
DAY 12
- The adventurers, the 2 guards with a pony are ready to depart for Inverburg.
- The pony carries a chest with the gold (it is loaded with bricks).
- The mayor, the captain of the guards and a crowd of peasants are present for the send off.
- The party leaves Fyrwood Town on the East road.
- Travel is easy in the country side.
- No encounter.
- Camp for the night.
DAY 13
- In the morning the adventurers leave the farmlands and travel in small forest.
- In the afternoon the road passes through a plain.
- No encounter.
- Camp for the night.
DAY 14
- The adventurers leave the plains and enter the Stoney Hills.
- The earth is red and the hills are mostly rocky formations with rubble.
- Vigilance is at maximum.
- The bandits could attack any minute.
- Early in the afternoon the bandits spring their ambush.
- The 9 bandits and a leader were hiding behind low hills.
- Some of them have high ground.
- Many of them have cover.
- There is no surprise.
- Initiative: The bandits are side A, round 1.
DAY 14 continued
- Almost a TPK.
- Only Servyna survived because she changed sides towards the end. (neutral alignment)
- She knew the bandit boss after all.
- The bandit boss (3HD) killed Arminda while she was low on HPs.
- Tomark was killed by three crossbow bolts on turn 1.
- Also, one of the guards turned out to be a bad guy, killed the other guard and attacked Voddin in the back.
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Post-Mortem: The dice were stacked against the PCs in combat and in "negative" story outcomes. Nonetheless, it was a fun mini-campaign. Reconnecting with B/X, in actual play, via OSE was rewarding. I really liked all the encounter procedures. I'll import those in my other games. Side initiative made handling combat much easier for the solo format.