(Read the previous chapter here.)
System: Tunnels & Trolls
Tools: d30 Sandbox Companion; LitRPG Reads; Eposic RPG T&T Character Generator; Wizardawn (While no longer available online, easily usable server files are available for download); UNE; RPGSolo.com
[Scene 1]
<There were no random encounters during the evening.
Move 5: Per d30 Sandbox Companion:
Features: 19 none
Settlement: 28 ruins (description to be revealed in narrative)
Encounter: 17 Traveling 23 Party of adventurers>
The party rose early, packed up camp, and continued on. According to Sylralei, she expected to be coming up upon some heavier woods to their south and some foothills to their north by the end of the day. Each person took up the same order they rode in yesterday: Syl and Dalen up front with Nen and Kristopher lagging back. Things were quiet for the first hour until they rounded a large thicket of shrubbery. Standing about twenty feet off the dirt road were an odd pair, their horses grazing near-by.
Standing upright was a medium-sized man with blond hair. He was dressed in sturdy traveling clothes with an interesting club hanging from his belt. It was made from a flat piece of wood and lined with spikes <a tervutje>. Syl was the first to notice the point of the ears, identifying him as an elf. The rest of the group missed this, as they were more interested in the second person.
Standing on the elf’s shoulders was a small girl. She was dressed in pants and a shirt that were mostly green. Her brown hair was cut short. Around her waist was a leather belt with various pouches, and a large leather book hung over her shoulder by a leather strap. She held one hand flat up to the forehead, shading her eyes from the sun while she looked out over the plains.
Being at the front of the group, Dalen and Syl could hear some of their conversation as they approached.
“Do you see anything,” the man asked. “You know, you do get heavy.”
“I don’t see anything,” the girl replied. “But I’m sure it’s this direction.”
“Hello,” Dalen asked. “Can I ask what you are looking for?”
The girl spun around and lept to the ground startled. “Oh! Hey! Look Jonik, people.”
“Yes, I see that. This is a road. People travel on roads.”
“Yeah, but they don’t look like travelers,” the girl said, scrutinizing the group’s armor, weapons, and mounts. “They look like they might be expecting danger!”
Taking a closer look, the party could now tell that she wasn’t a girl, but a rather short, adult or young adult woman, only about three feet tall.
“Is she a halfling?” Kris whispered to Nen, the two of them not quite caught up.
“No,” Nen said, a hint of disgust in his voice. “She’s a leprechaun. You can tell by the green tint to her skin.”
“You don’t sound too thrilled.”
“I’m not. They’re a nuisance and a pain.”
It’s unclear if the Elf was being quietly cautious, or if he just couldn’t get a word in edgewise, but the excited leprechaun was doing all the talking.
“His name is Jonik. I’m Fiadhinellianna Stinatinia-Merryflicks. A mouthful, I know. That’s why all my friends call me . . . Fiddlestix!”
“Of course they do,” Nen groaned.
His reaction caught Fiddlestix’s attention and she noticed him for the first time. “Oh look! He’s my size!” In an instant, she disappeared. At the same moment, Nen felt a weight land behind him on his horse, a small pair of arms began to wrap around his sides.
“Aahh!” yelled Nen and vaulted over the front of the horse. He landed prone on the ground and quickly spun to sit up facing his mount. “Don’t do that!”
“I was only saying hello,” Fiddlestix giggled.
“You can say hello from over there. Now get off my horse!”
<As a leprechaun, Fiddlestix has the inherent ability to cast the 4th level spell Wink Wing at a reduced cost of 5 WIZ points (instead of the usual 14). Wink Wing is a teleportation skill (up to 50’). This is what she used to appear behind Nen.
I used UNE for the next bit of conversation. First, I determined Jonik’s and Fiddlestix’s mood. Jonik: cautious Fiddle: neutral, however, the bearing of the conversation was friendly. They talked about a celebration regarding fame. In this case, a location that honored a famous person.>
“I am a bit curious,” Dalen asked as Fiddlestix jumped off the horse. “What were you two looking for out over the field?”
“The Crypt of Mindrek,” she said as she stuck out her hand to help Nen up. He brushed it away and got up himself as Fiddlestix shrugged and continued back toward Jonik.
“Maybe we shouldn’t say too much, Fiddle . . . “
“What’s the Crypt of Mindrek?” the interested Dalen asked.
“Mindrek is . . . was a head priest of Zeriel,” Fiddle continued, ignoring her partner’s warning. “You know, the god of Creativity. The church in Millhelm is paying us to find it and bring something back for them.” <Does Fiddlestix openly talk about their current mission? Likely Yes.>
“Oh, So you’re mercenaries,” Sylralei jeered, finally speaking up.
“We prefer the term ‘Hired Help’,” Jonik corrected her, noting her sarcasm.
“So servants then?” Syl retorted.
“I assure you, we are very professional,” Jonik assured Syl. “Fiddle and I are experts at using our skills to accomplish tasks that are too difficult for those who need them done.”
Syl smirked and rolled her eyes.
Behind them, Kris leaned over to Nen who climbed back up on the horse. “Isn’t that what we do?”
“Shhh. It’s better to let her go with it.”
Despite sensing Jonik’s hesitation, Dalen’s desire to learn some history and collect more stories led him to continue questioning the girl.
“Mindrek? I don’t think I’ve heard of him,” he asked.
“You probably wouldn’t have,” Fiddlestix answered, still ignoring Jonik’s concerns. “He was only well-known it the area surrounding Millhelm. But he was a big deal there. Maybe a hundred years or so ago, he was the head of the Zeriel Church. According to legend, the God of Creativity gave him a pair of blessed gloves: the Gloves of Original Beauty. <Random object from RPGSolo> These gloves bestowed upon the wearer the ability to create perfect works of art: paintings, sculptures, and such. Each one far surpassed anything made using traditional tools. Mindrek would use his creations in his sermons and lessons as an illustration of Zeriel’s work is creating all the world’s beauty. The priest was so associated with the Gloves of Original Beauty that when he died it was agreed that the artifacts would be buried with him. Some kind of offering to the God when Mindrek entered the heavenly realm.”
“So, what does this have to do with the two of you?” said Dalen.
Jonik steped into the conversation, possibly hoping that if he can’t stop Fiddlestix he can at least try to direct what was being shared. “The Church of Zeriel isn’t what it used to be. Membership is dropping. Influence is low. So the current leadership had the great idea that if they had the Gloves they could impress the people. They first sent several of their acolytes to retrieve them from the crypt.”
“But they couldn’t do it,” Fiddlestix jumped back in. “They couldn’t get pass the trolls.”
When she didn’t continue, Dalen asked, “What trolls?”
“They returned to Millhelm with stories of a family of trolls that took up residence within the tomb,” Jonik explained. <What was their main obstacle? C.Q. Communicate/ A plot The acolyte’s story was that a family of trolls had settled on the plot of land> “They couldn’t get any further than the entrance. The monsters didn’t attack them, but, as the acolytes got closer the trolls became more agitated and readied sticks and weapons. Of course, the acolytes couldn’t speak troll and couldn’t tell them their intentions, so they just left.”
“That’s why they hired us,” Fiddle took over. “We’ve dealt with trolls before. They don’t scare us. And searching an old, empty crypt. Hah. Child’s play.”
“Hopefully it’s empty,” Jonik reminded her. “We really don’t know.”
<To determine the truthfulness of the crypt situation, I will use my favorite Rumour Table found on the Alea Iactanda Est website . A roll of the dice reveals how truthful a rumor is and possibly the consequences. The timing of when you roll the dice depends on the situation.
The first rumor was that the Gloves of Original Beauty could be found in the crypt. Since the only information about the gloves comes from stories over a hundred years old and anything could have happened to them or the crypt over time, the complete truthfulness will be determined once they reach the location where the Gloves will be.
The second rumor is that the acolytes were scared away by trolls. I’m considering this a rumor as only the acolytes know the true story. They could have made up the troll story to hide the fact that the real danger was minor, or they were simply too scared to complete the task. Since the priests who heard the story could hear the tone of voice, ask follow-up questions, etc. I assume they have an idea of whether or not the acolytes are telling the truth. In this instance, I rolled one of the two dice to help determine the final outcome. The second die will be rolled at the entrance of the crypt. The roll was a 3. This eliminates “completely true” but can still be as good as “mostly true”. Based on that and the fact that they are religious and are expected to be more honest than your average villager, I’ll assume the priests believed the story and didn’t give Jonik or Fiddlestix any reason to think it wasn’t true.>
“This is fascinating,” Dalen said. “I like to collect stories and would love to know more about this priest.”
“Why don’t you join us and see the crypt for yourself?” Fiddle exclaimed, excited to have some company. In fact, everything seems to excite her.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Jonik warns. “The priests only hired us.”
“If they want money, they can take whatever they find in the crypt,” Fiddle suggests.
“You know our contract states we can only take the Gloves,” Jonik reminded her. “We can’t take anything else.”
“We can’t take anything else. But that doesn’t stop anyone who’s not under contract from wandering in and taking whatever they want.” Fiddle smiled conspiratorially at the loophole.
“I agree with Jonik,” Nen piped up, wanting to escape the leprechaun’s company. “It’s probably not a good idea.”
“But part of our pay is whatever we can find along the way,” Kris reminded the halfling. “At the least, Garlen would love some new items for his shop.”
“Enough!” Sylralie shouted. “You were hired to accompany me to Cyenannore. Have you forgotten that? We do not have time to explore some dusty old crypt just because it sounds interesting.” She glares at Dalen to add emphasis to this last part.
Turning to Jonik, she continued, “We won’t keep you any longer. C’mon, let’s go.”
Sylralei prodded her mount to continue down the road, expecting everyone else to follow.
“It’s for the best,” Jonik said to the dejected Fiddlestix. “If there is any trouble, the last thing we need to be doing is protecting a bunch of amateur treasure hunters.”
Despite Jonik’s intention to keep his remarks between him and his partner, Syl clearly heard the elf’s words. Obviously, this mercenary had no idea what he was talking about. From her earliest days with Kage Gordain she’d fought ruffians and criminals, explored forgotten ruins, stole gems from beasts, and even faced a dragon. (To be fair, they ran away before the creature attacked, but still, she saw it.) She’d even led a team that helped free an island from the control of pirates (See the last campaign). Sylralei never gave anyone the impression that she wasn’t up to a challenge, and she wasn’t going to start backing down now.
“On second thought,” she said, turning back. “Kristopher is right. Our benefactor is expecting us to obtain any unique items and other wealth we might find. To be honest, like the both of you, we are often hired to . . . how did you put it … ‘accomplish tasks that are too difficult for those who need them done’. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up needing our help.”
Fiddlestix leaped, grinned broadly, and clapped her hands. Jonik just sighed and closed his eyes.
<I used the Eposic RPG T&T Character Generator to assist in creating Jonik and Fiddlestix, changing stats, items, and other aspects as necessary to best have them fit the roles and levels I envisioned.>
Jonik Urilen - Lvl 3 Female Elven Rogue
STR: 10 CON: 15
DEX: 15 SPD: 16
INT: 19 WIZ: 29
LCK: 45 CHA: 27 Total Personal Adds: 27
WEAPONS: Terbutje (3 dice + 5 adds); Magical Hunting Bola (tangles on an odd roll, can change stone beings or monsters to flesh {10 charges})
ARMOR: Lamellar (10 Hits)
LANGUAGES: Elven, Common
SPELLS: (LVL 1)Take That You Fiend, Teacher,(LVL 2) My Wish Your Command,
Glue-You, Little Feets
Fiddlestix - Lvl 3 Female Leprechaun Wizard
STR: 6 CON: 12
DEX: 17 SPD: 9
INT: 21 WIZ: 24
LCK: 45 CHA: 11 Total Personal Adds: 30
WEAPONS: Javelin (2 dice); Haladie (2 dice + 4)
ARMOR: None
LANGUAGES: Common, Gremlin, Dwarvish, Giant, Ursine, Equine
SPELLS: (LVL 1)Detect Magic, Lock Tight, Will-O-Wisp, Knock Knock, Oh There
It Is, Take That You Fiend, Vorpal Blade, Oh go Away, Teacher,
Hocus Pocus (LVL 2) Poor Baby, Magic Fangs, My Wish Your Command,
Glue-You, Hidey Hole, Cateyes, Mirage, Whammy (LVL 3) Curses Foiled,
Hard Stuff, Rock-a-Bye, Dis-Spell, Blastign Power, Freeze Pleeze, Fly
Me, Healing Feeling, (Lvl 4) Wink-Wing {inherent in Leprechauns}
ADDITIONAL ITEMS: Magic Wand {5 charges} and Enamel Gem (10 charges)-each
gives the user 7 WIZ points to use that round.
Serpentine Gem (9 charges)-teleport wielder and equipment up
to 50’
[Scene 2]
“I noticed you are caring a rather large tome,” Dalen asked Fiddlestix, referred to the heavy, leather-bound book hanging from a strap over her shoulder. “Are those… spells?”
The two rode alongside each other as the party of six headed off the main road and made their way though fields, bushes, and small copses of trees. Fiddle, the unofficial navigator of the group, believed they would find the crypt several miles off the road.
“Some pages are,” Fiddle told Dalen. “Most is just my notes about jobs. Things we need to do or have done. You never know when you need to refresh your memory or something from your past can help you now.”
Dalen’s mind salivated. A book full of such information was, to him, a treasure trove of stories. Who knows what he might learn from it? The dwarf decided to probe further.
“You know, I’m a bit of historian myself.”
“You teach in a university!” Nearly anything could excite the leprechaun. “Oohh, do you stand on a box?”
“A box?”
“So the student’s in the back can see you? I know people don’t always see me in a crowded tavern.”
“No,” Dalen said, thrown off-guard. “I mean, no, I’m not a professor. I’m more of a storyteller. I like learning about the world and hearing new tales. Then I share them with others, mostly children. I enjoy seeing their reaction and watching the world open up to them.”
“Oh,” Fiddlestix quips, thinking about this. “Sure, you can take a look at my book if you want.”
She removed the volume from over her shoulder and handed it to Dalen. He took the book in front of him, laid it on the saddle as best he could, and opened up the first few pages. What he saw was not what he was expecting. Instead of pages filled with handwritten text (a little girl’s scrawl was more what he was expecting, to be honest), he saw picture upon picture filling the pages. They ranged from simple stick figure cartoons to miniature works of art. One page might be a small vignette depicting some event. The next might picture lists of objects. All in all, the best he could do was guess at what each depicted, as they had no titles or captions.
“Interesting? Fiddlestix asked.
“Uh, yes. It’s very interesting. I only wish I knew what I was looking at.”
“Isn’t it obvious. That’s the legend of the black ox,” she said pointing to a scribble that could have been a bull. “Those were special stones we had to retrieve from a group of bandits. That’s the recipe for a love potion . . . at least that’s what the old wrinkled lady told me . . . and on the next page was our shopping list from when we went to the marketplace in Ravenmond.”
“Amazing. How you remember all that?”
“It’s simple. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t write this way.”
Elsewhere, Nen rode near the front of the group with Kristopher and Jonik. He was doing his best to keep as much distance between Fiddle and himself while also looking for more stimulating conversation than the moody Sylralei who rode at the back of the line.
“Why would the church build a crypt way out here?” Kristopher wondered. “Wouldn’t Zeriel’s followers want it closer to the city where they could visit and provide upkeep?”
<What does Jonik know? 1: Keep it hidden from thieves. 2: Tradition 3: Superstition 5: Interrupted plans to move 5: Doesn’t know 6: Roll twice (unsure, but has some ideas) Roll: 6 Reroll: 5 and 2>
“The priests didn’t tell and I didn’t ask,“ the elf admits. “I know many of these sects have their own traditions. Perhaps it was built on a sacred plot of land, or it is a way of spreading news afar of their god, even after death. But I really don’t know. Understanding isn’t always part of the job. What was that?”
Jonik stopped suddenly and examine the low bushes that they were riding though.
“What’s up?” Kris asked, his hand instinctively dropping to his scimitar.
“I think I hear some. . . “
Before he could finish, a large, dark-red scorpion slightly bigger than a large dog shot out of the bushes beside them. Shouts of warning behind them indicated that more of the creatures appeared there as well.
<Random encounter Roll: 1 I created a small table to determine the type of encounter and I rolled “scorpion”. I used the monster lists from the now defunct Wizardawn to generate 3 huge scorpions. Each has an MR 40 and if they roll two 6s, a character is poisoned.>
Dalen was fumbling with Fiddlestix’s book, trying to set it aside, pull out his ax, and dismount all at the same time. Unfortunately, one of the scorpions slithered out right next to the dwarf and he counldn’t avoid a jab in the leg by the stinger. Pain climbed up his leg as the poison begun to take effect.
At the same time, the scorpion also snapped at Fiddlestix with its pincer, however, it barely reached and did little more than scrape her leg. The leprechaun barely noticed because her attention was focused on a third scorpion. She sent a blast of Take That You Fiend at it while a similar blast flew past her from where Syl, riding behind her..
<Combat Round 1:
Nen led off with a slingshot, but failed his L2 DEX SR. (9+11DEX=21)
Scorpions: 15 dice + 60 adds = 117 (three 6s)
Party: 11 dice + 48 adds + 36 spell damage (Syl and Fiddle) = 136 (two 6s)
Party wins by only 19, but the full spell damage is applied. I randomly determined the two spell attacks were directed to the same scorpion. After damage for the two 6s, the remaining scorpions have MRs of 4, 38, 40.
Because the scorpions rolled at least two 6s I randomly determined Dalen was poisoned (I based poison on all dice. In hindsight, however, I think I should have rolled individually for each monster and only use an individual’s 6s to determine if they used poison.) The poison damage for the scorpions as published were a bit harsh for my game, so I modified it. A poisoned character must make a L3 CON SR to negate the poison. The first two turns they fail they fight at 1/2 effectiveness. The third fail, they fall unconscious to -1. Each fail after that, they roll on my “Death Table” until they either succeed the SR or die.
Dalen’s first SR is 24. Fail>
After missing with a slingshot, Nen pulled out his dirk and leapt off his horse. Jonik and Kris had already pulled out their weapons were down attacking the large arachnids. Even Sylralei dismissed a second magic attack in favor of her staff, pouncing on the scorpion attacking Dalen. Fiddle was the only one of the group who stayed mounted and let another Take That You Fiend fly at the scorpion closest to her partner.
For the most part, the group easily handled the scorpions, with Kris dispatching the scorpion wounded by Fiddle and Syl’s first attack. Unfortunately, with one lucky strike, the scorpion facing Jonik was able to slide its tail through and inject the elf with its potentially deadly poison.
<Combat Round 2:
Scorpions: 10 dice + 41 adds = 73 (five 6s)
Party: 13 dice + 62 adds + 21 Spell = 119 (no 6s)
Party wins by 46. One scorpion is killed and the remaining MR are 7 and 29.
Dalen’s poison check: 28 fail
Jonik is poisoned. check: 27 fail. He is now at 1/2 efficiency.
Jonik takes 3 points and Syl takes 2 points from the scorpions five “6” damages>
Combat round 3
The party’s adds alone will kill the scorpions, so I won’t even roll except to see if the scorpions get any 6s, which they don’t.
Dalen’s poison check: 28 fail and is unconscious with -1 hp.
Jonik’s poison check: 17 fail.>
Jonik faltered back, feeling the sting of the poison rush through his body, as Kris slices through the scorpion with his scimitar, ending its life. Nen finished the remaining bug as Sylralei rushed to Dalen’s side, who had just fallen unconscious.
“What’s wrong with him?” she yelled. “He barely has a scratch.”
“I think . . . it’s poison,” Jonik barely spoke before falling to the ground himself.
“Ugh!” Syl yelled at Fiddlestix. “I thought you two were professionals? Look at this mess!”
“We’re tomb hunters,” the leprechaun shot back. “Not exterminators. My friend’s down, too. You deal with your dwarf. I’ll deal with Jonik.”
Sylralei starts to open her mouth, but Fiddlestix turns away and administers to Jonik. Syl lets it drop and kneels down next to Dalen.
“Okay. What spell do we have that can stop the poison?” Nen asked, joining Syl.
“Nothing. I can temporarily heal him with Poor Baby, but if his body can’t fight the poison he’ll just keep getting worse. Hey, do you know Too-Bad Toxin?” She called to Fiddlestix, asking the leprechaun about a spell that cures poison.
“Unfortunately, that’s a little too advanced for me.”
“Not surprising,” Syl mumbled, totally dismissing the fact that it was too advanced for her as well. “No antidotes?”
“Nope.” <Do Jonik or Fiddlestix have antidote? Unlikely No, and . . . they don’t know how to stop it.> “Right now we’re playing a waiting game.”
“One I hope Dalen wins,” Nen adds.
<And it is a waiting game. For better or worse, this is how I handled the poison. On each turn, Dalen and Jonik will roll to make their L3CON SR. If they succeed, they will be unconscious at 0 hp. Each time them fail I will make a roll on my Death Table to see how many h.p. they lose (-1 min.) Less then -10 h.p. is death.
Turn 1:
Jonik: 3 fail, drops to -1 h.p.
Dalen: 27 fail, drops to -2 h.p.
Turn 2:
Jonik: 27 fail, drops to -2
Dalen: 31 Success
Turn 3:
Jonik: 30 success>
The next several minutes were tense as all members anxiously awaited any sign of recovery from the downed men. The first to stir was Dalen. As soon as she thought it will help, Syl cast Poor Baby and Dalen opened his eyes. He looked around, dizzy.
“Stay still,” Syl told him. “Those scorpions hit you with some nasty poison.”
About five minutes later, Jonik started showing some signs of life and Fiddle attended to him with her own Poor Baby spell. Kristopher and Nen had been scouting the area for any signs of any more scorpions or other creatures, and had just returned.
“All looks clear. I think it’s best if we rest here and let Dalen and Jonik recover a little more.”
There were no objections.
<Do the NPCs have healing potions? (Likely) Yes. I’ll roll 1 d4 for each.
Jonik: 3 Fiddlestix: 2
The group will take the next 6 hours or so to rest. Sylralei and Fiddlestix will use Poor Baby to raise up Dalen and Jonik’s h.p. In addition, Jonik uses 1 healing potion. Both are brought back up to full health. Syl also performs a little healing on herself with the WIZ points she has left. (In hindsight, with the rate of WIZ recovery, over the six hours everyone could probably have been healed and the wizards up to full WIZ without the need for a healing potion, but I left everything as is.
In the 6 hours, there were no additional random encounters.>
(Read the next chapter here.)
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Leviticus 19:33-34
