A note to the reader–this post is quite long and detailed but unapologetically so. Skim it if you will. I enjoyed the solo game and here’s my account of it.
Day 12
Arden makes for the Caves of Chaos.
8 hours march and the party camps in the woods just east of the road.
Encounter? No.
Day 13
Travel into the mouth of the Caves of Chaos. 2 hours westward march and the party has finally arrived!
I roll randomly and the party heads to the northwest on the cave map. There is a cave entrance at the bottom of the hill. (Cave A).
As the party approaches the cave entrance, 8 kobolds jump out of the trees to attack!
I give them a +2 for surprise and roll initiative. A tie! I rule it simultaneous.
Corwin has a critical miss with his magic dagger and stumbles, giving the kobold a free attack. The kobold missed both times.
Thane hits with his crossbow and Martin with his morning star. Handsome stabs a kobold with his spear. Catamont kills one of the kobolds with a spear. Handsome kills one.
In all, 5 kobolds are slain and 3 flee to the cave. Martin, Thane, and Catamont take minor damage to their armor.
The kobolds are carrying 13 cp.
The party approaches the cave. Marching order is (in pairs) Arden and Thane, Meklin alone in the 2nd rank with his spear and club, next comes Corwin and Catamont (carrying lantern), and finally Handsome and Martin.
The cave has a concealed pit trap. Any crossing it will trigger it on a 1-3 on a d6. Arden and Thane walk over it without triggering it. I roll for Thane to notice, but the dwarf fails.
Meklin also walks over it with triggering it!
Note–this is the point in the adventure when I wished I’d brought the 10′ pole.
Corwin and Martin both roll 3’s and trigger the trap. I roll the damage as they fall into the pit…6 points for Corwin and 1 point for Martin!
Corwin has only 5 hit points…so this isn’t good. I’m feeling a little bummed about Corwin’s demise, but then I realize that he has one luck point (my houserule). Corwin uses it to change the die roll by one point. I change the trap roll to a 4 resulting in the trap not being triggered. Martin will do the same.
Because they used a luck point, I rule that the trap is found and they were able to step aside before triggering it.
While this is going on, 6 kobolds attack from the guard post throwing javelins for their first attack! They miss and the battle ensues.
The party cuts down three of them and two attempt to flee but are also killed. Arden takes 5 pts of damage. Thane, 2 pts, and Meklin 2 pts.
Searching the bodies, they find 22 copper pieces in total! (I’m on the silver standard.)
The party rests for a turn. Corwin sends his familiar, a black cat named Nicodemus, down the tunnel for a peek.
Thane moves into a side tunnel to scout as the cat moves to the south.
Question-Do the kobolds see the dwarf? Yes! 3 arrows but all miss!
Do the kobolds in the south tunnel see the familiar? I rolled 2d6. Result=8, No they don’t see the cat. He’s too stealthy.
Does Nicodemus see the kobolds? Not yet.
The party moves to the north intersection.
Will Corwin and Nicodemus watch the south? d12 yes, d8 no. Result=Yes.
Kobolds from the common room in the south will charge down the hall in 6 rounds. (random roll to determine this.)
Arden and Thane engage the 3 kobold sharpshooters in the north tunnel.
Both groups have cover from the corner of the tunnels (-2 modifier to hit). I want to describe this in detail to show how the MisoRPG dice helped me decide the party actions.
Round 1 Arden and Thane shoot at kobolds while taking partial cover. One kobold still hits Arden, 2 pts! PCs both miss.
Question-will PCs charge? D8 yes, d6 no. Result=no.
Round 2 Thane is hit for 2 damage! Thane has a critical miss! I roll on the crit table=weapon sundered! His crossbow has snapped a string!
Question-will PCs charge now? D8 yes, d4 no. I modified the d6 down to a d4 to reflect that they will be more likely to charge. Result=no.
Round 3 Kobolds miss, but one suffers a critical miss and snaps his bowstring! Arden shoots an arrow and misses.
Question–Charge now? D8 vs d4. Result=yes!
Round 4
Arden rushes the archers. I judge that if all he does is move, he can make it to them but not get an attack. Thane also charges.
Arden takes two more arrows for 4 points damage!
Martin is close behind them and heals Arden for 4 points.
Round 5
Arden hits one of the kobold bodyguards for 2 pts (armor is now gone).
Kobolds miss.
Round 6
Thane is hit by a club. Arden hits and kills a bodyguard!
Martin hits (armor gone). Martin is hit by a club.
Note–Kobolds in the south begin to move out of the common room. Corwin is alerted.
Round 7
Thane hits another bodyguard. The kobold chieftain comes out of his room to join the battle!
Round 8
Arden kills another bodyguard! One guard and chieftain remain.
Round 9
Chieftain attacks Arden but misses. Thane hit by a club. PCs miss.
Handsome and Meklin block the kobolds from the south. Meklin kills one.
Corwin casts his fear spell! The kobolds that were attacking from the south run away! Note-fear is a big spell, no saves and affects any number of enemies 1st to 3rd level. The kobolds will be gone for at least a turn.
Round 10
Chieftain misses. Arden drops his weapon! (Critical miss.)
Martin smashes the chieftain with his morning star, 2 damage.
The men-at-arms come forward to help. Thane misses the bodyguard.
Round 11
Chieftain hits Arden, 1 point. Arden rolls another critical miss! He drops his second weapon (dagger)! All others miss.
Round 12
Chieftain misses. Arden grabs Catamont’s spear but misses the chieftain. Martin hits the chieftain for 2 damage. Note-chieftain has 5 hit points left!
Thane finally kills the bodyguard. The chieftain will be set upon by many attackers. I’ve been giving the +1 bonus to hit for any attackers outnumbering their enemy.
Round 13
Chieftain misses. Arden rolls a critical hit! Mighty strike on the chief sundering his handaxe! I rule that since Arden has a spear, the sunder is just a dropped weapon.
Martin rolls a critical hit! Precise strike doing double damage…4 points! The chieftain is dead.
Question–Any kobold stragglers from the south? d10 yes, d6 no. Result=no!
Summary–Arden and Thane are badly hurt (4 and 3 hp respectively.)
Martin has 8 hp left. Corwin and the men-at-arms are all good.
The chieftain has a large gem around his neck (1,200 sp!) and a key to room 3. Guards have 20 sp total.
The PCs enter the chieftain’s lair and find females that don’t attack. The PCs let them flee, forgetting to check them for treasure.
Martin rolls a Wis check of 11 and finds some hidden silver in a blanket on the wall (50 sp). The chest in the room is not trapped. Thane opens it and finds 26 cp and 11 sp.
The party searches the food storage room #3 and finds worthless foodstuff and human remains!
A quick check of the kobold common room finds kobold females and young (all non combatants). Arden and his party are not into slaughter of the defenseless. They find no valuables.
The party decides to cut and run. They head back east to the road (3 hour march).
They are on the road heading south by midday. 5 hours travel and they are near the hill on the western edge of the map.
Set camp for the night, rations roll.
Encounter? Result=No, thankfully!
Day 14
Martin casts cure (2 points back to Arden). A 10 hour forced march brings the party back to the Keep by nightfall. Whew!
A large feast and drinks for all the adventurers tonight!
Note–with treasure and monsters there will be 198 xp for each of the four PCs.
I wasn’t certain how the kobold encounter would end. The party is fortunate to have a spell caster. The fear spell is powerful in a similar way to the sleep spell, maybe more so. But it is tempered by the fact that the targets can run away to fight another day.
More soon…
Damn Elf Press 