To The Lodge

A Ser Killian Adventure

No spoilers today

A New Threat

After their success at Axeholm, Ser Killian and his party get some much needed rest. A few days later. a messenger rushes into town. He comes from Falcon's Lodge, a hunting resort for the well-to-do.

Falcon, the owner of the lodge, sends a missive for help. Orcs have been marauding in the area recently. One band even attacked a hunting party. Falcon wants someone to clear the orcs out.

Naturally, Ser Killian agrees to take on the quest.

Which Route?

The party has two options to travel to the Lodge

• The longer but potentially safer route (orange) is along the road to Neverwinter then by boat to the lodge.
• The direct route (red) has them traipsing through the forest/

Concerned that time is of the essence, Killian decides to head through the forest.

The Journey

The first stage of the journey passes uneventfully.

Once in the forest, however, our heroes get ambushed by a band of orcs (black).

Yes, I'm using Meeples. It helps having some marker to track the combat. But no, I'm not going to invest in miniatures. If I can find some tokens I like, I'll use those. But I'm not painting anything!

It's a bit of a drawn-out fight. Our heroes have no trouble hitting the enemy, but the orcs' armor prevents any telling blows.

Wow. My damage rolls were pitiful.

Eventually, however, the orcs fall. Killian suffered a slight wound, which Martin the cleric heals.

Later, they get attacked by a sentient tree.

Again, their blows have trouble penetrating. Killian calls for them to retreat.

The tree lashes out and knocks Martin to the ground. Its limbs reach out to grab him. Killian and the other turn back to help Martin. Haiden pulls Martin away while Nashad acts as rear guard.

The tree turns on Nashad but he manages to hack into it with his two-handed blade. The tree recoils, allowing the party to escape. 

As they bound through the wood, they hear thump, thump, thump. The tree is running after them! However, it is slow and our heroes outrun the pursuit.

The Lodge

After a few days hard marching through the woods, the party arrives safely at Falcon's Lodge.

What happens next? Stay tuned for more!

Back to Axeholm

A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

The Expedition Convenes

After the party's defeat at Axeholm, Ser Killian calls for reinforcements. Killian hired a pair of fighters at Leilon. He also wrote to the church in Neverwinter, asking for help. The church sends a cleric and 3 templars, holy warriors who guard the temple and its priests.

Traveling to Axeholm

The expedition's trip in uneventful. At the threshold, Brother Reginald, the cleric from Neverwinter, blesses the party's weapons. Their steel can now cut into the ethereal essence of the banshee.

Exploring the Lower Level

The expedition arrives in Axeholm without incident. They find that the front portal remained open, so they can enter with ease.

Fortunately, the lower level is clear. Apparently, Killian's party did a good job in their earlier foray. The expedition enters the shrine, which Killian did not explore previously. It seems that holy power prevented the shrine from corruption. Indeed, when they approached the altar, they felt a blessing descend on them.

Game note: I rolled a boon as a random encounter. Since they were in a shrine, I assumed they received a blessing. The blessing should have given the party a bonus in combat, except I forgot to apply it.

The Upper Level

Like the lower level, the party finds that the upper is clear. That is until they reach the gallery.

Suddenly, the banshee materializes and emits a mourning wail.

 Upon hearing her, Haiden, Alyn, and two of the templars drop as if dead.

Brother Reginald and Brother Martin raise their holy symbols to turn the hideous abomination. Reginald's power is strong enough to cause the banshee to flee shrieking.

"We must destroy her!" Killian reminds the party. With that, they pursue.

The Banshee's Lair

Our heroes chase the banshee back to the bastion. There, at the spot where her mortal body died, she makes her stand.

She lashes out at the remaining templar, Tomaz. She hits, and nearly kills him.

Thus begins the battle. The fighters are largely ineffectual, although Nashad manages to dodge an attack.

Killian and the clerics have more success. Although they take some wounds, they slowly drain the banshee of her unholy power.

Finally, Brother Martin winds up with his two-handed hammer and smacks the creature. She turns on him and begins clawing at him. He steps back, swings, and connects. His blessed hammer strikes, parting the banshee's substance as if she were mere wisps of vapor. With a screech of pain, the banshee dissipates to nothingness.

Aftermath

Brother Reginald performs a rite of exorcism at the site of the banshee's death. This ensures that she can never return. With that, Axeholm is clear.

The clerics render aid to the party members stricken by the banshee's wail. Haiden and a templar manage to return to consciousness, but Alyn and the other templar are too far gone. The party buries their bodies just outside Axeholm. Here, they will be memorialized as brave warriors who gave their lives to clean the stronghold from evil.

With that, Brother Reginald and his templars depart for Neverwinter. Killian's party returns to Phandalin to prepare for their next adventure!

What does the future hold for Killian and his crew? Find out next time!

Taking on the Tower

A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

Approaching the Tower

After a journey of about a day from Leilon, our party of heroes approaches the Tower of Storms. The tower sits upon a craggy island connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway that barely rises above sea level.

Traversing the causeway (1), they get attacked by 6 sahuagin. Our heroes dispatch the enemy in short order.

Note: I added some encounters and changed others to improve the adventure for solo play.

Next (2), a giant crab erupts from the sea and attacks Haiden. Haiden's spear finds a soft spot in the crab's carapace, wounding it. But the crab's claws snap onto Haiden's arm, drawing blood. The others come to assist, but their attacks glance harmlessly off the crab's armored shell. Finally, Killian lands a mighty blow that cleaves the shell and kills the crab.

They reach the island and begin to ascend the craggy slopes (3). They find a small cave. When Nashad peers in, a ghostly presence reaches out and possesses him.

"Before you take hasty actions, hear my tale!" the possessed fighter pleads. He explains how the unholy priest of the tower killed him and trapped his soul on earth. The spirit could not be freed until the priest was truly dead.

Agreeing to undertake the spirit's quest, the party continues toward the tower. As they approach its gate (4), a swarm of harpies attack. Their song charms Alyn and Nashad so Killian and Haiden must fight alone. Nevertheless, our heroes drive off the beasts.

The Tower

They enter the tower (5). A trap drops a stone on Alyn, who suffers an injury. They pass through a room (6) without incident and enter the back room (7). There, they meet the priest.

The priest unleashes a bolt of lightning, which strikes Killian in the chest and knocks him to the floor. Alyn rushes forward, and strikes a telling blow on the priest. Growling with anger, the priest lashes out at Alyn, drawing blood. Nashad enters the fray and scores another hit.

The priest attacks Nashad but Killian recovers and counters. The paladin's blade bites deep. The priest turns on him and drives him back with a series of attacks. He is about to strike when a sword suddenly pierces him from behind. The priest stares at the blade sticking through his heart.

The priest coughs and gasps, "you win today, but this is not over. My master will revive me...." With this he collapses.

The priest is dead but the tower's evil still pervades the place.

"We must destroy the root of this evil," Killian proclaims.

They continue up the tower, defeating a few cultists on one floor (8) before coming to the top. There, they see a heart lying upon a pedestal. The heart is beating and an eldritch light emanates from it.

"This is the source of the evil! We must destroy it!" commands Killian.

Nashad rushes forward. He swings his two-handed battle axe at the heart but a ray of light zaps him. Killian dodges another ray and stabs the heart. Nashad attacks again, this time slashing the heart. Finally, Haiden attacks. His strike splits the heart in twain. Then, the heart erupts with a burst of magical energy, knocking our heroes flat.

Aftermath

The spirit thanks the heroes for freeing him. He then releases Nashad from possession.

Victorious, our heroes return to Phandalin without further incident. They can now prepare their assault on Axeholm.

The Tower of Storms

A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

Sorry about the long-winded account, but I want to set up their next adventure.

The Plan

After their defeat at Axeholm, Ser Killian begins planning to return and finish the banshee.

First, he sends a missive to the temple in Neverwinter, asking for reinforcements.

Then, he decides to travel to Leilon to seek a warrior to replace Gruff. Martin is still recovering so Killian and Haiden set out by themselves.

The Journey

The trip to Leilon takes a couple of days, but it is not without some excitement.

On the road, the come across a marauding ogre. It is a long, drawn-out battle, but Killian and Haiden finally cut down the monster.

As the first evening drew near, they come across a battered girl on the road. They nurse her back to health then escort her to Leilon.

The Tale of the Tower

The girl relates her story to the heroes. She was on a ship bound for Neverwinter. When an eldritch storm struck, they headed for a light, which they assumed was a safe haven. 

Unfortunately, it led them to their doom. The ship ran into rocks, which tore it apart. Most of the crew and passengers were lost, either to the waves or to the sharks that patrolled the rocks. She managed to make it to shore and stumble to the road where our heroes found her.

Leilon

Our heroes make it safely to the town of Leilon. They find a refuge for the girl at the local temple. Then they begin searching for help in their quest.

While making the rounds of the local taverns, they learn more about the Tower of Storms. Locals believed it was haunted, and the spirits of the tower feed off the souls of those lost at sea. The spirits are able to stir up storms and then shine a light to draw in unfortunate ships.

Hearing this tale of woe, Ser Killian proclaims a sacred vow to end the tower's malign influence. Perhaps not the best strategy, for local adventurers seem reluctant to join the quest. But finally they find two fighters so down on their luck that they will take any job. With that, Alyn and Nashad join the party.

To the Tower

On the way to the tower, our heroes run across a small group of marauding orcs. It's a brief fight, but the new heroes get a chance to show their stuff. They are ready for the tower!

What happens at the tower? Find out next time!

Axeholm's Upper Level

 A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

A Burial

After defeating the ghoul, the way is open to the upper level.

"Let's go," a grim but determined Killian commands.

"Wait!" Martin interjects. "If we leave Gruff's body, he will turn into a ghoul. We need to cremate him, quickly!"

The party finds a fireplace, and then sends their comrade off to the heavens.

The Upper Level

With that sad duty performed, the remaining party members head up the stairs.

The Chambers

They find themselves in a wing with a series of bedchambers. In one, the floor gives way, dropping Killian and Haiden to the floor below. Both are bruised, but Martin uses a rope to pull them back up.

The Gallery

The gallery looks down upon the great hall in the lower level. Fortunately, they have no encounters.

The Bastion

This area features arms and defensive works to protect the stronghold. Unfortunately, it was unable to protect the dwarves from a spy, an elven maiden working for the enemy. They killed her, but now she roams the halls as a banshee. And our heroes find her.

The banshee immediately shrieks, and Martin falls unconscious!

Killian and Haiden rush to the attack. This begins a long drawn out combat. They are unable to hit the banshee, but her attacks do not penetrate their armor.

Then Haiden has an idea! He rushes to Martin's body and dumps the contents of his pack. Phials of holy water spill out. Haiden flings it at the banshee. His aim is off, however, and it simply splashes at the banshee's feet.

The banshee attacks Haiden. She hits and he slumps to the ground. He is severely wounded.

Killian reacts. "Grab Martin and get out of here! I'll hold off the banshee!"

Haiden crawls over to Martin and begins pulling him towards the exit.

Meanwhile, Killian grabs a holy water phial. The banshee rushes him. At the last second, he splashes holy water in her face. She screams in pain and rage, then disappears.

"Is it dead?" Haiden gasps.

They hear ghostly wails and screams.

"I don't think so," Killian replies. "But she is hurt. We better get out of here before she comes back."

The Escape

Killian picks up Martin then helps Haiden hobble through the halls of Axeholm. Fortunately, they do not meet any resistance, and they escape from the haunted stronghold.

That night they make camp. Killian heals Martin, but the cleric is barely conscious. He will need rest to fully heal.

Ultimately, they make it back to Phandalin.

One day, Winston, Killian's confessor and former comrade in arms, sees Killian praying in the temple they've been building.

Winston approaches. "Do not blame yourself, my son."

Killian looks at him and wanly smiles. "I don't know if that's possible, Brother. But that's not what's on my mind. I am thinking of Axeholm. But not about what happened. I'm thinking about what will happen. You see, I have a clever plan..."

Stay tuned for more adventures of Ser Killian!

THOUGHTS

You might think that I would see this disaster as a negative, but I see it as a great success! Maybe not for Killian, but it was for MicroQuest.

I think my changes generally worked well.

• Mapping the dungeon, even in a simple manner, was more effective than just rolling for encounters.
• My character changes seem to work. I'll detail these in a later post.

Furthermore, despite my characters' failures, the session was suspenseful and exciting! That's hard to do in a solo RPG. When it happens, it's a great feeling.

I just can't wait to see how Killian responds to Axeholm!

Investigating Axeholm Redux

A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

The Quest

After the adventure against the wererats, our heroes return triumphant to Phandalin.

There, Harbin Wester, the townmaster, has news. Adabra Gwynn of Umbrage Hill recently spotted the dragon. Wester is concerned that it may soon attack Phandalin. He wants to relocate to a more secure location. To that end, he asks the party to scout the dwarven ruins of Axeholm.

The Journey

Axeholm is about a day south of Phandalin. Their journey is easy. On the way, they meet a cleric named Martin. He joins the party.

WAIT A MINUTE! 

Haven't we heard this before?!

Why yes. Back in February I began the Axeholm adventure. But now that I making changes to MicroQuest, I decided to experiment using my Icespire Peak characters. I figured I should start the adventure from scratch.

Changes

I'll elaborate some of the changes to the characters in an upcoming post. For now, let me mention a change in how I run the dungeon.

In February, I experimented with a map-less dungeon. Essentially, it took a certain number of encounters for the party to reach a major milestone, such as reaching a boss. Honestly, it felt a little flat.

This time, I decided to use a simplified version of the dungeon map. As you can see in the picture, I divided the lower level into 5 distinct wings. I decreed that each wing will have up to 2 encounters.

You can also see my character sheet in the picture. I managed to streamline it so I could fit the entire party on one index card!

The Lower Level

Here is the true story of Ser Killian's adventure in Axeholm.

Axeholm's lower level

Entrance

The great gates at the main entrance are locked but somehow Gruff manages to unlock the doors. Hmmm. May need to watch out for him.

The party runs into 4 ghouls.

The party (colors) vs, ghouls (black)

Haiden and Gruff manage to kill 2 each.

The Hall

In the great hall, 2 stirges attack the party. One latches onto Gruff but Martin manages to kill it while Haiden knocks down the second.

The Throne Room

An arrow trap drives them back before they can reach the stairs to the upper level. Gruff is now badly wounded but Martin partially heals him.

The Barracks

The party finds the stairs up, but a ghoul guards the path. Our heroes get the drop on it and attack. Haiden manages to slice off one arm while Killian opens up its abdomen. Stinking black blood and guts spill out.

Two critical hits in one turn. The thing is almost dead!

But the ghoul still has some fight in it. It lunges forward and grabs Gruff by the neck. It pulls him towards it, then it rips out Gruff's throat with its teeth!

Oh no, another critical!

The ghoul lord drops Gruff's carcass and turns on Killian. Martin rushes to Gruff's side and tries to heal him, But Gruff's lifeblood continues to spill from his body.

Killian finishes off the ghoul, then tries to help Gruff. He lays on hands, but he fails.

Gruff is dead.

Both Martin and Killian rolled 1's when trying to heal Gruff. I took that as a sign that it was not meant to be.

What next for our heroes? Find out tomorrow!

Investigating Axeholm

A Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

The Quest

After the adventure against the wererats, our heroes return triumphant to Phandalin.

There, Harbin Wester, the townmaster, has news. Adabra Gwynn of Umbrage Hill recently spotted the dragon. Wester is concerned that it may soon attack Phandalin. He wants to relocate to a more secure location. To that end, he asks the party to scout the dwarven ruins of Axeholm.

The Journey

Axeholm is about a day south of Phandalin. Their journey is easy. On the way, they meet a cleric named Martin. He joins the party.

I rolled a boon for the random event during the journey. The party needs a cleric so I decided to add one.

The Lower Level

The party arrives at the impressive fortress carved into the rock of a mountain. Once a dwarven stronghold, the inhabitants abandoned they executed a dark elf spy. With her dying breath, the spy cursed the fortress. People say that her spirit still haunts the now empty halls.

As they enter the fortress, four zombie dwarves attack them. 

Gruff kills one but another wounds him in return. Killian comes to Gruff's aid and helps dispatch the zombie. He, Gruff, and Haiden then slay the rest.

Later, 2 stirges attack, but our heroes take them out easily.

Then they encounter 2 ghouls.

One wounds Killian. He resists paralysis and then slaughters the monstrosity. Martin then turns the other.

Finally, they find the ghoul lord. Martin turns it before it even gets a single attack.

Technically, Martin is too low a level to turn a ghoul, but I gave him a 1/6 chance. He succeeded!

After defeating the ghoul lord, the party finds the stairs up to the top level.

What happens next? Find out next time!

I played this adventure a few weeks ago but finally got around to posting it. I still haven't finished the adventure. :(

Rats, Foiled Again!

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

Return to the Mine

As Killian promised, the party cleared the orcs from the abandoned shrine. After their victory, they return to Mountain's Toe Gold Mine without incident.

They stop at the miners' camp. Gavril offers to accompany them to meet the toughs, but Killian says that they should not need him.

Abandoned!

The go to the toughs' guard room and announce that they completed the mission. One of the guards offers to escort them to their boss.

They follow the guard. Suddenly, he turns into a giant rat and scampers into the darkness!

"A wererat!" cries out Gruff.

"We've been betrayed!" exclaims Haiden.

"Nevertheless," declares Killian, "we shall venture forth and exact justice!"

Killian Smells a Rat

As our heroes delve a little further into the mine, two rat-headed humanoids confront them.

Killian demands that they surrender and leave the mine. The two wererats sneer and attack.

Gruff holds off one while Killian and Haiden gang up on the second. It does not last long. Seeing the fate of his comrade, the first one runs.

Another Creepy Crawly

The party ventures on. They come to a room that is covered in webs.

"Careful," whispers Gruff, "somethin' may be a lurkin'"

Sure enough, a giant spider flings a web at Haiden. 

He barely dodges.

Gruff looses an arrow. It catches the spider in a critical spot, killing it instantly.

Among the spider webs they find a healing potion. They use it to heal one of Haiden's wounds from the prior adventure.

The Rat Boss

Our heroes make it to the wererat boss's lair. The boss is there with another henchman.

Henchman are stronger than standard minions.

Killian demands that the boss and his followers leave the mine.

"We ain't leaving," it says. "And neither will you!" it snarls as it draws a sword.

A melee breaks out. Killian and Gruff wound the boss. Haiden parries an attack from the henchman. His riposte guts the enemy.

The boss turns on Haiden. With a series of blows, scratches, and bites, it severely wounds Haiden and forces him backward.

Haiden's comrades rush to his aid. They strike simultaneously, both their blades bite deep into the boss's flesh. It collapses to the ground.

Haiden's Fate

Killian checks on Haiden, who is slumped on the ground. He uses his healing power to stabilize his squire.

"He needs additional medical attention. Let's take him to the miners' camp."

Gruff nods, and picks up the young warrior. They return to the camp without incident. There, they perform first aid. They let Haiden rest and recover while they check out the rest of the mine. The wererats are dead or gone. They inform Raskin, who rewards them for their efforts.

Killian is pleased. More funds for the church at Phandalin.

Mine and Shrine

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.

Brother Winston Retires

Once they return to Phandalin, Brother Winston announces that he is retiring from the adventuring game. He will remain in Phandalin and work on rebuilding the church.

Game Note: After 3 "deaths" I think it is time for Brother Winston to hang it up.

PART 1 - THE MINE

After resting in Phandalin, a man rushes into the village. He identifies himself as Don-John Raskin, overseer of the Mountain's Toe Gold Mine. He reports that a gang of toughs seized the mine. He needs someone to reclaim it. Enraged by this act of aggression, Ser Killian readily agrees.

On the Road

The mine lies about 15 miles northeast of Phandalin. They have no encounters on the way.

An Unexpected Ally

Our heroes begin exploring the mine. They discover that a small band of Raskin's miners have holed up in one section of the mine. One of the miners, a brawny lad named Gavril, agrees to accompany the party.

Once again, I converted the published adventure into random encounters. I rolled a boon so interpreted it as meeting the miners.

Cave In

The party continues into the mine. At one point, there is a cave-in. The party escapes but their way is cut off. They need to backtrack.

I keep track of progress using "Progress Points." After gaining 3 PP, the party will discover the objective. However, this turn of events causes them to lose a PP.

Creepy Crawly

They run into a carrion crawler. 

Gruff looses an arrow that buries deep into the monster. Then Haiden attacks, slicing it into bits.

Gruff did 2 wounds in the first round then Haiden did 3 a few rounds later.

Negotiations

Finally, the party runs into some of the toughs. Killian demands that they pack up and leave. They tell him that he has to talk to their boss. One of the toughs runs deeper into the mine and brings back the boss.

The boss explains that orcs have run them out of their home, an abandoned shrine. He is willing to leave the mine if the party clears out the orcs. Killian agrees.

The adventure has an option to negotiate a solution. I rolled to see if the toughs would offer it. When they did, I had Killian agree.

PART 2 - THE SHRINE

Our heroes, including Gavril, head to the shrine about a day away.

Landslide

As they cross the hills, there is a landslide. Fortunately, they escape unscathed.

Orcs

As they approach the shrine, a band of 6 orcs waylay them. 

During the melee, Killian suffers two wounds. Afterwards, he calls upon his deity to heal him. He recovers some of his strength.

I realize that I forgot to account for his medium armor. Oh well.

Trapped

Our heroes enter the shrine grounds and spring a pit trap. Haiden falls in. He is shaken but otherwise unharmed.

More Orcs

The party meets 2 orc champions. 

These are higher level orcs. These count as "henchmen" from my random encounter chart

Gavril manages to hit one of the orcs, severely wounding it. It strikes him back, but Gavril is only shaken. Killian and Haiden kill the other one, then Gruff finishes off the wounded orc.

Next they meet 2 more orcs. They dispatch these quickly.

The Ogre

Our heroes find the leader of the orc band, an ogre. 

They strike it, but it merely shrugs off their attacks.

Armor negated any effect.

The ogre wades into the fray, swinging a large club. It strikes Gruff, and knocks him to the ground (a critical hit!)

Gavril strikes with his pickaxe, burying it deep into the ogre's arm. The ogre strikes back, but Gavril is only shaken.

Taking a cue from my dogfight rules, damage rolls might only shake up the target. I also instituted a "hero" roll, which allows the heroes to reduce the damage by one level. Gavril was extremely lucky. The enemy hit him many times, but he kept getting shaken results.

Killian steps in front to protect Gavril. He stabs and thrusts his blade deep in the ogre's chest. The ogre collapses!

The shrine is cleared. They can return to the mine victorious.

What happens next? Stay tuned!

Terror at the Logger's Camp

Part Two of a Ser Killian Adventure

Spoiler Alert - This adventure is based on one of the quests from D&D's Dragon of Icespire Peak. You should not read this post if you wish to play the adventure.

Last Time

Our heroes managed to make it safely to the logger's camp to deliver supplies.

However, the camp is deathly silent. They begin to explore

Out of the Earth

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake. Two small ankhegs pop out.

My encounter tables have different levels of monsters - from minions, to henchmen, and then the boss. So I decided to have different levels of ankhegs - youth, adults, and, well, you'll see.

They surprise Gruff and Winston, but both manage to dodge attacks.

Gruff then shoots one with an arrow. It strikes back and wounds him. Haiden comes to Gruff's aid. Together, they kill one. The other flees.

More Tremors

They approach one of the cabins. It is situated on a rocky hill. It's solid foundation has allowed it to remain standing while the other buildings have collapsed.

But before they get to the cabin, the earth shakes again. This time, three small ankhegs attack!

Gruff drives one off, but another crunches into Haiden's arm. Its acidic saliva burns into his flesh. The rest of the party comes to his rescue. They hack the ankheg to bits. The last one flees.

The Cabin

There is no one in the cabin. But they find a hole in the floor. Inside is a bloody totem.

"Witchcraft!" yells Killian. He tosses the totem in a fireplace and sets it alight.

As it burns, they hear shrieks from outside. Looking out, they see a swarm of ankhegs fleeing from the camp.

Winston opines, "It looks like that totem attracted the ankhegs. Its destruction has panicked them."

Mama Mia

They exit the cabin and discover that not all ankhegs panicked. One monstrous sized ankheg sits in the middle of the camp. As soon as it sees them, it rushes forward.

It spits acid, which sprays Killian and Winston. The liquid burns through their clothing and bubbles their flesh.

The party attacks, but their blades bounce of the creature's hardened chitin. However, one of Gruff's arrows managed to find a chink in the armor and wound the monster.

It lashes out, and strikes Winston. He falls, then rolls down a hill to safety.

Winston should have been killed, but I used a luck point to save him.

The beast turns on Gruff and claws him. He backs away. Killian covers him, then launches an attack. He strikes hard, biting into the ankheg's chitin. Black ichor seeps from its wound. The creature then dives into the ground. They can see its wake as it plows through the earth, rushing into the forest away from the deadly warriors.

Epilogue

Once the ankhegs flee, a figure emerges from the woods. It is Tibor Wester, Harbin's brother. He explains that the loggers fled. He hid in the woods, hoping for relief. He accepts the supplies and sets out to re-staff the camp.

Our heroes return home without incident and receive their reward from Harbin.

THE END.

Game Notes

Converting the scenario into a random quest was far more satisfying than trying to run it like I would for a group of players. I think I'll do the same for the remaining adventures.

Another aspect that made it interesting was having different levels of adversaries. In the module, there are a handful of ankhegs, all of the same level. Having some variety of challenge creates more tension and interest.

Adventure of the Logger's Camp

Part One

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler Alert - This adventure is based on one of the quests from D&D's Dragon of Icespire Peak. You should not read this post if you wish to play the adventure.

Additional Note - I decided to take a new tack with these adventures. Rather than trying to run through them as written, I'll convert them to random adventures using my latest MicroQuest adventure generator.

The Quest

Once more Harbin Wester, townmaster of Phandalin, has a quest for our heroes. He asks them to deliver supplies to a logging camp deep in Neverwinter Wood.

Ser Killian agrees but Gruff interrupts.

"Beg yer pardon, m'lord, but somethin' just ain't right," he asks as he pores over a map of the region.

"I've done some scoutin' and this seems foolhardy. He's askin' us to traipse through 50 miles of forest with a wagon in tow to deliver supplies. Why don't they jest ship supplies down the river from Neverwinter?"

Harbin looks perplexed. Gruff proposes an alternate plan. Skirt the forest and head toward the river. Find a merchant along the river and buy supplies. Ultimately, this is the plan they adopt.

Game Note - yeah, I thought it is a pretty stupid quest. I can't imagine plowing through the forest with an oxen-pulled cart of supplies.

On the Road

The party skirts the forest, staying far enough away to avoid ambush but close enough to hide among the trees if needed.

About halfway, Gruff's plan is put to the test. They hear a monstrous roar from above. A white dragon is flying overhead!

Akin to Warrior Heroes Adventures in Talomir, I added a travel phase, where wandering monsters might attack. I rolled a Monster on my table, which represents a pretty significant challenge. I figured that the dragon would be appropriate. I confirmed with a random roll, a la the Mythic Game Master Emulator.

"Quick!" Gruff commands. "I don't think it sawr us. Let's hide in the forest!"

They run to the trees. Gruff makes it, then turns back to check on the others. Incredibly, Ser Killian is standing in the open, upon a hillock, shouting curses at the dragon!

Since the party won initiative, I gave them a chance to hide. They needed to pass a stealth test. Killian failed miserably, so I assumed that Killian's urge for glory overwhelmed his good sense.

The dragon swoops down on Killian, maw open and teeth gleaming! At the last moment, Killian dodges, then drives his sword into the dragon's neck. Blood spatters the ground and the beast howls in fury. As it flies by, it knocks Killian to his feet.

Killian hit and wounded the dragon. The dragon hit, but it only shook Killian up a bit.

The dragon climbs back into the sky and circles Killian. The knight is back on his feet, brandishing his bloody sword. The dragon hesitates. It was hoping for easier prey. It turns and flies away.

I figured that the dragon wanted easy prey so I had it roll morale. It failed, so it flies away!

The River

The party makes it to the river and as luck would have it, they come across a merchant's boat plying the waters. They convince the captain to deliver them and supplies to the logging camp. The rest of their trip is uneventful.

I rolled a boon as a random encounter. I interpreted this as them finding a merchant.

Arriving at the Logging Camp

After a relaxing river voyage, they arrive at the camp. They expect to see a beehive of activity, but the camp is deathly quiet.

The merchant drops them off at the dock. They walk into the camp. Not a soul is moving. The buildings are in various states of collapse, as if struck by an earthquake.

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake!

What is going on? Find out next time!

I decided to turn this into a 2-parter!

The Adventure of Butterskull Ranch

From the Tales of Ser Killian

"Spoiler Alert"

Once again I used the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. However, I turned this quest into a fast play RPG session so it bears only a passing resemblance to the original.

The Quest

After their success at Gromengarde, our party returns to Phandalin. Ser Killian manages to find a cleric to heal Winston. Then they take on the next challenge - find out what has happened at Butterskull Ranch.

What They Find at the Ranch

The ranch has been overrun by a band of orcs.

The party enters the ranch house and begins clearing out the marauders.

• In the first room, they run into 4 orcs. Ser Killian charges and wipes out half of them. His comrades take out the rest.
• Next, they encounter a lone orc. It calls for help but Gruff slays it. Then 3 more orcs arrive. The party wipes them out.
• They run into another 4 orcs but these also fall to the heroes' blades.

The Cellar

The party finds no more orcs in the upper levels of the house. Then they enter the cellar. Here they find a large, muscular orc torturing a bound human.

The heroes attack, but the orc warlord grabs a giant cleaver and begins swinging it wildly. The party has its hands full dodging the orcs attacks. Yet they manage to get in some attacks of their own. Soon the orc bleeds profusely.

But the orc is not done. It bellows in defiance and goes berserk. First, it slashes Brother Winston, who collapses in a pool of blood. Then Haiden and Gruff in turn taste the bite of the cleaver. Both are severely wounded.

Killian then makes an attack that stuns the orc. Haiden follows up and thrusts his spear deep into the orc's vitals. The orc crashes to the ground.

Aftermath

Killian manages to revive Winston. They also untie and tend to the orc's victim. He is the owner of the ranch. The orcs took him captive and had been tormenting him. He thanks the party for his rescue.

The party stays at the ranch, helping the owner, until Winston is well enough to travel. Then they return to Phandalin.

GAME NOTES

Once again, the adventure is a bit lackluster. I just turned it into a series of encounters against orcs until the party killed a certain number. Then they met an orc warlord, which was an addition of my own.

For this adventure, I experimented with streamlined rules. I'll post about them at a later date.

Gromengarde

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler alert - This is my (brief) account of the published D&D adventure, Dragon of Icespire Peak. Turn back if you wish to play this adventure for yourself.

Following their expedition to the dwarven ruins, Ser Killian and his compatriots take on a new quest. This time they seek allies among the reclusive enchanters of Gromendarge, a small settlement a couple of days from Phandalin.

Note: Once again I am changing things. This gnome village is now a human settlement.

Ambush!

As they ride along, the ground begins to shake. A huge, horrid insect-like creature erupts from the ground.

It grabs Squire Haiden's horse and pulls it below ground. The party escapes without further mishap.

And Another Ambush!

They make it to the settlement of Gromengarde, which is inside a series of caves. They meet some workers in one of the caves. The workers tell them that they can find the settlement's leaders in the workshop.

On the way to the workshop, a crossbow-wielding guard ambushes them. They escape and return to the workers.

Parlay

Angry that the workers directed the party into a trap, Killian returns and confronts them. They apologize and explain that one of the guards is a bit crazy. Skeptical, but not willing to draw blood, Killian takes one worker as a guide and locks up the others.

Again, the crazy guard shoots at them. Killian asks if there is a different path.

The Guard Room

Guided by their hostage, the party leaves the caves and returns via a different entrance. They encounter some more guards. These accuse the party of being shapeshifters. Killian scoffs at the notion. If they were shapeshifters they would have just disguised themselves as workers and caught the guards unawares.

The guards agree to take Killian to their leader. To defend against treachery, Killian leaves the rest of the party behind with the hostage.

The Director of Gromengarde

The guard leads Killian to one of the elders of the settlement. After some discussion, Killian and he come to an accord. The elder explains that recently there had been some unsolved murders in the settlement. Their leader, the Director of Gromengarde, accused everyone of being shapeshifters. He then locked himself and his wife in their room.

Killian goes to the Director's room and questions him. He just learns that a shapeshifter is loose and the Director will not come out until it is gone.

Search for the Shapeshifter

The party rounds up all the settlers, checks them, checks the workshop, and then locks them in that room. Next, they search the rest of the compound, poking everything in sight.

Finally, in one of the storerooms, Brother Winston pokes a chest. This supposedly inanimate object suddenly moves!

The mimic lashes a pseudopod at Winston, knocking him unconscious. The rest of the party then manages to kill the creature.

Aftermath

Winston is severely wounded. The settlers agree to take care of him while he recovers. In addition, the Director pledges to aid Phandalin. He offers one of their inventions, a heavy repeating crossbow.

Thoughts

For solo play, this was a REALLY BORING adventure. It features a lot of diplomacy, which is just really dull for solo play, and only one monster (aside from the wandering ankheg). I am losing interest. Perhaps this is why it's been 5 months since I last played. It may be another 5 months before Killian returns. :(

The Dwarven Excavation

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler alert - This is my account of the published D&D adventure, Dragon of Icespire Peak. Turn back if you wish to play this adventure for yourself.

 

When last we met Ser Killian and his party, Squire Haiden, Brother Winston, and Gruff, they had just defeated a manticore. After their victory, they returned to Phandalin to recuperate from their battle.

After a few days, Killian announces to the party, "'Tis time for another quest. To the Townmaster!"

Once again, the surly townmaster merely directs them to the Job Board. Killian decides to take on a mission to warn two prospectors excavating an ancient dwarven ruin in the nearby hills.

About Dwarves

The excavation lay about a day's hike from Phandalin. Fortunately, they did not encounter any dangers.

As they journeyed, Brother Winston regaled them with tales of the dwarves. While rare in the current day, they were more plentiful in the past and constructed some magnificent structures. Some say that there were Fey while others say they were a race of humans cursed by Daeus. Regardless, they are very secretive and distrust humans.

As mentioned previously, I'm changing the campaign background from standard D&D. The demi-humans are going to be rare, and not necessarily friendly to humans.

The Heroes Meet the Prospectors

Near the end of the day, they approach the site of the excavation. Traversing a canyon (E1), the come to a stone wall with an open gate. Killian halloes, but there is no response.

They progress through a ruined settlement (E2), once covered in an avalanche, but now excavated.

They enter a courtyard and approach the entrance of a temple. Grotesque statues adorn the facade.

"Clearly nothing good about his place." declares Brother Winston.

"Indeed," Killian agrees, "but we must complete our mission."

They spy a pair of dusty prospectors, eating a meal beside a fire and warily eying the entrance to the Temple.

"Hello, friends," calls Killian. "We bring you tidings, and a warning."

One of the prospectors, named Dazlyn, invites the party to join them. His partner, Norbus, seems unsure.

The Prospectors Have a Quest

Killian passes along the warning about the dragon. The pair are thankful, but feel safe enough.

"We have are plenty of places for us to hide from dragons," Dazlyn explains, as he points to the stone ruins. "Our bigger concern is what is in the temple."

"Is it evil?" Killian asks with a bit too much enthusiasm. He explains that he is on a quest to destroy evil.

"Not evil per se, but dangerous to human life." Dazlyn responds. He proceeds to tell the party about the gelatinous blobs that inhabit the temple.

"Never fear!" Killian proclaims, "We will put an end to this threat to life." He picks up his sword and shield, and heads for the temple door.

"Master, wait!" Squire Haiden pleads. Killian halts, and turns to face his squire.

"M'lord, we should wait until the morn. The sun is setting, and evil will be most powerful in the dark."

"Fie on that, squire. I don't fear to face evil at its most... evil."

"But we can spend the night praying to Daeus for success."

"An excellent idea," agrees Winston.

"Besides," say Haiden, "in the morn it shall be easier to see the enemy and prevent them from escaping."

And so Killian agrees to wait until morning.

Jellies in the Temple

After a repast the next morning, the party ventures through an entrance corridor (E4) into the temple (E5). Hanging from the ceiling above the altar, they spy a blob.

They enter the room, prepared for battle. Gruff looses an arrow, which strikes deep into the blob. The thing drops from the ceiling and oozes toward the party. Our heroes attack.

Killian's slash strikes deep, splitting the creature in two. Immediately, the two halves merge back together!

"Ack, this sword is useless!"

"Try stabbing!" Haiden suggests, as his spear pierces deep into the blob.

The blob's pseudopods lash out, knocking Killian back. Winston and Haiden rush forward, striking the creature. It stops moving.

"Whew, not so bad." say Killian.

Suddenly, Gruff screams. They turn. He is practically enveloped by another blob.

Haiden grabs him and pulls him free. Winston clubs the creature until it moves no more.

Gruff is badly wounded, his flesh burned as if he were doused in acid.

Winston gets down on his knees next to Gruff and begins to pray over him. Within moments, the burns recede and Gruff recovers.

Exploring the Temple

Our heroes explore the rest of the temple. In a corridor (E7), they find another blob. They kill it easily. Note: A critical hit finished it off.

In one room (E10), they find a skeleton with a silver pendant. Winston recognizes the symbol as the mark of Erlik, lord of death. Killian rips to pendant from the skeleton and crushes it with his bare hands. He tosses the destroyed pendant away. Gruff, however, surreptitiously retrieves it.

"Silver is silver," he thinks to himself.

A Little Disagreement with the Prospectors

Finally, the party comes to a corridor that is collapsed. Unable to explore any further, they return to the prospectors. Killian trumpets their triumph.

"But ye did not get past the cave-in," Norbus points out, "so ye did not clean out the entire ruin. Ye did not live up to the deal."

Killian is livid, "You don't expect us to dig?!"

Dazlyn intervenes and settles things down. He proposes that he and Norbus dig out the corridor, then the party could "cleanse" the rest of the temple. This mollifies Killian, who agrees.

"Of course, we could cleanse it even quicker if we had help." Dazlyn suggests. And with that, Killian volunteers the party to help with the digging.

The Statue of Erlik

After a couple of days of digging, they break through. The corridor leads to a shrine (E11). There, they see a statue with a large, bright green gem. The prospectors' eyes gleam with triumph.

Winston's reaction is far different. "Erlik!" He cries and makes the sign of Daeus to ward off evil.

Killian strides forth, grabs the statue, and smashes it to the floor. It breaks into pieces. The gem disintegrates into dust.

Norbus is livid. "Why did you do that!"

Killian turns, and glares at him. In a fearsome tone, he proclaims. "I am pledged to destroy evil. Do you wish to stop me?"

Norbus is cowed.

Bandits Attack

With the temple clean, Dazlyn thanks the group for their help, and offers payment in the form of some supplies, a few silver pieces, and two shiny stones.

Just as the party exits the gates of the settlement (E2), 4 armed humans stop them.

"We'll be takin' yer valuables, yerr armor, and yer weapons. Drop them nicely and ye'll not be hurt."

"Miscreants!" Killian yells as he draws his sword. "Repent, or suffer judgement!"

The bandits sneer and charge.

Grubb manages to shoot one dead.

Wielding a great axe, another smashes Killian. Our hero staggers back, wounded, but his armor saves him from grievous harm. The bandit is about to finish Killian off when a rock smashes into the outlaw's head. He falls dead.

With two of their number down, the remaining bandits flee.

Killian turns and sees the prospectors atop the wall, rocks in hand.

"I owe you a debt of thanks." Killian says to them. "If you ever need my services, you have it."

With that, they return to Phandalin with no more incidents.

Aside

The party also had to deal with an attack from a greater cat beast, but they managed to pull through.