Oddifying the Barrowmaze, Outdoor Encounters + Into the Barrowmaze - Session 5 (Expeditions 5 & 6)
As I run Barrowmaze Complete and discover it more-or-less as the players
explore, I find myself needing to add some atmosphere to the bare-bones
(pun not intended) at-the-table elements like random encounters and the
like. I'll probably re-do the encounter tables for the different Areas
when the players reach them.
As usual, there is a 1-in-6 chance of encounter whenever necessary.
Through and Back from the Barrowmoor (roll at the beginning and end of the expedition)
With a Guide, roll d6. On your own, roll d8. On your own at night, roll d12.
1 - Through the mist, the sound of ravens and toads sometimes break the cold silence.
2 - Others just like you, they are short a few men and going to the Barrows too.
3 - Others just like you, but they are carrying riches - and stories back home.
4 - Others just like you, lost to the Barrowmoor and stark raving mad.
5 - Quicksands that weren't there before, make a detour or risk losing something.
6 - Froglings scouts from a nearby pool, they know to pick their prey wisely.
7 - Froglings raiding party, they want something from you.
8 - Frogling shaman, on a vision quest, will trade knowledge for knowledge.
9 - En Echo of the Dead, trapped in an endless loop until its bones are laid to rest.
10 - Hollow soldiers, waiting in ambush in the water, grasping their rusted blades.
11 - An abomination which forgot its name - tentacled and foul.
12 - You stumble upon some swamp crypt. Who knows what lies here?
Exploring the Barrow Mounds (Roll once depending on your activity)
Leaving the Mounds alone d4, to Plundered Barrows d6, Sealed Barrows d8, Covered Mounds d12.
If you're crazy enough to explore the Barrow Mounds by Night, roll d20.
1 - The Mist opens a path to a unseen barrow (roll randomly for which)
2 - The wind howls and the fog clears up a bit (your line sight improves by 1 (2hex lines))
3 - You can see the fog fatten by the minute (you can only see what's in your current hex)
4 - Silhouettes in the distance (if investigated, roll d12)
5 - A nearby skeleton gets up and cackles gleefully at you.
6 - Hollow men crawl out of the ground you are standing on, looking to feast on brains.
7 - Are these pterodactyls? Yes they are! And they are nesting near.
8 - Barrow Harpies feasting on some corpse. They hate people - too ugly.
9 - A roaming of Hollow men, about 3d6, are shambling your way.
10 - Ghouls - either civil in their savagery or savage while appearing civilized.
11 - Giant Rhinoceros Beetle, moving a pile of dung it gathered all around
12 - The Wyvern flies over your heads, looking for an easy catch.
13 - The Manticore! Half-crocodile, half-chicken, with the face of a small infant.
14 - A Troll gathering, making some late night pot-au-feu before the sun rises.
15 - A horde of Hollow men, a hundred or so, they have not yet noticed you.
16 - Echoes re-enacting some ages old scene, obsessed about some hole in their memory.
17 - Sentient maggots in hollow corpses, want to be inside fresh bodies for sinister purposes.
18 - Something impossible walking through the barrow mounds, gigantic and eons dead.
19 - The silence becomes almost unbearable, the darkness thicker - a Guest is near.
20 - A Swamp Vampire smells you. Its cry warns you that is following you.
As usual, there is a 1-in-6 chance of encounter whenever necessary.
Through and Back from the Barrowmoor (roll at the beginning and end of the expedition)
With a Guide, roll d6. On your own, roll d8. On your own at night, roll d12.
1 - Through the mist, the sound of ravens and toads sometimes break the cold silence.
2 - Others just like you, they are short a few men and going to the Barrows too.
3 - Others just like you, but they are carrying riches - and stories back home.
4 - Others just like you, lost to the Barrowmoor and stark raving mad.
5 - Quicksands that weren't there before, make a detour or risk losing something.
6 - Froglings scouts from a nearby pool, they know to pick their prey wisely.
7 - Froglings raiding party, they want something from you.
8 - Frogling shaman, on a vision quest, will trade knowledge for knowledge.
9 - En Echo of the Dead, trapped in an endless loop until its bones are laid to rest.
10 - Hollow soldiers, waiting in ambush in the water, grasping their rusted blades.
11 - An abomination which forgot its name - tentacled and foul.
12 - You stumble upon some swamp crypt. Who knows what lies here?
Exploring the Barrow Mounds (Roll once depending on your activity)
Leaving the Mounds alone d4, to Plundered Barrows d6, Sealed Barrows d8, Covered Mounds d12.
If you're crazy enough to explore the Barrow Mounds by Night, roll d20.
1 - The Mist opens a path to a unseen barrow (roll randomly for which)
2 - The wind howls and the fog clears up a bit (your line sight improves by 1 (2hex lines))
3 - You can see the fog fatten by the minute (you can only see what's in your current hex)
4 - Silhouettes in the distance (if investigated, roll d12)
5 - A nearby skeleton gets up and cackles gleefully at you.
6 - Hollow men crawl out of the ground you are standing on, looking to feast on brains.
7 - Are these pterodactyls? Yes they are! And they are nesting near.
8 - Barrow Harpies feasting on some corpse. They hate people - too ugly.
9 - A roaming of Hollow men, about 3d6, are shambling your way.
10 - Ghouls - either civil in their savagery or savage while appearing civilized.
11 - Giant Rhinoceros Beetle, moving a pile of dung it gathered all around
12 - The Wyvern flies over your heads, looking for an easy catch.
13 - The Manticore! Half-crocodile, half-chicken, with the face of a small infant.
14 - A Troll gathering, making some late night pot-au-feu before the sun rises.
15 - A horde of Hollow men, a hundred or so, they have not yet noticed you.
16 - Echoes re-enacting some ages old scene, obsessed about some hole in their memory.
17 - Sentient maggots in hollow corpses, want to be inside fresh bodies for sinister purposes.
18 - Something impossible walking through the barrow mounds, gigantic and eons dead.
19 - The silence becomes almost unbearable, the darkness thicker - a Guest is near.
20 - A Swamp Vampire smells you. Its cry warns you that is following you.
Where are Sessions #1-4? Well, I didn't make writeups for these, sadly.
If you need context, know that two companies of adventurers have been lost to the Barrowmaze, mainly due to Giant Toads and other Tomb-Robbers. The death count at this point was 3 PCs and about 14 Henchmen.
Today, we had three players: J. played Risitas and his companion Charlie, L. played Elina and her bodyguard Gunthark, and S. played Gunther "the mouser" and his 'prentice, Paulo.
With Elina having memorized the way to the Barrow Mounds, the party decided to leave in the early morning without a guide, and found their way without trouble.
In the misty valley, they quickly found their way to the Barrowmaze proper and decided to head east. Some highlights:
• A crossbow trap was disarmed through proper use of a 10' pole.
• A robed skeleton whispering litanies in reverse attacked the party after they made a lot of noise disturbing alcoves, ending with Risitas nearly dying to its icy grasp.
• A giant rattle snake was murdered and stripped of its scales, venom glands, and rattle, all of which the party eventually dumped when they learned that nobody in town was interested in buying the stuff.
• Zombies, despite being the simplest foe there can be, seem to still be scary. Or at least, spooky. A few of them were dispatched as it always seems to be the case in the Barrowmaze.
Not a lot of puzzles or clever traps to interact with for now, sadly.
I am actually discovering the dungeon as the party goes through it, reading each room entry as they explore them, and hope to see more of the brainy stuff in the future.
The first expedition ended with Gunthark breaking his left arm against a walking stiff and everyone being slightly wounded but otherwise ok. Much loot was gathered, and a wizardly Tome of Transmit Breath was brought to the local wizard, who gladly left it in the hands of the players, muttering about how his dead apprentice wasn't worthy of it anyways.
Halfway through the game, everyone was hurt and in town so they decided to look for specialists to recover their lost STR. The first obvious choice was the clerics of the Church of St. Ygg, who offer divine healings for a measly contribution of a hundred crowns. Sadly, St. Ygg's magic doesn't always work, and while Risitan ended up slightly blessed and surrounded by a halo of light (in addition to being healed of all wounds), Gunthark's arm didn't change but the money was still gone.
The second expedition had the party go through the trouble of uncovering an ancient burial mound which entrance was hidden by dirt and roots. Inside, they found a Wight, which they promptly evaded and locked inside its crypt, and a statue of Nergal surrounded by golems, which they promptly fled without trying to anger the dead god by looting things.
Once outside, a small band of civilized ghouls (wearing hats) kindly asked them if they had any human meat on them, which led to some great diplomacy: Elina suggested two disgusting, putrefied corpses that the parties had found in the Barrowmaze - how to find them on a note. The ghouls excitedly offered paper for paper, and marked the location of another entrance to the Barrowmaze on the players map.
"See you later" said one of the ghoul, grinning a horrible smile.
The party was happy to be rid of these unsavory gentlemen and went down the new entrance. Missing the secret lever to move the sarcophagus that led to the entrance, they decided instead to break open the passage with a sledgehammer. Not much happened then:
• Another trap was removed by the careful use of a 10' pole, which is definitely the best adventuring tool there is.
• Some giant insects (milipedes and flies) were found and cautiously left to their own devices.
• A few unholy statues were seen and ignored.
• A whole room of robed skeletons was discovered and promptly blocked off with pieces of unholy statues.
Some corridor led to a crypt with a dead elf that had oh so shiny gauntlets on its belt...Elina hastily
looted the corpse, which turned on its back and ate her face. A Ghoul! With their friend disfigured, the rest of the party quickly and angrily turned the elfin ghoul into beef jerky before deciding to call off the expedition, what with Elina having no face anymore and all.
The journey back was uneventful, except for a pair of shy frogling scouts which were scared off by the glowing holy man (Risitas, who walked unarmed towards them, a clear sign of extreme danger in the froglings' minds).
And then they went back "home" to the Inn and ordered some beer.
Some Thoughts
• This dungeon practically runs itself.
My prep never includes the actual dungeon, I just make up new stuff like "oddified" encounter charts and the likes, and vaguely think about the rooms that need to be restocked.
• Into the Odd goes even faster than OD&D.
Making it, I think, the fastest -yet not "lite"- game I know.
By "not lite", I mean that despite the speed of play, it feels solid enough to withstand months of play. (Currently using the latest Electric Bastionland rules)
• A lot of near-death experiences!
Nobody died this time, but fighting almost always felt dangerous and deadly, with everyone (except the 5 STR, 1 HP Gunther who kept his distances everytime) taking serious damage in this combat-heavy session.
• No Puzzles or "Fun" room...
Had me working mostly on ambiance and thinking about how to make my undeads interesting in play. I think the descriptions helped a lot, but I really want to see some rooms that have more than just things to kill in Barrowmaze. Although I think the party overall must have explored about 20-something rooms total, without counting the Burial Mounds mini-dungeons.
If you need context, know that two companies of adventurers have been lost to the Barrowmaze, mainly due to Giant Toads and other Tomb-Robbers. The death count at this point was 3 PCs and about 14 Henchmen.
Today, we had three players: J. played Risitas and his companion Charlie, L. played Elina and her bodyguard Gunthark, and S. played Gunther "the mouser" and his 'prentice, Paulo.
With Elina having memorized the way to the Barrow Mounds, the party decided to leave in the early morning without a guide, and found their way without trouble.
In the misty valley, they quickly found their way to the Barrowmaze proper and decided to head east. Some highlights:
• A crossbow trap was disarmed through proper use of a 10' pole.
• A robed skeleton whispering litanies in reverse attacked the party after they made a lot of noise disturbing alcoves, ending with Risitas nearly dying to its icy grasp.
• A giant rattle snake was murdered and stripped of its scales, venom glands, and rattle, all of which the party eventually dumped when they learned that nobody in town was interested in buying the stuff.
• Zombies, despite being the simplest foe there can be, seem to still be scary. Or at least, spooky. A few of them were dispatched as it always seems to be the case in the Barrowmaze.
Not a lot of puzzles or clever traps to interact with for now, sadly.
I am actually discovering the dungeon as the party goes through it, reading each room entry as they explore them, and hope to see more of the brainy stuff in the future.
The first expedition ended with Gunthark breaking his left arm against a walking stiff and everyone being slightly wounded but otherwise ok. Much loot was gathered, and a wizardly Tome of Transmit Breath was brought to the local wizard, who gladly left it in the hands of the players, muttering about how his dead apprentice wasn't worthy of it anyways.
Halfway through the game, everyone was hurt and in town so they decided to look for specialists to recover their lost STR. The first obvious choice was the clerics of the Church of St. Ygg, who offer divine healings for a measly contribution of a hundred crowns. Sadly, St. Ygg's magic doesn't always work, and while Risitan ended up slightly blessed and surrounded by a halo of light (in addition to being healed of all wounds), Gunthark's arm didn't change but the money was still gone.
The second expedition had the party go through the trouble of uncovering an ancient burial mound which entrance was hidden by dirt and roots. Inside, they found a Wight, which they promptly evaded and locked inside its crypt, and a statue of Nergal surrounded by golems, which they promptly fled without trying to anger the dead god by looting things.
Once outside, a small band of civilized ghouls (wearing hats) kindly asked them if they had any human meat on them, which led to some great diplomacy: Elina suggested two disgusting, putrefied corpses that the parties had found in the Barrowmaze - how to find them on a note. The ghouls excitedly offered paper for paper, and marked the location of another entrance to the Barrowmaze on the players map.
"See you later" said one of the ghoul, grinning a horrible smile.
The party was happy to be rid of these unsavory gentlemen and went down the new entrance. Missing the secret lever to move the sarcophagus that led to the entrance, they decided instead to break open the passage with a sledgehammer. Not much happened then:
• Another trap was removed by the careful use of a 10' pole, which is definitely the best adventuring tool there is.
• Some giant insects (milipedes and flies) were found and cautiously left to their own devices.
• A few unholy statues were seen and ignored.
• A whole room of robed skeletons was discovered and promptly blocked off with pieces of unholy statues.
Some corridor led to a crypt with a dead elf that had oh so shiny gauntlets on its belt...Elina hastily
looted the corpse, which turned on its back and ate her face. A Ghoul! With their friend disfigured, the rest of the party quickly and angrily turned the elfin ghoul into beef jerky before deciding to call off the expedition, what with Elina having no face anymore and all.
The journey back was uneventful, except for a pair of shy frogling scouts which were scared off by the glowing holy man (Risitas, who walked unarmed towards them, a clear sign of extreme danger in the froglings' minds).
And then they went back "home" to the Inn and ordered some beer.
Some Thoughts
• This dungeon practically runs itself.
My prep never includes the actual dungeon, I just make up new stuff like "oddified" encounter charts and the likes, and vaguely think about the rooms that need to be restocked.
• Into the Odd goes even faster than OD&D.
Making it, I think, the fastest -yet not "lite"- game I know.
By "not lite", I mean that despite the speed of play, it feels solid enough to withstand months of play. (Currently using the latest Electric Bastionland rules)
• A lot of near-death experiences!
Nobody died this time, but fighting almost always felt dangerous and deadly, with everyone (except the 5 STR, 1 HP Gunther who kept his distances everytime) taking serious damage in this combat-heavy session.
• No Puzzles or "Fun" room...
Had me working mostly on ambiance and thinking about how to make my undeads interesting in play. I think the descriptions helped a lot, but I really want to see some rooms that have more than just things to kill in Barrowmaze. Although I think the party overall must have explored about 20-something rooms total, without counting the Burial Mounds mini-dungeons.
The AD&D Huecuva (not sure if MM, MMII or FF).
Oddified: Hollow Cleric, STR 15, CHA 0, 6hp
Frost Touch d8, Freezes the Soul on Critical Damage (character can't feel anything anymore).
Victims raise as Ghosts.
Color: they whisper-sing litanies backwards.
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