Barrowmaze #2: Skeletons - Thousands of 'Em!

I've decided to publish the logs of our Barrowmaze delves here (our RPG game using the Old-School Essentials system).  Partly this is down to my decision to start typing up my game notes - I just had too many bits of paper and last month lost one of my characters by (I think) throwing his character sheet out while I was trying to rationalise my file.

Not the session in question, but here I am leaping into action...

We're a year into the campaign, so this will contain spoilers.  The message is that if you're going to delve in the Barrowmaze, don't take advantage of them.  They're called spoilers because they spoil the fun.  DON'T BE A DICK!

This is an Old School game, and while I would deny that we're murder hobos, we are a little light on the role-play.

Game Played 24 March 2019

Player	Character	Class	Henchmen	Notes
Lizzie	Natalia	Acrobat (Level 4)	Lorthak Grintag Dirkirk (man-at-arms)
Stephen	Moonwhisper	Magic User (Level 2)		Levelled up.
Anna	Egila	Magic User (Level 1)	Wythray Luma (non-combatant follower)	First delve. Killed by skeletons.
Edwin	C’Loxi	Elf (Level 1)	Mantagorn Dreggar (man-at-arms)	First delve. Killed by skeletons.

 Pre-Delve

Midsummer had passed.  Rains seem to have come early this year, but the thunderstorms that harbinger the rainy season haven’t yet happened.  The Wicker Man Festival had been poorly attended, partly due to the weather, but also as Fr Othar had been actively campaigning against it.  It's is not known how the money Gerran has been contributing to the preparations for the festival had been spent.

Egila and C’Loxi joined the party at Galmar’s house, having seen the notice calling for more adventurers.  Hirelings were also recruited.  Two lots of 10gp were paid to the village bellman.  On the first day Wythray Luma was hired as a lantern-carrier; on the second, Grintog Dirkirk and Mantagorn Dreggar as men-at-arms.

The pre-delve plan was to return to the site of the last delve, defeat the ghouls, collect treasure and then play by ear.

The Delve

The journey out to the Barrowmoor was uneventful.  Due to deterioration in the weather, it took four hours.

We entered by the Back Door and made our way to the Crossroads of Death, where we found a corpse.  As C’loxi went to examine the body, the party was surprised by a giant scorpion.  During this initial attack, the scorpion killed Grintag.  C’Loxi promptly cast Sleep and Natalia dispatched the scorpion with her dagger.  C’Loxi resumed his search of the corpse and retrieved an ornate, silver-embossed scabbard.

We proceeded to the Octagonal Room as per the plan, where we found the scene of a massacre.  We remained in the doorway, waiting to see if whatever creatures present would reveal themselves.  These turned out to be two large stone warriors, able to fire magma from their hands.  One was killed with ranged weapons and a hasty debate was held as whether to shut the door, cast Hold Portal and retreat.  Moonwhisper cast Protect from Evil.  We decided to fight and eventually defeated the remaining living statue. 

On searching the corpses of the other adventuring party, the only thing of interest found was a silver goblet, everything else being too mashed or burnt.

We then went through the east door to the room with the portcullis.  The plan was to use meat on a rope to draw the ghouls out and then to make an overwhelming ranged attack.  However,  C’Loxi jumped the gun and deployed the lure before the rest of the party was set up.  As a result, much of the combat took place at the portcullis with the ghouls able to fight back.  Fighting through the grating also proved to be more difficult than anticipated.  In a hard-fought combat the last ghoul managed to injure both Natalia and C’Loxi.

We now entered unexplored territory for the first time.

In examining the room, we found that the portcullis mechanism was broken.  There were two doors in the west wall.  The southernmost of the two was ajar.  In moving to examine the northern door, Natalia triggered a pit-trap but was able to get herself out without injury.

Going through the southern door, we found two open sarcophagi containing decomposed bodies.  Natalia and C’Loxi searched the sarcophagi, but found nothing.

Swinging around the pit-trap, Natalia entered the other room.  This was plastered and decorated with a mural of foot-race.  Suddenly three crab spiders on the ceiling attacked Natalia.  Though she was injured, they were killed.  A search of the room uncovered 37cp.

The party crossed the Octagonal Room and went though the west door.  This led to a wide corridor, with narrow passages off it (similar to the room on the east).  As with the other room, the passages had alcoves containing alcoves.  The party divided.  C’Loxi and Mantagorn moved into the centre of the room; the others split into two to examine two of the passages.

The skellies rise...

Simultaneously, Mantagorn fell into a pit-trap and the skeletons revived.  Egila, Wythray, C’Loxi and Lorthak were soon overpowered.  Natalia and Moonwhisper managed to escape from the room and withdrew to the north door of the Octagonal Room, which they shut behind them.

C'Loxi is Last Elf Standing as Natalia and Moonwhisper make for the exit...

They made their way to the Back Door and safely exited the Barrowmaze.

An hour out of Helix, Natalia and Moonwhisper spotted five Giant Toads in their path.  Moonwhisper killed three with his wand of lightening.  The other two fled.

Post-Delve

In possibly the least profitable delve ever, there were no items to be identified or valued.

Natalia healed up.

Natalia sought out Krothos Ironguard to further her plans to have a house built during the rainy season.  She found him in the Drunken Pheasant and played a game of chance with him.  However, she was warned off doing any business with him by his minder, Ollis Blackfell.  The next day Natalia, Moonwhisper and Gerran attended Blackfell’s office.  There, on payment of 200gp, she was given a plot of land and planning permission.  Unlike Galmar’s arrangement with Krothos, this was officially recorded and title deeds issued.  These were deposited at Huffenpuff’s.

Group Funds

	Expenditure	Income
Recruitment	20gp
Hirelings’ pay	16gp
Equipment	12gp

Encounters

	Location	Casualties	Notes
Giant Scorpion (x1)	Crossroads of Death	Grintag Dourkirk killed.	C’Loxi cast Sleep and Natalia dispatched the scorpion with her dagger.
Living Stone Statues (x2)	Octagonal Room		One killed by ranged weapons, the other in mêlée.
Ghouls (x2)	Portcullis Room	Natalia and C’Loxi both injured.	Plan went off half-cocked and fighting through the grating proved to be more difficult than anticipated. An unexpectedly hard-fought combat.
Crab Spiders (x3)	Race Room	Natalia injured.
Skeletons (x24)	Skeleton Room	Egila, C’Loxi, Lorthak and Wythray killed.	No skeletons were harmed (though two fell into the pit).
Giant Toads (x5)	Wilderness		Three killed by Moonwhisper with his Lightening Wand. The other two fled.

Treasure

	Where and how acquired	Value	Notes
Ornate, silver-embossed scabbard.	On corpse at the Crossroads of Death.	n/k	Lost when C’Loxi was killed.
Silver goblet	On corpses in Octagonal Room.	n/k	Lost when C’Loxi was killed.
37cp	In Race Room	37cp

Score: 1292 (two survivors)

Scene of today's action

AHPC IX: First Submission

Before I start, last Sunday was the first bonus round ('Reconnaissance') for the Challenge.  I didn't submit anything, but plenty of people did - and it's splendid work.  Go over there, have a look and vote for your favorites.

My submission took the form of some dungeon delvers and critters, earning me 40 points.  

I've been asked some questions about this, so a little context. As regular readers will know, I started attending a game when a new FLGS opened last summer. It is decidedly Old School (we use Necrotic Gnomes' B/X Essentials and are delving into a mega-dungeon called the Barrowmaze). It's a bit of a meat-grinder - six months in and I'm on my fourth character!

Odds and sods from various sprues

There are no fancy classes or multi-classes; a trap is more likely to be a pit with spikes in the bottom than a portal to another plane; and you're much more likely to meet rats that flying eyeball monsters.  That being so, the guy with the ten-foot pole is probably the most usefully kitted-out! 

We normally meet once a fortnight as an open table. As a consequence, we don't know who or how many will turn up, but it's been a roaring success. This week, for the first time we had too many (16) people and had to split off into two tables. Fortunately, we're lucky enough to have a second DM who always brings his kit and a module just in case.

All the figures are 28mm,  The humans are plastics (a mix of manufactures and bits from odd sprues, including Mantic, Northstar's Oathmark and a Frostgrave Cultist); the dwarf is a metal Oathmark champion; and the giant rats some second-hand lead I picked up last year.

As I didn't post the finished results of the minis I was painting just before the Challenge began, here they all are together.

Oathmark Humans

Oathmark Dwarf Champions

Oathsworn Miniatures' Haflings

What Stops You from Gaming?

I've been listening to a new podcast today: Role Play Rescue.  It's a chap who's been roleplaying since the 80s and is evangelistic about the benefits of making some time for play in one's life.  What he says is of interest, not only to those who enjoy RPGs.

So, I point you to his episode "What Stops You From Gaming?"

I was pointed to it because of an interview with Gavin Norman, the writer of B/X Essentials, which my gaming group is playing (and play-testing).  For me, the big change in 2018 has been to find a group and actually playing games rather than just thinking and writing about them.  It's had a very positive impact on my life.

Return to the Lost World!

I've been lying in bed wondering about Solo Wargaming - pondering whether Naval, Zombie or Big Game action would be better.

Miriam the Lady Librarian faces down trouble

Working on the basis that I have the figures and terrain I need to do some Big Game hunting in the Lost World, I've delved in the blog archives to re-read my Egg Hunt! experiences.

I'd forgotten what a blast I had with them!

I need to tweak the mechanisms (but that's some of the fun), but am going to play some more.

Perhaps I'll let the Chaps have a go next time

The News We've Been Waiting For!

Curt the Snowlord has posted notification of this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (the ninth, so he must be doing something right!

Details here.

If you've never heard of it, or if you've always been a little afraid, go and have a look.  It's a fun, non-judgmental challenge (most emphatically not a competition!).

Paint Table Saturday

I'm glad to say that I can present another Paint Table Saturday.  I'm actually picking up brushes again!  I'm even reconsidering my decision not to take up a slot in the AHPC this year.

The immediate purpose for these minis is our fortnightly RPG.  As it's an open table, we never know who's going to turn up or what characters are going to form the party.  Although the GM likes the aesthetic of using his 1980s cardboard figures (which I think are older than he is!), I feel it's nice for players to have a choice of something a little more three dimensional.  Last time we found that we had no haflings in either form.

The humans and dwarves here are from my recent purchase from the Oathmark stable.  The haflings on the other hand are from a Kickstarter by Oathsworn Miniatures which I received back in 2014. 

As you can see, I've tried some different methods for basing.  The lentils have come out better that I thought (though I'll be tidier with them next time).  

This fine feller will be Ranwald the Strong.  Love the scar!

It'll be a couple of weeks before they see any action.  They won't be ready for tomorrow's session.

Barrowmaze #1: B'loxi Writes to Ranwald the Strong

I'm attempting to improve my role-playing and think more about back-stories.

I've deliberately not written up our Barrowmaze delves in order to prevent spoilers for other players, but I might change that (without giving too much away!).

With a 1st Level Elf's hit-points being determined by 1d6 roll, death is far from an unlikely possibility for poor B'loxi.  Frankly, I surprised that he's lasted so long.  It's always advisable to have a secondary character rolled up in Labyrinth Lord, and Ranwald (a human fighter) is mine.  LL also allows for PCs to write up a will, and our GM for transfer of knowledge if an in-game method can be shown.

----------------------------------------------------- 

The Brazen Strumpet

Helix 

My Old Comrade in Arms

As I told you I would, I have returned to Helix now that the annual flooding of the Barrowmaze has subsided.  I hope that this, my second season here, will be as profitable as the last.  

We were lucky enough to be the first party to delve into the Maze this year and returned with a good haul of loot.  Yet, as ever, the cost was in blood.  Ren, my companion from last year fell in combat with the undead creatures that always seek to thwart us.  I am sure that there is a Directing Influence behind some of their actions (as you know, I believe the Barrowmaze to be much more than it seems).  We left his body as that Cleric of Hexadron would have wanted us to have - stripped of his equipment and arranged in as cubic a form as possible.  

Ren's death has affected me.  If he, who introduced me to the Maze, could fall so easily I must make arrangements in case of my own death.  I wish you to join us.  In my half-dozen delves into the Barrowmaze we have only scratched the surface: there is so more more yet to find, and many more riches to recover (I still hope to find the motherlode of magical items).  I do not want my explorations to be in vain or my notes to be peddled-off by some surviving hireling.    

So I send you a copy of my Map and the Notes thereon.  I will keep you up-to-date until you join us.  In two days I return to the Barrows.  If I should be killed there, delvers' custom is that the possessions with me shall be divided between the Party.  But, I also have a substantial deposit with what passes as a bank here (The Rosy Quartz Jeweler and Moneylender).  I have instructed the owner - a pompous Halfling named H.R.R. Huffenpuff - that in the case of my death it should be transferred to you (after his exorbitant fee).  Dealing with Huffenpuff will give you a good idea of the sort of people who populate Helix!

Hopefully these arrangements are unnecessary and we will share a bottle and one of your mushroom risottos soon!  May King Shroom bless you.

Your Friend

B'loxi

Board Game Friday #1

Thursday is board game night at our LFGS, so I'm introducing Board Game Friday as a new blog feature.

Kieran, the Proprietor

When I arrived last night, there was no-one who I already knew, so Kieran introduced me to a couple and we spent the evening playing three-handed games.  The beauty of The Games Table is that many games are Open Table and people are willing to allow others to join in.

First up was Photosynthesis (links are to, and photos are from, BoardGameGeek) a game about trees trying to get their place in the sun and put their neighbours in the shade

The sun shines brightly on the canopy of the forest, and the trees use this wonderful energy to grow and develop their beautiful foliage. Sow your crops wisely and the shadows of your growing trees could slow your opponents down, but don't forget that the sun revolves around the forest. Welcome to the world of Photosynthesis, the green strategy board game!

It was an interesting game, and one that I would play again, but to be honest I found it a bit dull - perhaps "Meh!" sums it up.

Too much choice

After finishing this we had an attack of indecision on what to play next (perhaps because we were politely deferring to each other).  Kieran jumped in and recommended Castle Panic, which none of use had played before.

Castle Panic is a cooperative, light strategy game for 1 to 6 players ages 10 and up. Players must work together to defend their castle, in the center of the board, from monsters that attack out of the forest at the edges of the board. Players trade cards, hit and slay monsters, and plan strategies together to keep their castle towers intact. The players either win or lose together, but only the player with the most victory points is declared the Master Slayer. Players must balance the survival of the group with their own desire to win.

No this I did enjoy!  And interestingly, because it was a co-operative game, I found myself getting to know the other players better and interacting more with them.  The mechanism was quite straightforward.  It was enjoyable enough that, after playing the first game, we immediately played again in order to try and best the monsters (who beat us both times - possibly because I misinterpreted one of the rules).

I see that it was successful enough that there are spin-offs, including a Zombie version and a 'Star Trek' one.  I will certainly play again, and might very well buy a copy.

And talking of buying...

The way The Games Table works is that monies payed for table hire are put on one side as store credit.  Between Board Game Thursdays and the fortnightly RPG, I had accrued a fair bit of credit (and there are only so many Hula Hoops a boy can eat!).  Accordingly, I picked up a copy of Battle Sheep - a quick, fun game which I think will go down well at home.  Sarah's favorite game is Pillars of the Earth, but given her mental decline, we're having to find things that are a little less complex.

Board Game Tally (October)

Games played: 4 (all of which were new to me)
Games bought: 1 (Battle Sheep)

Some Oathmark Shinies

After a tiring day drinking all afternoon in the pub and playing board games all evening (my social life has picked up somewhat), it was nice to come home to a box of goodies from North Star.

About a month ago I signed up for the pre-release offer on the new faction for their Oathmark range: the humans.  Oathmark is a fantasy range that is being done in collaboration with Osprey Publishing.  Eventually there will be a ruleset, but for the moment there are just the figures (human, dwarves. elves and goblins).  Given that the dwarves were launched a year ago, I'm not sure what is happening.

In the box you get six identical sprues, each with five torsos (none as dynamic as the box art) and an impressive number of variant parts.

So 30 figures for £25.00, compared to 20 for £20.00 in North Star's Frostgrave boxes, or 44 for £22.00 in GBP's. 

They're not wearing spiked helmets - there's a fair bit of flash to clean off

With the pre-release offer came a free metal figure (on the right above).  I also splashed out on one of the human champions (mainly because of his fine 'tash) and a pack of three dwarf champions (regular readers will know I'm a sucker for dwarves).

Paint Table Saturday

By my counting it's been week short of a year since I last made a Paint Table Saturday post. 

I didn't realise that it's been so long, but I'm not surprised - it's reflective of the current state of both my blogging and painting.  But regular posts such as Paint Table Saturdays are here to force progress on those fronts, so here goes.

Not a lot happening (often I have to blow the dust off before I apply paint!).  We have six Mantic ghouls and a Heroquest elf.  With a bit of a push I should be able to finish them in a session.

Both are initially for use in the RPG I've been playing lately.  The ghouls are dungeon critters.  I was going to call them 'dungeon fodder', but experience shows that they're as likely to kill the PCs as to be killed by them.

The elf is to represent my character, B'loxi.  Given the sculpt and game both have an 80's vibe, I tried to represent that in my colour scheme.  However, I'm not particularly happy with it, so it may change yet.

"A Shouty Game of Finger-Pointing"

As I'd had a bad end to the week (more difficulties with the Post Office, which have swallowed up a week's profit) I decided at short notice to attend an evening of games testing at The Games Table hosted by ASH Games, who were bringing along two of their concepts that should be hitting Kickstarter sometime next year.

Pre-ASH Games

The ASH team (it's a family set-up of long-time gamers headed by Ash) were delayed by traffic, so those of who had turned up at 6.00pm had some time to fill.  Luckily, The games library at the shop has built up nicely since it opened in July.

Five of us took the chance to play Battle Sheep.  Despite the fact that three of us hadn't played it before and that the rules were being explained by a seven year-old, it only took a couple of moves to understand it.  It's a fast game that only takes 10-15 minutes to play.  We got three games in, and it became clear that some fun tactical punches can be pulled.  I am tempted to buy it for Sarah and myself.

'Burn the Witch'

When ASH turned up they had two games to test, a card game about witch burning and a minis game based on Star Wars pod racing.  Ash, who has a background in franchising, seems to think that he should be able to acquire a licence for the latter.

I went off into the group that played 'Burn the Witch'.  We did swap over later, but as it was almost 9.00pm I left at that point and thus didn't get to try the racing.

Put simply (there are various rules I'm omitting here), in 'Burn the Witch' the players take the role of an inhabitant of a medieval village caught up in a witch-hunt.  In each hand they are dealt a secret card giving the identity of another player or designating them the witch.  An accusation card is then drawn from a deck of 72 real-life examples ("X has a hairy lip"... "X has too many children").  After a period when we all accuse our favoured candidate a vote is taken.  The people who successfully nominate someone who is convicted score (regardless as to whether they were the witch or not - this is not a game about justice!).  The convicted witch can score by then identifying the true witch.  Each game consisted of 3-4 hands and took about 30 mins.

One of the things that the designers were wanting to determine was whether it was best as a murder-mystery type game of up to 16 people (though at one stage up to 30 people wandering around a room wearing their identities on lapel-badges were mentioned), or for 4-8 mates sitting around a table or on the sofa.   There were six of us playing (four of whom knew each other), and I think that worked better than a larger group would.  A some point the strap-line "A Shouty Game of Finger-Pointing" came up, and that's how I see it.  Throw in a couple of bottles of wine and you might even get fisticuffs!

There were various points discussed:- artwork; bespoke cards; ways of keeping score; whether there was too much/too little historical info; whether that info would be better on the cards or in a booklet; the kind of ancillary 'stuff' (token, etc) that would add value to the game; and Kickstarter stretch goals.

It was an enjoyable game and would be a good ice-breaker.  The process of game-testing was new to me and interesting.  All in all, a couple of hours well-spent.

Still Here and Actually Doing Something!

This blog seems to have dried up somewhat over the last few months.  It's been a case of "If you have to make and effort to find something to write, is it worth continuing?"  On the whole, I think the answer might be "Yes".

However, there is a bright side.  This blog (and interactions on Facebook and the Lead Adventure Forum) used to be the extent of my Hobby Involvement.  But that has changed with the opening of a new FLGS in Norwich.  I'm actually mixing with people and doing some gaming!

For the first time in some 30 years I've been taking part in regular RPG sessions.  Rather appropriately, we are playing rather Old School - Labyrinth Lord.  As the GM explains:

Labyrinth Lord is a reprinted and improved version of Tom Moldvay's 1981 Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert rules. You're not a prince or the strongest man in Aerik, you're a desperate murder-hobo trying to escape with some silver coins before the monsters you hear lurking in the darkness can catch up. Player cunning and skill is strongly rewarded, and experience is largely from treasure recovered. This makes player decisions about when to fight, when to run and when to parley more realistic, and encourages smart play. The game is deadly, and mistakes cost lives.

Despite a TPK on our first delve into the Barrowmaze, I've stuck at it and my Elf, B'loxi, has survived four expeditions.  In ten or twenty years he may make Level 2.

Did I say Old School?
B'loxi's the one having a nap