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The DM is entertained. Photo by Joe Procopio. |
Head over to the Scrum in Miniature blog to see a player report and photos from my very first playtest of the Forgotten Smugglers' Cave, with the Scrum Club, this past Saturday!
Scrum in Miniature: Zenopus, Rolemaster Robin Hood and Core Space
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| Area 7 C== | 23. SHRIEKING POOL |
==S Area 22 |
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23. SHRIEKING POOL. This natural cavern, with irregular walls, stalactites and stalagmites is much longer than it is wide (about 110 feet by 30 feet), and is bisected by a pool of water about 20 feet across, fed by water dripping steadily from the ceiling. On each side grows a profusion of oversized mushrooms, some of which are up to 3 feet in height.
Exits. There are two exits: at the west end, a narrow and but mostly walkable tunnel (3 feet wide, 6 feet high) leads 180 feet to the back of the niche in Area 7, and at the east end, a narrow tube (3 feet wide and 3 feet), which must be crawled through, leads 170 feet to the back of the secret door in Area 22.
Mushrooms. The mycoflora grows within 10 feet on either side of the pool. While most are harmless, the colony includes several shriekers, which will begin shrieking for 1d3 rounds in the presence of light or movement. There are 6 shriekers total; assume 1d6 are one side of the pool and the rest are on the other.
Shriekers (6): DX 1, AC 7, HD 3, hp 11, AT 0, SD shrieking.
If the colony is inspected closely, it will be noted that several mushrooms near the edges of the water appear to be partially melted.
Pool. The pool is broad (30 feet north-south by 20 feet east-west) but shallow (only six inches deep). It can forded easily, but is home to a Large Grey Ooze, which normally survives on the mushrooms as well as vermin that drink from the edges of the pool. It generally rests on the shore or a cavern wall just above the water line, camouflaged as stone, but when alerted by the shrieking it will settle on the bottom of the pool and wait. There is only a 2 in 6 chance it will attack a character standing at the edge of the pool, as they are much bigger than its typical prey, but there is a 5 in 6 chance it will attack anyone passing through the pool.
Large Grey Ooze (1): DX 3, AC 8, HD 3, hp 21, AT 1 strike for 2d8; SA dissolves metal; SD immune to cold and fire; weapons will damage but have 50% chance of breaking due to corrosion
Chronologically on this blog, the previous installment described Area 22 and the next posted installment will be Area 24.
This year Gary Con is in its 15th (!) year, and I'm attending, which will be my fourth time attending in-person, and sixth counting two virtual attendances. I've again signed up to run two D&D games, one new and one I ran last year. These are:
(1) The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave on Friday morning from 9-1; Character Level 3; 6 seats.
Find it here: tabletop.events/conventions/gary-con-xv/schedule/893
This is the new adventure that I've been serializing on and off on the blog for the last two years. I will be play-testing it for the first time tomorrow with the Scrum Club, and plan to also run it at Scrum Con on April 8th in Silver Spring, Maryland.
(2) Expedition to Skull Stack Crater on Saturday night from 7-11; Character Levels 3-4; 6 seats.
Find it here: tabletop.events/conventions/gary-con-xv/schedule/892
This is one I ran last year at Gary Con for the first time.
I plan to use the same pre-gens for each game, and anything that happens to them (XP, leveling, treasure acquired) from the first game will be carried over to the second one.
I will also be helping my friend Demos, who blogs at OSR Grimoire, run a miniatures game in the Legends of Wargaming Hall:
(3) The Black Eagle Banner on Thursday night from 6-11; 6 seats.
Find it here: https://tabletop.events/conventions/gary-con-xv/schedule/1586
This is a scenario from the module X10 Black Arrow, Red Shield - which is part of series with X4 Master of the Desert Nomads and X5 Temple of Death - and uses TSR's Battlesystem miniatures rules.
Read previous Gary Con convention summaries I've written:
Gary Con 2023 (unfinished): Day 0
Gary Con 2022: Day 1 --- Day 2 --- Days 3 and 4
Gary Con 2019 (unfinished): Day 1 --- Day 2 (part 1)
Other Gary Con links of interest:
Gary Con website
Badge Purchase
Full Schedule of Events on Tabletop Events (searchable)
Grand Geneva Resort website
Facebook Group (main source for announcements)
OD&D Discussion thread
Dragonsfoot thread
Knights & Knaves Alehouse thread
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| Area 23 ==S | 22. ARCH SMUGGLER'S OFFICE |
=== Area 21 |
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22. ARCH SMUGGLER'S OFFICE. This room, once the office of the arch smuggler (chief of the smugglers), is nicely appointed with plastered walls, paintings, rugs and wooden furniture, including a desk, chairs, chests, shelves, and cupboards, all of which are covered in dust. The only apparent exit is the short passage to the east that leads to the door to Area 21.
Desk. This is in the center of the room, facing the door to the east. A fine padded chair sits behind it, and three plain chairs face it. On the surface is a fancy inkwell (5 gp value), which is empty. The drawers are pulled open, as if rifled through, and some papers are scattered on the floor. A secret compartment in the desk contains a purse with 2d20 gold pieces and a journal, and a second secret compartment concealed within the first contains three potions in waxed-sealed vials: healing (red liquid), poison (orange), and speed (silver), and a shark-shaped key that opens the door to the crypt of the arch smugglers (Area 25). The journal contains evidence that at the time a member of the governing council of Portown was being bribed by the smugglers; this member is now deceased but his son is on the current council.
Cozy Corner. In the northeast corner are four comfortable upholstered chairs facing each other, and between is a small table, on which are two empty bottles of spirits. Nearby, along the east wall, is a small cabinet with glass doors holding a few more bottles of fine spirits, all partially filled, and several glass tumblers.
Bookshelves. Further west along the north wall are two dusty bookshelves holding books on a variety of topics (sailing, the ocean, travelogue, far-off lands, dice games, etc). If examined, none were published more recently than fifty years ago. There is a total of 30+d10 books, and each has a 5% chance of being a rare book worth 1d6 gp.
Cupboards. Along the west wall are three heavy cupboards, each with doors that are closed but not locked. The northernmost one contains shelves with a china dishes, silverware, goblets and table cloths, all now antique and worth a total of 30 gp. The middle one contains spare clothing, hats and boots for sea or town; and the southernmost one contains a variety of small practical items of low value such as candles, lanterns, handtools, etc.
Secret Door. Each cupboard is anchored to the wall, and will not move if pushed. However, the northernmost one is actually set on concealed tracks and, if two hidden catches inside are released, can be slid forward, revealing a 3' high opening leading to Area 23. Handles on the back facing the opening allow it to be pulled back into place once inside.
Chest. On the south wall, towards the west, is a large chest, unlocked and empty. This once held the gold coins now in Area 20.
Cabinet of Curiosities. On the south wall, on the east side of the room, is a cabinet in the form of a set of shelves, each with its own tip-up glass-fronted door. It is not completely full, but some curiosities remain, each of which will fetch 10d10 gp if sold to a collector:
---a perfectly polished orb, four inches in diameter, of unknown purple and green stone, which is strangely heavy for its size (30 lbs).
---a fake "mermaid" constructed from a monkey's torso grafted onto the tail of a fish.
---a "unicorn horn"; in actuality, a narwhal horn.
---a set of five bone dice with numbered faces shaped into the five Platonic solids.
---a clear, hand-sized rectangular stone; a sunstone, non-magically allowing the sun to be detected when the sky is overcast.
---an elaborately branched piece of brilliant orange coral. If inspected, several branches are broken. This coral, if ground, can be used to make a potion of poison.
---a finely detailed, palm-sized model of a sailboat, signed on the bottom with the artist's name (Suderlyn).
The sailboat is in actuality much more valuable than it appears, as it is a magical miniature sailboat. It can be commanded (using the artist's name) to either return to full size (20' feet long) or shrink. It has a cabin with bunks for four, but could seat up to 10 without discomfort. The speaker of the command word must also touch it to cause the change, which is slow (1 turn). It will change 1d20+20 times before remaining full size.
| Area 24 ≡ ≡ S |
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| Area 22 === | 21. MEETING ROOM |
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| || Area 17 |
21. MEETING ROOM. This large room (150 feet east-west and 70 feet north-south), once used by the smugglers for meetings, contains furniture in disarray, a drinking fountain, and a skeleton on the floor.
Exits. There are two visible exits: In the center of the south wall, a short passage leads to the door from Area 17, and in the center of the west wall is a wooden door to Area 21. The latter is locked, and can either be opened with the key on the skeleton in Area 7, or by picking the locking. Beyond this door a short passage leads to Area 22 (to be described).
Secret Door. There is also a small secret door in the center of the north wall, which can be opened by depressing a stone on the floor in front of it, allowing the door to swing inward into the room. Beyond the door is a 10 foot long passage leading north to a staircase down to Area 24.
Furnishings. The room contains two heavy wooden tables, each 10' long and 5' wide. One is upright near the eastern wall, and has five wooden chairs still around it, and a number of old candle stubs sitting upon it. The other lies on its side a few feet away from middle of the northern wall (it was unsuccessfully used to brace the secret door from being opened from the other side...). Scattered about the room are nine more intact chairs and the broken remains of ten chairs. In the northeastern corner of the room is a tall triangular cabinet, of sturdy wooden construction, filled with old pewter pitchers and drinking vessels.
Drinking Fountain. In the southeastern corner of the room is a small basin of water, which is fed by piper mounted in the rock above the basin, and which appears to drain through a hole in the bottom. The flowing water remains clear and is safe to drink.
Remains. On the floor near the overturned table lies a non-animated skeleton, still wearing decaying leather armor and backpack, and with a dagger nearby. The skeleton is intact, except for its left hand, which is missing. The backpack contains a rusty set of lock picks, flint & steel, torches, and a fine triple-pronged grappling hook (worth 35 gp) attached to old rope, 50' in length (50% chance of breaking if used to support weight).
Dice Dragon. A dice dragon, once a companion to the smugglers, still nests in a crevice in the wall behind the top of the cabinet in the northeast corner. Its possessions include six gems (roll the value of each randomly on the gem table) and a shiny brass key that it found that will open the crypt doors in Area 24. It cannot speak, but has a bit of chalk to write with, and with friendly PCs will communicate an offer to gamble for the key if a gem of at least least 100 gp value is wagered.
Dice Dragon (1): DX 18, AC 2, HD 1+1, hp 6, #AT 1 bite for 1d6 or breath faerie fire 3x/day, target is +2 to be hit for 4d4 rounds
Chronologically on this blog, the previous installment described Areas 19-20 and the next posted installment will be Area 22.
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GROGTALK on Twitter: "During Grogcon22 Dan and James ran a Holmes basic dwarven forge game loosely based on the Hobbit. What if Bilbo didn’t go with the dwarves. Perhaps they would have had to face a Balrog!" |
A recent episode the long-running podcast GROGTALK was devoted to discussing the Holmes Basic rules, and their experiences using it to run a game at GrogCon last fall.
You can find the it here:
Episode 112 – Playing Holmes Basic at Grogcon 22
The portion of the show dedicated to the Holmes Basic talk gets started at 40:28.
This audio recording is extracted from an even longer live video recording on the GROGTALK channel on YT. In this, the Holmes talk starts at about 2:30:08.
And as a follow-up to their Holmes Basic game, they've invited me to come on their show this Saturday morning as a guest. This will be broadcast live on their YT channel starting at 8 EST, and I should be on around 10 AM.
