How the 1e DMG Spews Forth Adventure
Before we started out grand experiment with AD&D 1e RAW (as much as possible), I had no idea if it would work. I am happy to report, again, that just following the advice and procedure in the 1e DMG constantly generates situations and problems for the players.
This week's game was a good example of this in action. Before the game the players discussed what to do. One lead was to try and hunt down a reported giant any colony. Perfect, I thought, I know what to prepare! For once, I would be ahead of the players with prepared content. My mind raced with possibilities for screwing them over, I mean, er, giving them a challenging time.
As the game started the players began to organize. Previously they managed to place a poison gas bomb inside a nest and cause havoc. This was the plan here, too. I noticed that our calendar reminder said that another 30 days had passed. It was time to do "taxes" - the monthly upkeep for every PC and domain. I also remembered that this was a great time for a periodic check for disease.
The players spent time near Fort Weskfen, which a dirty, swampy settlement. That meant many bonuses for determining if any character had contracted a disease. The players rolled for their groups of PCs and henchmen and hirelings. Unluckily for Gerolt, three of his men were stricken with terminal gastro-intestinal sickness. Local healers knew this as the "green water death" - the men would die without intervention.
The players didn't have the cash needed (1000gp) for a cure disease, even with a discount for services rendered to General Derrax, the paladin-lord of the fort. They locals did mention, however, that the swamp was home to a flower that would provide a chance for recovering if enough was gathered and turned into a balm. The flower grew in the western edge of the swamp, well into beastman territory.
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| the fire flower |
Gerolt declared his intention to find these flowers and return to save his men. Heroic!
Movement was slow going and the group soon arrived at the site of a siege conducted the previous year against a battle group of beastmen. Oh the memories! Now there was an old hermit who staggered around, carrying his "pet" armadillo .... thing. He was also armed with a rusty knife. The players attempted to parley but the old man muttered about his pet and was vaguely threatening. The players opted to move on. They did notice signs of traffic going into and out of the old pyramid.
They spent the afternoon finding and collecting fire flowers at the edge of the swamp. They needed much more, so they planned to stay a couple of days working to find enough for the 3 sick men. The next day they worked southwards. At one point one of the men was attacked by something in the reeds. The man was not harmed, but this was unsettling.
On the third day they collected for another 4 hours then decided to head back east to the fort, taking a course to the southern edge of the swamp. As they approached the trees to the south, a group of tentacled black panthers attacked!
Somehow the beast's attempts to overbear targets all failed thanks to my miserable die rolls. This was a close call because 2 of the things selected Franz the illusionist. Any success would have led to his death, in all likeliness. Now, however, the balance of hirelings, who passed a morale check to stand, engaged with polearms, while Franz employed a key spell - color spray which stunned one of the beasts. The polearms made quick work of the stunned beast, and more men grappled 2 more beasts. (We remembered that held grapples in AD&D 1e inflict accumulating damage, which proved to be important here.)
After a few men died, all the beasts were hacked down. One of the grappled beasts was knocked-put and then trussed for transport.
The group finally returned to the fort and the flowers were made into the medicine needed. Two of the sick men recovered, but one of them still died. Still, the men were grateful and the others now understood their leader would go to great lengths for them.
Word was put out if there were any buyers for the beast. As it turned out there was.
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| "Lurch", magic item seeker for Biro the Thrice-Eyed |
An agent of Biro the Thrice-Eyed, a man who seemingly can make himself appear in nearby towns, mentioned that his master would be interested in such a beast. All the played to do was bring it alive to Biro's tower, east of Burmstone, at the edge of the Kabbir Waste. The price was 4000gp. The players think this is a fine deal and agree.
The players traipsed back north through Burmstone. Thanks to constant work by the "necromancer", Kel, who is the highest levelled PC and master of the town, his temple to Arkabal (the LE arch-devil, aka "The Slaughter Prince") and keep was completed. I described this sight as they came over the hill.
The beast was left at the tower in exchange for several bags bulging with gold coins. Happy they passed back through on the way to Fort Weskfen where they finally located a sage.
Flick had long sought a sage to help with identifying how to operate a wand and rod found in Gorem Kyxalim a few months previously. This time, the sage generated actually had a field of specialty in esoteric knowledge. 14 days later (and 1400gp paid) the sage answered their questions - a wand of trap detection and a rod of cancellation. This was stunning news and a welcome boon.
Next stop: Aeravir!
The players travelled wide of Arkala and arrived near the reported location of the giant any colony. Soon, they realized they had no trail to follow, but began to search the area. Over the hill marched the ants... with friends. The ants were accompanied by several upright, walking insectoids. The player loosed a volley of missile fire as the ant group retreated and then managed to evade pursuit.
All that occured from campaign day 932 to campaign day 953. I was generally surprised and pleased how just a simple monthly procedure led to several hours of adventure and exploration. Overall, I'd give myself a B- for this session. I felt like I only really missed a couple of things - like limiting the number of attackers during the combat with the tentacled swamp cats. I think also I wasn't sure of the tentacles counted as weapons that allowed fending strikes on every attempted grapple. Oh well, we still had a good time.
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