Beneath the Boughs: Chapter One
A Dolmenwood Campaign Commentary
WARNING: The following post has SPOILERS for the Dolmenwood campaign setting. Read at your own peril!
Introduction
I have been wanting to get back into running TTRPG's for a while now. I've been playing 5e on and off for the last year, but it's been a couple of years since I last got to run a game and I've been accumulating quite the list of games and adventures that I want to run. At the top of that list, is Dolmenwood. There are a lot of reasons I've wanted to run this setting but they can be boiled down into three main categories:
1. Ease of use. Dolmenwood uses a very familiar framework to OSE, though there are notable differences. Mostly these differences serve to make the game easier to run rather than harder though, and I appreciate the amount of work done to lighten a GM's mental load.
2. Vibes. Dolmenwood is the fairy tale setting you didn't know you wanted. It borrows heavily from books like The King of Elfland's Daughter and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel to make something really unique. Dolmenwood is scary, mysterious, intriguing and wacky all at once, while still managing to carry the threat of Old School D&D. Very nice.
3. Sandbox. Dolmenwood is a hexcrawl sandbox setting built from the ground up to have interesting things to do, just about everywhere. Already my players have begun poking and prodding things, figuring out little bits of the world and engaging with the content I want them to explore. All of that in just the first couple of sessions.
Rule Adjustments
While I am running Dolmenwood mostly straight, there are a couple of rules that I have adjusted. These are to make the game better fit my taste and the degree of complexity I want for my players.
Firstly, I've changed character creation. Instead of rolling 3d6 for attributes it is 4d6 drop the lowest. In addition, to start off with, all my players are going to be human, with the opportunity to adjust later as they interact more with the world.
Secondly, I've changed saving throws. While I prefer Dolmenwood's saving throws to OSE's, there are still five of them split into fairly niche types. I'm not going to remember the difference between Doom, Hold, and Spell, for instance. Does paralysis from a arcane spell count as hold or does it count as Spell? I don't know, and I won't remember on the fly. What I will remember is Kevin Crawford's Saving throws: Physical, Mental, and Evasion. These are quite simple to me, so I've combined the systems: Saving throws start at fifteen modified by appropriate attributes. Every time players level up, they get 2 "Saving Throw Points" which they can spend to lower their saving throws down to a base of 5. I have kept the "Magic Resistance" mechanic intact from Dolmenwood though. Is this a hacked together solution that will need further house rules later? Yes. Am I bothered by that? No. For the moment it's a far simpler solution that does what I want.
I've also adjusted how encumbrance works. We are using a modified version of the slots system present on page 149 of the player's handbook. Players may carry half their strength in equipped item slots, (min 5 max 9). Everything else is dropped into the quartermaster's sheet. Anything on that sheet can be used by any member of the party without issue and is treated as something "in their pack." Quartermaster's sheet is also what determines movement speed for the whole party. Is Gavin's system more robust? Sure. Especially for players used to OSR play. But my players aren't, and I don't want to be spending more time looking up rules than I have to. This is easy enough to keep track of for the moment.
Feats of Exploration: In addition to the XP options listed in the book I'm offering my players 500 XP for every hex explored, and an additional 500 XP for every hex cleared. This is not split between party members, but given to each party member who participates in the session.
The above rules are the ones I've settled on, though I do think I may have over-catered to my players a little bit. Changing to the 4d6 drop the lowest system meant that my players could easily get a 5-10% prime attribute bonus on top of the 10% XP bonus given to humans. This doesn't sound like much, but in relatively safe areas to explore it means that players will level relatively quickly. Especially if they decide to explore each hex as they enter it. This will even out over time, but it is worth noting that I actually recommend Gavin's system for those more familiar with OSR gameplay or entirely new players.
Background
In order to get the players where I wanted and set up the campaign's boundaries I used the setup from my Dolmenwood Session Prep. But I'll leave a brief summary here:
Each of my players began as a prisoner in the Kingdom's Capitol. While there they were offered a deal: Freedom for service. Blackwatch, the king's domestic spy network and secret police force, have need of agents in Dolmenwood. Seers have determined it's best if those agents operate on their own initiative rather than being given specific orders. So, every member of the party has been given a magical tattoo which confines them to the region of Dolmenwood and keeps them from revealing Blackwatch secrets. The party was then dropped in the Square of the Eidolon in Castle Brackenwold and given a letter for Aithan Gruewater, the local spymaster for Blackwatch. From there, the story begins.
Characters
Our "Heroes" (We'll see how heroic they actually turn out to be) are as follows:
Bjorn - A thief and outlaw who got caught stealing from a noblewoman.
Hitpoints: 4/4 AC14
Attributes: S 14 D 16 C 10 I 16 W 13 Ch 8
Saving throws: Phys 14 Ment 14 Evas 13
Languages: Woldish, Thieves' Cant, Liturgic, Gaffe
Ealdwine Waye - A Turnip Farmer turned Magician who was accused letting orcs burn down his neighbors farm.
Hitpoints: 4/4 AC11
Attributes: S13 D15 C 10 I 16 W 13 Ch 15
Saving throws: Phys 14 Ment 14 Evas 13
Languages: Woldish, Liturgic, High Elfish
Guillem Lank - A glass blower turned Hunter caught poaching the King's Deer.
Hitpoints: 10/10 AC 14
Attributes: S 13 D 14 C 16 I 13 W 12 Ch 13
Saving throws: Phys 13 Ment 14 Evas 14
Languages: Woldish, Sylvan
Thran Harper - A fighter and brewmaster who murdered a neighbor's chicken while drunk and then started a fight with the town guard.
Hitpoints: 10/10 AC 17
Attributes: S 16 D 15 C 16 I 15 W 13 Ch 11
Saving throws: Phys 13 Ment 14 Evas 14
Languages: Woldish, Dwelve
Session Notes
Day 1
Season: Early Spring
Date: Colly, 15th of Symswald
Weather: Chilly and Damp
Upon being released onto the streets of Brackenwold my players decided to visit Aithan, hoping for answers and shelter. I asked them if they would like to open the letter, (despite it being heavily implied that they shouldn't). They decided to follow the implied orders and take the letters to Aithan. First though, they needed to find the man's estate on the outskirts of the city (which I have decided is called "The Spill" since it spills out past the outer walls). I didn't make it difficult; Aithan is a local fixer for the nobility, using his position as one of the landed gentry to interact with both the nobility and the peasantry. While the rest of the party decided to approach Aithan's home, Thran decided to stay outside and watch in case this turned out to be a trap or in case the party had enemies they didn't know about.
After a couple of knocks the party was greeted by Aithan's butler, Gibson, who upon seeing the seal on their letters, shut the door in their face and ran to get his employer. The party waited patiently until the butler reappeared and then followed him into the study where Aithan explains the situation, they found themselves in. He is a member of the king's spy network, the Blackwatch or 'The Watch' and bears a tattoo of his own, though his eye isn't bleeding and has a dark green tinge to it. He further explains that since his arrival and posting in Brackenwold, he has heard a number of concerning rumors and has relayed them to his masters in the capitol (For the moment he hasn't elaborated as to what he has heard). Someone in authority seems to have paid some attention to his reports, because they recruited and then sent the party. Unfortunately, Aithan isn't exactly sure what to do with them. He's sure he'll find something with time, but that might take a little bit. In the meantime, his orders are to equip the party as adventurers and then let them do as they will.
If they break the law, they are on their own. However, Dolmenwood isn't exactly heralded as a bastion of civilization. It's the arse end of the kingdom, almost a frontier. Ealdwine though wants more than Dolmenwood, and asks if there is some way to earn his freedom. Aithan says that he isn't entirely sure, but he suspects that a significant act of service to the kingdom would change the magic of the tattoo and allow Ealdwine to roam further afield. In the meantime, he will do as instructed and equip the party. Around this time, Thran notices a couple of local constables jogging towards the house and knocks on the door, pushing past Gibson the butler to warn the rest of the party. Gibson splutters his distress but leads the Fighter to the rest of the group.
Once inside the group explains the situation. Thran and Bjorn go with the butler to get outfitted while Guillem and Ealdwine stay behind to discuss matters with Aithan while waiting for the constables. During that time, they smoke a bit of pipeweed. (I didn't really have time to introduce the mechanic in full, though I did leave enough hints that hopefully my PC's will engage with smoking in the near future, where it will be more relevant.) Soon after the party is equipped the constables arrive. They introduce themselves as Sergeant Marge Bregson and Constable Rodger Burl, they are looking to speak with Aithan about finding an adventuring party to look into the disappearance of a young man named Arda Vague, who was exploring some ruins to the north east of Brackenwold. Apparently, the young man had heard pipe music on the wind around there had spent several days over the last few weeks searching for the source. His family is convinced the boy was kidnapped by fairies.
Aithan asks why the constables can't look into it themselves, and the two men say that it's because there are rumors of Crookhorns in the area the boy disappeared in, and their captain doesn't want men wandering that far from the city. There is a reward for the boy though, 200 GP for his return. If the adventurers can confirm or disprove the presence of crookhorns there will be another 200 GP in it for them, though Burl scoffs at the idea of Crookhorns this far south, if they exist at all. Aithan says he'll have the men for them in a couple days, and has Gibson see them out. He then turns to the party and offers them 1000 GP if they can bring him a live crookhorn. The party recognizing a golden opportunity jumps at the chance.
They have a brief discussion about whether they should leave that night or in the morning. Thran's player pushed for that night, but they eventually decided to explore Castle Brakenwold and the surrounding area to get the lay of the land. Aithan agrees to let them spend the night, and the party heads off. I gave them a brief overview of the area and mentioned the Barrows outside the city, but the players decided to go back and explore the markets and get an idea of what goods or services were available. Since it was Colly the markets were filled with animal trainers, which was of great interest to our hunter. However, the party lacked gold, and so they called it a night went back to Aithans, narrowly avoiding a random encounter.
GM Note: It is here that I realized I done bleeped up. Initially the rules around XP for exploration were that active members of the party could get 1000 XP for exploring the hex and didn't get anything additional for clearing the hex. This was a mistake, as Bjorn, our thief with a 20% XP Bonus promptly leveled up as soon as he got back to Aithan's Manor. Oops. I've since corrected that ruling to where the party now receives 500 XP for exploring a hex and an additional 500 XP for clearing the hex (interacting with the locations and inhabitants to my satisfaction).
Day 2
Season: Early Spring
Date: Chime, 16th of Symswald
Weather: Blustery Drizzle
The party woke up to grey skies, and miserable surroundings. Still they were adamant about finding Arda. Since they hadn't asked for more specific directions than "Northeast of Castle Brackenwold" I ruled that they would need to search the hex. They rolled for getting lost and for a random encounter and since hex 1607 is light woods with a low chance for either, they succeeded both checks. In the woods though they did find a road that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Following it, it wasn't long before they caught up to a bunch of friars chanting in bad liturgic and self flagellating as they continued down the path. The party had come up behind the monks and decided to follow them at a distance, rather than approaching them. (I think I might have oversold how dangerous combat can be at low levels in Dolmenwood. Several of my players were a little gun-shy and overly cautious. I'm not entirely sure if this is their roleplaying, or if I oversold the dangers of traveling beneath the wood.)
My players followed the monks to the chapel hidden in the hex and watched as the monks vanished before the door had closed behind them. The party was very cautious as they circled the chapel and looked for other exits before pushing the door open. Inside I described the ruined chapel and Ealdwine (Magician) decided to detect magic. I told him that there was a bit of magic on the ancient and decrepit building though it wasn't sinister. After entering inside (again, cautiously) they found a tryptic which contained panels showing bandits attacking a farmer on the road, showing remorse, and lastly a group of 12 monks.
The party (quite accurately) deduced that the monks must have been bandits once upon a time who showed remorse and were then cursed by God to wander the wood in search of atonement. The party decided against further exploration and continued searching the hex. Soon after they heard the sound of pipe music and followed it to a ruined castle where we left the session. When it picks up it will be early afternoon, and the party will still be miserable in the cold and the wet. But they have discovered the destination they were looking for.
Resources
Since my players spent the time to actually search the city, one of the things I'm doing before the next session is coming up with a simplified sheet that has locations, a map of Castle Brackenwold, and a list of services they can fill out as they dive deeper into exploring the city and its surroundings.
Similarly, I and my players are using Owlbear Rodeo to play in Dolmenwood. Unfortunately, Owlbear doesn't have a character sheet for Dolmenwood or OSE, so I made some myself with Google sheets. That is linked below, though be aware it uses my rules for things, so you may need to make adjustments if you are using the rules as written.
Lastly, I have a few misc. sheets linked below: The Quartermaster Sheet, the Intelligencer’s Sheet for keeping track of rumors and quests, and the Cartographer's sheet, for keeping track of exploration and locations.
All that and more can be found in the google drive link below:
Resources Drive
Further Reading
Its a possibility. But right now there havent been any problems. We are now several sessions in, and my players have only entered 7-8 hexes. They have been focused on the quests they get rather than exploration. It does make them progress significantly faster through the early levels. But that isnt the weakness you might be thinking it is.
There are 200 hexes in Dolmenwood. 500 XP per hex entered is about 100,000 XP. A Thief must have 870,000 XP to reach max level. "Clearing" a hex only grants an additional 500 XP bringing them less than a quarter of the way there, if the clear every hex on the map.
So how long would it take for them to clear every hex on the map? Assuming no faction play, no outside meddelling, fairy shennanigance etc. It will probably average one hex per night of play. Assuming a weekly game, that is 4 years of play for a thief to be level 10... They won't even have a quarter of what they need for max level.
My game isnt likely to go that long. Either my players will get bored, or I will, or life will come up. I'm willing to speed my players through the most fragile levels so they can get to fight some bad guys and really invest in "changing the wood forever." In fact, once the group reaches level 5, I'm probably going to make it the new floor for their characters. If someone dies, their next character starts at level 5 rather than one.
Now, all of that said, a party clearing hexes is likely to wind up with a certain amount of treasure. Treasure XP is split. So is Monster XP. So between everything exploring each hex likely will get that thief to max level, but I'm still not worried about it, because my players just won't stick around that long more than likely.
What is the longest running campaign your group has run? As a player, mine is 32, and as a GM it's 17. Most games aren't 3D6 Down the Line or Critical Role. Long multi year campaigns arent the norm. Most games are lucky if they get 5-6 sessions before falling apart. I'll take what I can get.
Does that make sense?
I only prepare what I know or suspect I will need. Initially I prepped for Castle Brackenwold and the journey to Droomen Knoll. I rolled up a single encounter that I didnt need to use. If a random encounter came up mid game, I either use something from the hex, or pretend they didnt roll an encounter. It depends.
I was familiar with the rules from OSE and they largely translate 1:1, so it wasn't that big of a deal learning them on my end. I reread areas that I know I will need before the game. Ie, if I know I'll need crookhorns in hex 1605, I'll reread that hex and the Crookhorns page.
I didnt tell my players almost anything. They knew the general vibe, and that was about it.
Game scope is going to boil down to what I see my players gravitating too. There are a lot of problems in the wood, and Aithan can guide them towards several of them. Whichever they party looks towards most often will wind up being what the campaign is about. How long that takes? I have no idea. Right now my players haven't even fully explored a hex and we are 7 sessions in. I'll go until either I am no longer having fun, my players find a good point at which to send off, or we can't play any more due to real life getting in the way.