Beneath the Boughs: Session 2
A Dolmenwood Campaign Commentary
Note: This is the follow-up to my session one Campaign Commentary that you can read about here.
WARNING: The following post has SPOILERS for the Dolmenwood campaign setting. Read at your own peril!
Introduction
This was not my best session. A combination of factors conspired to keep me from refreshing my memory before the game, and when I logged in to Owlbear, I realized that I'd poorly implemented fog of war and had to scramble to re-implement it, so this session was a little more seat of my pants than I would have preferred. Still, I think it went well enough, if you don't count me completely forgetting about Dungeon Turns. Sigh. Oh well. Mistakes were made, and will likely be made again. I am not a great DM. I am a mediocre DM, and these won't be streamed for a reason. But it's important to be up front with my failings as I'll also be reviewing this adventure before too long and it's important to note where I went short and not just where the adventure went short.
Characters
Bjorn - A thief and outlaw who got caught stealing from a noblewoman.
Level: 2
Hit points: 6/6 AC14
Attributes: S 14 D 16 C 10 I 16 W 13 Ch 8
Saving throws: Phys 13 Ment 13 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.
Level: 1
Hit points: 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.
Level: 1
Hit points: 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.
Level: 1
Hit points: 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 2
Season: Early Spring
Date: Chime, 16th of Symswald
Weather: Blustery Drizzle
It is early afternoon by the time the party arrives at the ruins on Droomen Knoll. After some quick and stealthy reconnoitering by the stealthy Bjorn, the party determined that Crookhorns were indeed present, and immediately created several plans and almost as immediately discarded them. Initially they considered speaking with the Crookhorns, but that ended after they realized the Crookhorns were roasting Arda's dog over the fire they were clustered around (a touch I added to show my players that Crookhorns are safely in the evil category). After some debate, they settled on having Ealdwine cast his Vapour of Dreams spell on the cluster of Crookhorns in the courtyard. Bjorn would watch the stairway to make sure no Crookhorns came up from beneath the ruins, while Thran and Guillem would handle the one in the tower who hadn't noticed their cautious approach.
A couple of quick notes here, first off, I was incredibly proud of how my players handled this scenario. They took my warnings about combat seriously, and came up with a plan pretty quickly. I genuinely expected to lose a character tonight, but instead I found myself pleasantly surprised as they rose to the challenge and executed things well. Secondly, I did put my hand on the scale to push them towards combat. I knew what to say to get them to strike out at the Crookhorns immediately, and I did this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I wanted to show them that while combat is dangerous, there are some factions where it is relatively safe to turn their brain off and just fight. Secondly, I wanted to actually have them try out combat in a scenario that was unlikely to get the whole party killed.
However, while the party was discussing their plan of attack, one of the Crookhorns went down stairs to check on "the boss." This galvanized the group into action as they realized that the enemies weren't just going to stand around and wait to be attacked. Instead, they would move about, and generally act like people. Immediately after the crookhorn went downstairs, they began their attack. The Crookhorns were unaware of the party's presence and felt safe with their watchman in the tower, so I ruled they would suffer under a surprise round. This wound up being a very good thing, and while not strictly within the rules of Dolmenwood, I am glad I made this ruling, instead of going with the rules.
Ealdwine cast his spell and the three Crookhorns in the courtyard all failed their saves and fell asleep. Thran ran inside, threw his spear at the crookhorn in the guard tower, and did a hit for 4 damage. The hunter Guillem also made a shot and did a mighty 1 point of damage. The tower Crookhorn was one hitpoint shy of death, and enraged, on its next turn threw one of its pans at Guillem who took 6 points of damage when it landed a natural 20 and rolled a 3 on its damage roll. A couple of turns later, another pan hit him for 2 points of damage. Guillem had a bad day. Thran was missing his spear, so he instead turned his gaze to killing two of the crookhorns next to him. He dispatched the first without issue, and the second one on the following turn.
Meanwhile, Bjorn found himself in a pickle. The bleating cries of the tower Crookhorn drew out the one who had gone to check on the boss, and he immediately engaged with the fragile thief. Fortunately, none of his hits landed, and Thran was able to come to Bjorn's aid, killing the Crookhorn after a couple of turns. Guillem in the meantime had a run of bad luck, and couldn't manage to successfully hit the tower Crookhorn until after had descended the tower, by which time its friends were dead or incapacitated, and it failed it's morale check. Believing the party to be filled with lawful sorts who wouldn't kill a surrendering crookhorn, it surrendered, and after a brief interrogation, Guillem killed it. I sure hope he doesn't continue in such extrajudicial acts of murder. That might force in an alignment change, or other consequences *Evil DM Laugh Intensifies* But the Crookhorn wasn't out of tricks yet. While it had told the party about Grubnott, their leader who held Arda below, she neglected to mention the mutant Cockerell in-between the stairway and in the storeroom who would warn their leader of any attack.
With Guillem badly injured and Ealdwin out of spells, they decided to stay up top and tend the lone remaining prisoner, and search the yard. Guillem while fumbling around in the crookhorns belongings caught mange, but he also found a bronze statue worth 50 gold pieces, something probably taken as a prize from one of the recent caravan raids that had been plaguing the area. Meanwhile, Thran and Bjorn headed down stairs to kill the boss. They ran into the Cockerell, but managed to kill it before it could get a cry off. They then explored the area without disturbing Grubnott's ritual ceremony, quickly finding Thinwhistle.
I played Thinwhistle to the hilt. He was a more violent, obviously insane, obviously cruel version of Smeogol. He promised to give the party money if they freed him, and to hunt them down and kill them if they didn't. Thran wanted to kill him out of hand, but Bjorn was unconvinced. Unfortunately for them, Thinwhistle's shouting and rambling drew the attention of Grubnott, who promptly entered combat, and won initiative, dealing 4 damage to Bjorn before being overwhelmed by the pair of adventurers. Once the coast was clear, the rest of the party descended into the ruins, freeing Arda vague and discussing what to do with Thinwhistle with very little investigation of the other rooms.
Another Note: This I think was my fault. I was flying by the seat of my pants didn't take the time to properly explain dungeon turns and how they worked given that by this point we were nearing the end of our session, and I wanted the party to get back to town sooner rather than later.
The others decided to release Thinwhistle in exchange for learning about the treasure he offered. Thinwhistle told them how to free him, and upon doing so, let them to the secret room and the treasure within. Afterwards, I had him leave by fading away as though he were a ghost as snow fell. He'll be back though. That's a DM guarantee. ;). At this point Ealdwine's player had to duck out, while the rest of the party looted the place. The Sturges left after a morale check, and the party looted everything the adventure had to offer, including the little note about Constable Burl, though they left the rotting food. The party made it back to Aithan with Arda Vague in tow, and the hogtied prisoner Crookhorn carried over Thran's shoulder... which given the close proximity, gave Thran mange. I love D&D.
I did not award them XP for non-magical treasure, though I did award it for monsters defeated. I think that's fair given how generous my exploration rules are with XP.
Total XP Gained: 183
Currency On Hand: 500 GP, 200 SP
Party Status
Bjorn - A thief and outlaw who got caught stealing from a noblewoman.
Level: 2
Hitpoints: 2/6 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
Injured
Ealdwine Waye - A Turnip Farmer turned Magician who was accused letting orcs burn down his neighbors farm.
Level: 1
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
Exhausted - No Spells
Guillem Lank - A glass blower turned Hunter caught poaching the King's Deer.
Level: 1
Hitpoints: 2/10 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
Injured; Afflicted with Mange
Thran Harper - A fighter and brewmaster who murdered a neighbor's chicken while drunk and then started a fight with the town guard.
Level: 1
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
Afflicted with Mange
Next Session
Before leaving I asked the party what they wanted to do next session. The short answer was "Convalesce" which makes quite a bit of sense. Several players also expressed interest in researching some things around town, and buying some more and better equipment. Guillem wants to get a couple of dogs, and generally the group wants to regroup and outfit. There is some interest in digging into Roger Burl, though my players indicated that what form the investigation takes will depend on what Aithan wants to do. Still there is enough there for me to start up with some prep work.
What I learned
Okay, as I mentioned this was a bit of "by the seat of my pants" GMing. A lot of the mistakes I made were ones that would have been avoided, if I'd had the chance to reread some of the material before jumping in to play. That's not an excuse, nor is it me beating myself up. It's just the reality. The session didn't suck, but it wasn't as good as I could have made it either. That's okay, it's just something for me to step up my game with.
Putting a timer on turns really helps keep things moving. I did this a couple of times, right before the party attacked the Crookhorns being the first time. Basically, when the party looked like they might be getting stuck in a disagreement or a plan, I'd start a timer for 10 minutes, and then change the conditions of what they were planning. Sometimes this works out in the party’s favor. Other times, not so much. Either way, I think it signaled to players that the world wouldn't just bend to their whims.
Prep really does matter. I knew this one already, but I think I could have made a better game if I'd had the time in advance to reread the adventure before playing. It worked out, but I won't deny a bit of disappointment.
Surprise isn't guaranteed. Instead, it has to be rolled for. In this case I think things worked out, but it is something to be aware of.
I really need to remember Turns next time. Another thing I meant to read beforehand, but didn't get the chance to refresh myself on.
It's okay to take things a little slower. I feel like we rushed through the adventure just a little too quickly, and I'd rather have had another session rather than rush it if I had the chance for a do-over. I also had quite a bit of stuff on the Thinwhistle side I wanted to communicate to the party members, but didn't get the chance to.
I should have had Thran use slots rather than an ability check to carry the Crookhorn. Again, this was a case of me rushing it and making a quick ruling. Not a big deal given the scenario, but worth remembering for the future.
Missing regularly is not fun. Guillem's player got stuck with several bad rolls, and didn't get much chance to show off his cool abilities. I should probably find a way to let him use that next time.
This session went well, but it could have gone really poorly. While Pipes on Droomen Knoll is implied to be a good starting adventure, I think that depends heavily on the group. If mine hadn't decided to act tactically, it would have gone very poorly for them, and they had a host of advantages the PC's playing rules as written wouldn't.
Links
Currently it isn’t possible to buy a copy of Dolmenwood anywhere. However, you can still support me by using my affiliate links to DrivethruRPG. I’ve left some of my personal favorites below. If that doesn’t interest you, you can support me directly using the buy me a coffee button below.
Old School Essentials
Ultraviolet Grasslands
The Painted Wastelands
