X2 - Castle Amber 2026 - Session 9 - Lay Down Your Burdens

The party has laid Nononn to rest. On the way back to Gabby's Study, they were jumped by the hobgoblins. This is a two-fold problem, one for the party and one for the DM. From my DM's perspective, the issue with this combat is the hobgoblins simply lack the power to threaten the party. After a few rounds, the hobgoblins break and run. They couldn't stand against the magic or the missile fire. 

The party reorganized their equipment and realized they were holding onto several extra bows, slings, and a few quivers of arrows. However, even with the extras, they only had 17 arrows per bowman. They are also running low on food again. 

Back in the Study, they debate the problem. At Session Zero, I suggested dropping the fog and the railroad aspect of the module. The party would like to resupply, but leaving seemed hostile to all that they have done so far. The DM in me doesn't want to force the party into actions, no matter how reasonable and safe, while they possess the ability to plan for themselves. 

Khouri, Gronk, and Rety formulate a plan that was both reasonable and within the boundaries of the module, as it has been played so far. First, they retreat to the exterior of Castle Amber. There they can gather the Sybil's dog, some fresh fruit, and hundreds of sticks. They set up a series of fires to harden the sticks into arrow shafts. While this is happening, Parker and Warren use their slings to hunt larger birds. 

I like this scenario because it's a case where the party only faces the threats they create. It's like the bit where the DM introduces "wild horses," and the party harms themselves trying to catch them. The party goes after wild turkeys in the woods. One is not any trouble, but in numbers, they are probably more of a threat than the hobgoblins. Wild turkeys can number in the dozens, and the party retreated when this happened. Turkeys don't really have "morale" in the traditional sense: they leave when they are done eating. 

Were I doing this with real players, I would introduce another set of rules to make all of this a regular activity with an easily understood procedure. I would suggest Do Not Let Us Die In The Dark Night of This Cold Winter, by Cecil and Shasta Howe. It has mechanics for collecting food, medicine, and fuel. That is close enough to food, glue-like substances in place of medicine, and sticks for arrow shafts. Of course, since Castle Amber is a location in a bottle, they do not need to suffer through the winter. 

Now, they have some food, glue, sticks, and feathers. Given that they spent days and could have spent more time, I deem that they collected 200 shafts per day, but only half of them survive the fire-hardening process. That is 300 arrow shafts. It's a good thing they have 4 bags of holding; otherwise, they would be overburdened. 

As the DM, I have not been idle. Although the party is out of reach of wandering monsters, I make the rolls anyway and use them to repopulate the cleared areas of the Castle. These creatures have moved into the empty rooms. 

The party doesn't have arrowheads. Gabby and Rety have a solution. The party splits into 3 groups. Gabby leads one group back to the Indoor Forest, Rety takes her group to the Study, while the third, led by Jude, retraces their steps. 

Gabby entreats the dragon and unicorn to help them. She means to sandcast almost all of the copper pieces they found into arrowheads, sling bullets, and a few other useful things. She needs the dragon to create a small fire for her to melt the copper down for pouring. Theoretically, they could have done this outside, but the party would have spent days or weeks getting the proper type of fire going. The dragon can do it in one go. They have thousands of copper coins to melt, so she pours out dozens of copper rods in addition to the arrowheads and bullets. These were easy to make, and they can be used as clubs or tools. They damage a few arrows by fitting the heads on the shafts. 

Paying the dragon in gold also lightens the load. They kept the 2200 platinum pieces. Each character was given 10 of each type of coin. 

Rety and her team made a mess working on the fletching glue. They completed the task, but are horribly frustrated. Hands and elbows were glued to tables and each other. They also processed the extra turkey meat from the crew's adventure outside. I am imagining the study has a fireplace. 

Jude's team disrupted the railroad. They revisited Jean-Louis. With a real set of players, this could have been fun or a bloodbath. Jude was unable to pump him for information or treasure. So he continued to destroy the railroad. He led his team back to the Dining Room. Since they all knew the threat of this meal, they avoided all of the dangers while reaping the benefits. 

Jude refilled the empty healing potion bottles with amber wine. He then ordered everyone to collect all of the beef. Being kind and grateful, he turned on the charm and asked the ghostly servers for raw green beans for the rabbit. His intent was to dry the meat while feeding the rabbit a treat of fresh green beans.

Jude's team was small: himself, Alexei, Belaphon, Lance, and Merry. They could only take 4 portions of food and 4 glasses of amber wine, since Alexei was a ghost. The party will return again to make the best of this trick. Alexei couldn't help, and he couldn't leave the castle, being doomed to play in the hall nightly. The party must return as a group to say a proper goodbye. 

This matches Rety and Gabby's plans. They need 3 more days in the Study for the Magic-Users to exchange any copyable spells from the spellbook they took from Simon's spellbook. 

AH! Railroads are bad because the characters can force them to run both ways, causing some events to repeat.

Between the turkeys and the beef from the Dining Hall, the party has more than replenished their iron rations and regular rations. 

They tore through the Study, taking many sets of clothes, several large tents, a couple of 5-gallon barrels for water, and a few other items. They hunted for any bottle they could use to fill with Amber wine and came up with 2 dozen or more containers. 

They make their final appearance in the Dining Hall to fill up on the wine, non-magical foods, and to make their goodbyes to Alexei. 

The unhinged moment was when Sybil ate her salad, reached for a second helping, and was taken to the ground before she could get a third helping. Her damaged Wisdom went up by 2 and down by 2, which was a small mercy. Her Intelligence and Charisma went up by 1. The payoff for this stunt was that she can now speak French. 

Here are the new digital character sheets which I should have done from the start. Each opens in a new window. The characters have their full equipment listed. Unfortunately, Sybil was in charge of the extra spell books and left them behind, having copied what she could read. 

1. Belaphon
2. Dorian
3. Gabby
4. Jude
5. Khouri
6. Lance
7. Merry
8. Parker
9. Rety
10. Sybil
11. Warren

Were I running a real group of players, all of this activity would have generated experience. I decided not to do that, because it is largely me asking my kids for ideas, then running with it. Or I am using OSR Solo to generate possibilities. 

I can't believe how many weeks this series has taken. I need a break. I'm only taking a break from Castle Amber to handle some special projects, which will take over my theoretical weekly posting schedule. 

X2 - Castle Amber 2026 - Session 8.1 - There are Rules

I have a pretty strict rule. Don't throw dice unless you can risk Random. The gist of this is that if a player has agency or the DM needs agency, don't let a random die roll ruin that. The corollary is obvious: don't fudge rolls because you got a roll that you didn't like. 

What if you goof and throw those dice and get a result no one will like? As the DM you can not modify the die roll but you can modify the whole situation. 

Here is the scenario: Rety and the team are laying their friend Nononn to rest, burying him in the Indoor Forest in Castle Amber. They exited the Study, and since they weren't being terribly quiet, I rolled for wandering monsters. The result was 12 hobgoblins. 

Can the party kill 12 hobgoblins? Hell, yes. But the character's intention was to lay a friend to rest. I should not have picked up the dice. That was a bad call. 

How can I fix it? Play it through with a different point of view. 

The hobgoblin stepped out of a room and spotted the heroes. Numbers-wise, this would be an even fight, except the obvious magic-users were in plain sight. Plus, the magic users had the cover of their fighting men. 

The hobgoblins faded away, and the heroes continued on with their mission. 

Rather than let this one go, several of the party members have ESP. I would have explained the encounter in ESP-fuelled dreams. But using real-world logic. Funny logic, it is logical.  

The hobgoblins explain their actions to their leader.

"We saw the invaders," said Murg. 

"And where are their heads?" the chieftain asked. 

"Well... We didn't attack," Murg sheepishly answered.  

"Cowards!" barked the chieftain.

"But sir, they were carrying a human body. Towards the dining hall." 

"What?" said the chieftain.

"Sir, I think they're cannibals," said Murg.  

"Disgusting! Rally the gang. We must destroy these awful invaders. They have crossed a line, there must be rules and standards!" 

The encounter didn't result in a fight and it does make sense from a certain point of view. In this way, the die rolls are honored, but not in the way that was expected. Sometimes encounters can be misunderstandings. 

We will pick up with the hobgoblin attack after the funeral. 

X2 - Castle Amber 2026 - Session 8 - Rety to Atone

It looks like a chapel

It's hard to believe most of this motley crew has survived for over a year. That is 13 months of me trying to track 26 different characters. Rety started in the driver's seat last August in the Caves of Chaos and, after the loss of many of her friends, drifted along with events. With the death of Nononn, she is ready to take the reins again.

In this post, the party will get back to basics, and so will I. This post is about bookkeeping and character roles. 

The issue with Session 7 was that the party had long ago stopped paying attention to roles and supplies. With no one in charge, their behavior was limited to simple reactions. They entered a massive space with nooks, crannies, and more than a boatload of nasties to contend with. And Nononn died as a result.

From my end, I had scattered notes, and as the DM, I lost track of things. Since this is largely a solo endeavor, with me planning the actions of nearly a dozen characters and twice as many monsters, I skimped on the basics, such as tracking inventory.

It's time to fix that.

I've taken the first step and stated the problem: a lack of foresight. When you are the DM, you may notice your players stop wanting to be their characters. If you see this happening, you can throw in an event that allows the party to recuperate and gather their thoughts, remake or reforge themselves, so to speak. 

One option is to simply let them get lost in a minor way. Being lost is defined as not knowing where one is, which is a perfect description of what is happening to the party. Getting lost can be beneficial to a party. No one knows where they are, so they can take a breath and recollect, away from constant threats.

I also favor a mini-event where the party encounters people who allow them a moment to get a grip on their perspective. We see this in movies and books a lot, so it's fair game in my opinion. Atreyu encounters Morla the Turtle, the Hobbits meet Tom Bombadil, and the children in Narnia meet Father Christmas. I have a pre-generated duo named Jen and Flameheart that I can throw into almost any campaign... except this one, because the party is trapped. 

However, three people could fill the role instead.

Let us return to the party in the chapel, panic in progress. The party collected Nononn's remains. Sybil lies next to him, paralysed. Belaphon sat, trapped in blindness. Dorian discovered the curse when he tried to heal Jude. Merry and Gabby whisper about evil curses and take over the healing process. The zombies howled and hammered on the doors. 

Rety took it in and was outraged. She took charge of the situation. 

Why would she take charge? She has an 18 Charisma and she turned it on. 

"Mon Seigneur Gronk, Chevalier du Bois de Lilas, le Défenseur des Voies Anciennes et Secrètes. Rally my troops!" barked Rety. This was something the rabbit dreamed of. He barked orders at the party, sending them this way and that. 

Nonplussed, Gabby's mouth dropped open. 

"Lady Gabrielle Durant, benefactor of this party, we must ready your quarters for the wounded," said Rety in a near-reverent whisper. Gabby, who was no slouch in the charm department, found this both respectful and needful. 

Gronk had the fighters gather up the treasure. They looted the cleric's and magic user's quarters. He ordered all the doors to be checked and spiked closed. While the party didn't know it, Gronk heard the bees and the cockatrice in the room with the holes. Not wanting a fight, the party forgoes more treasure.

They use bedding to make two litters for Nononn and Sybil. 

Destination selected, the Rety led them south and out of the chapel. They traversed the Indoor Forest and made it to the door to Area 5, before encountering trouble. 

William Amber bellowed, "Who the hell are you?" as he stuck Dorian with a hold person spell. 

Rety, Lance, and Khouri loosed arrows at him. With only 29 hit points and no chance to ready a spell, the party handled him easily. The arrows did little, except that every hit prevented the preparation of a spell. Wizards in B/X shouldn't travel alone, or the DM should prep the wizard with spells instead of using the listed suggestions. Fireball or lightning bolt would have made this a challenge. 

Rety grumbled as Lance picked up Dorian. She was losing more men to carrying people. They raced to the Study and barred the door. 

I find that spells like sleep and hold person are more traps than effective attack spells. The consequences come after combat, usually not during combat. William tied up two, possibly 3 characters with one spell, since Dorian needed to be carried away. 

This looks like a study

Once inside the study, wounds were attended to, and armor and weapons cleaned. Rety and Gabby prepared a meal for the party and discussed a few things. They asked the party to arrange their equipment on one table while the other table was set for the meal. 

The Rakastas left a lot of mundane items behind, which the party took advantage of. Sybil, Dorian, and Bela all rested on fine furs. Nononn was draped in silk. 

Since the party was at rest, the hold person's spells faded away naturally. Surprisingly, Sybil's first act was to cast Continual Light on Belaphon to relieve him of his curse. When Dorian rose, the three recovered heroes added their equipment and treasure to the pile on the table. 

Sybil's sword glowed ominously as it reacted to chaotic creatures, in this case, Sybil.  

"Sybil, sheath your sword," she ordered, and the Magic-User took it back. This is a character-defining weapon, and Rety had no intention of putting it in the party's sharing pile.  

The silverware and plates were rather large for humans and demihumans, but they made do. As they ate, Rety spelled out her simple plan. 

"To attend to our friend, Nononn, we must first attend to ourselves," she announced.  

The party drank their wines and spirits to honor their fallen friend as she continued. Rety encouraged this, as booze is one less thing to carry, and toasting their friend showed self-control rather than a drunken pity party. The party has 4 bags of holding, a tremendous carrying capacity, yet they aren't using it effectively. They need to get rid of some stuff and replace it with others. 

"Once this task is complete, we must provision ourselves for a long foray into the castle. We should no longer plan on retreat," she said. The party nodded in agreement. 

"We shall check our animals, gather what we can from the forest, and start our journey. I know not how long we shall be, but I would like to be free of this place by the end of the week." 

This garnered many grunts of approval. None knew how extensive this adventure would be. They aren't even halfway through it. My personal plan is to get them to Averoigne by mid-October. I will have to enlist my kids to help with all of the combat rolls. 

After dinner, Gronk arranged the party into frontline fighters, second-rank fighters, and rearguard. Gabby and Rety dressed them as needed, with many fighters trading weapons and armor with one another. Jude and Merry wholeheartedly agreed with this process, while Lance and Khouri grumbled as her kit was replaced. However, as the two women dressed Lance in the finest armor and gave him the best sword, Khouri's objections tailed off, and Lance was well pleased. He looked like a proper knight. 

Rather than detail how everyone was armed individually, I will explain it as Rety did. She used a chessboard to explain it to everyone. 

The front rank of fighting men had the heaviest armor with lighter sidearms. These were Parker, Warren, and Lance. The next rank has slightly lighter armor, bows, and swords, with the exception being Jude, who doesn't use a bow. Khouri and Merry rounded out the second rank. The third rank was made up of the two magic users on the flanks and Dorian in the middle. Rety took the rear position with her bow, as a tail gunner. Jude, being centrally located, could issue commands and warnings. 

Lety distributed the 4 Bags of Holding among the ranks. Lance, Jude, Dorian, and Lety each have one. The vast majority of the party's gear was placed in the bags, leaving everyone carrying very light loads. However, for their very next task, no one will be carrying a backpack. 

The party readied Nononn for his final foray to the burial site in the Indoor Forest. 

X2 - Castle Amber 2026 - Session 7 - Can I Help You? Part II

In my last post, we left the heroes in the Chapel, where Simon confronted them. I should have labeled the map last time, but this is what we roughly have: 

Technically, no one is surprised, but Simon's marked out like a Shakespearean actor and said his line: 

"Can I help you!" 

On target for a haughty D'Amberville, but a poor plan for picking a fight. He is denoted by the red S. Behind him were the bone golem and the pack of skeletons. On the left, I have marked out the 3 groups of Zombies. 

Parker and Warren tense and begin advancing on him, with Jude following. They know the D'Amberville family well. In reaction to this, the snap-case characters react. Khouri and Lance loosed arrows as they are a team. Although separated, they think alike. Rety joined in the fun. Sybil ripped off a magic missile. Alexei starts playing the organ to set the tone. 

Simon paid for his mistake, taking 13 points of damage. 

Sooooo many targets.

Round 2. I roll 3 dice for initiative. The skeletons and golem burst through the door behind Simon while the zombies start moving towards the sound of Simon's voice. Parker, Warren, and Jude continue their advance. Lance, Khouri, Rety, Nononn, and Merry loose arrows. Gabby and Dorian merely watch while Sybil steps out of Bel's way so he can loft his
magic missile. 

Simon took another 12 points of damage and can't cast a spell. He readied a mace. He is down to 12 HP. He allows the skeletons and golem to interpose themselves between him and the party. 

Round 3. The party continues to roll well for initiative. Parker, Warran, and Jude sweep past Merry and Nononn. Nononn drew his sword and followed them. Sybil and Bel were out of magic missiles and split up. Sybil ran after Jude's team while Bel made for the stairs. 

The dynamic of the combat changes. Merry and Dorian turn all of the skeletons but are perplexed by the golem, which they can't identify at range. 

Lance and Khouri kept firing arrows, but missed. This gave Simon a chance to cast hold person on Sybil, rooting her in place. 

Round 4: The bone golem and Jude's team met. Parker and Warren were struck for 3 and 7 HP. The zombies burst out of the western door. Merry could hear them, but couldn't see them as they were behind the statues. He stopped and turned. Simon struck Bel with continual darkness. Bel stumbled into a statue, triggering it. It bestowed a very ironic gift on him: a scroll of protection from magic. Helpful, but not really. 

The fighting men go at the golem, dealing 12 points of damage. 

Khouri, Rety, and Lance target Simon again. They do one point of damage, knocking him to 11 HP. 

Gabby ran down the stairs, intending to help Sybil. She was blocked by Bel, flailing between two statues, enshrouded in darkness. She yelled at him to stop moving. Luckily, he didn't trigger either statue again. 

Round 5: The golem gets the drop on the party again, this time with Simon helping. Warren, Parker, and Jude took 8, 7, and 3 HP damage, respectively. Khouri was not able to get an angle on a target and advanced in on the melee, bow still drawn.   

At the bottom of the stairs, Bel flailed against the statues, thinking he was under attack. Gabby grabbed him and pulled him away. The darkness spell was far more effective than I thought it would be. Lance followed her into the chaotic situation.  

Jude managed to strike Simon for 6 HP, leaving just 3 HP. 

Rety climbed over the railing and down to the chapel floor. Climb is a wildly under-used and under-rated ability.   

Round 6: The party tied with the monsters for initiative. Merry easily turned the zombies, and they retreated back to their cells. Khouri continued her advance, while Lance stumbled towards Gabby and the confused Bel. Sybil was still held. 

The golem was struck for 18 more points of damage, leaving it with just 7 HP. Simon backed up but used Finger of Death on Nononn. He handily saved. 

Charles opened the eastern door and muttered: "What's happening?" This woke Madiline and her bloodlust for Charles. She charged for the stairs with Doian in hot pursuit. 

Round 7: The party goes first. Nononn slipped around the golem and narrowly missed Simon in the doorway. The three fighters pummeled the golem to death. 

Lance, Merry, and Khouri continue their advance on Simon. Dorian and Madiline made it down the stairs, while Rety sprinted to the altar. Lord, this room is big. 

Simon took a second go at Nononn with Finger of Death and this time the fighter lost. 

Round 8: The three fighting men breached the door and killed Simon. Gabby finally restrained Bel, while Madiline raged at Charles. Rety paused, not knowing which way to go. 

Charles smiled evilly and darted forward to cast a spell. Nononn rose from the chapel floor and shambled to intercept Madiline. Due to the nature of his death, Nononn rose with his full hit points, armor class, and weapon. 

Narrative rounds: The chaos was complete. Madiline and Nononn raced at each other, with the whole party in pursuit. Charles protected his retreat with a wall of ice. Rety separated from the party, entering the northwestern door to stalk Charles. The animated Nononn slew Madiline and turned on the party. Sadly, the party defeated their former ally.

Rety had followed Charles back to his lair in room 30 and observed from the shadows, hidden off to the right of his door. Charles readied himself for a battle, securing his room the best he could. He cast darkness at the northwestern turn of the hallway. He sent his wizard eye down to the northwestern doorway of the chapel to watch the party. Rety silently watched, bow in hand, while Charles searched his library for anything that could assist him in the upcoming fight. 

Khouri led the fighting men down the northwestern hallway, taking a moment to swipe at the wizard's eye. Alerted by the attack on the eye, Charles took a final frantic look around the room. That was when Rety loosed an arrow into his back. She had surprised him. 

His shriek caused the fighting men to move in double time. Merry and Khouri took the lead to get the others through the darkness. 

In the next round, Rety stepped into the room and hit him with another arrow. And that was all the time the angry fighters needed to enter the room themselves and put an end to him. Jude and Merry threw up a stink about dismembering the body. The other grumbled but agreed.   

They circled back to kill the skeletons before everyone banded together to spike the zombies' cell door shut. 

We leave the party with Sybil held, Bel enshrouded in darkness, and Nonnon dead. Everyone except Dorian, Gabby, and Lance had some wounds. 

The party had defeated 18 zombies, 9 skeletons, a bone golem, and three of D'Amberville. 

There will be a lot of mopping up before the next session. I will post bookkeeping, share Warren and Parker's character sheets, and award experience. 

Module Review - S2 White Plume Mountain

As part of my campaign to improve the website, I am rewriting some of my oldest posts, focusing on reviews first. 

This was originally posted on June 1st, 2016. Depending on what happens to the party, I might make this module my 2027 series. B2, X2... S2 seems to track. 

I can't believe I've been doing this for that long. 

Title: White Plume Mountain
Code: S2
Author: Lawrence Schick
Rule Set: D&D
Year: 1979
Pages: 16
Number of characters: 4-10
Levels: 5-10
Rating: ★★★★☆

White Plume Mountain is part of the Special series of modules. It is meant for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and expects a large number of characters at relatively high levels. Interestingly enough, the scenario spells out that many adventures into the dungeon will be required and may cause a rotation of adventurers through many sessions. That is a nice touch. I like the long-term play and replayability, similar to what I did with B2 and X2. 

Written by Lawrence Schick and published in 1979, this standalone module plunges players into the subterranean maze of a volcanic dungeon located in the Shield Lands. The story kicks off when three legendary magical weapons named Wave, Whelm, and Blackrazor were brazenly stolen from the vaults of richie-rich collectors in Greyhawk. When the owners received a mocking poem signed with the symbol of the wizard Keraptis, they tempt a party of plucky heroes to brave the volcanic tunnels with promises of cash and prizes. 

I love this style of play. Early failures and setbacks to the player characters are muted by the ability to retreat to the complete safety of the nearby town. This is very different from most dungeon crawls where characters must hoard limited resources. Instead, players find themselves on a quest to obtain those 3 magical weapons at all costs. Monsters and puzzles and challenges protect them. Backtracking enables inspired progress along with resupply and fairly realistic gameplay. Players can leave their horses at a local village or hide them in a natural cave before entering the south-facing Wizard's Mouth cave. This adventure takes the learning curve for games and makes it a positive. White Plume Mountain is more like The Moonshot than D-Day.

The dungeon itself is a masterclass in puzzle-box design. It forces players to combine brains and brawn to overcome hazards that cannot be solved by simple violence. Navigating the complex requires dealing with everything from a gynosphinx offering riddles to terrifying environmental death traps. Razor-sharp blades and a heat-induction tunnel chop and wear the party down. Players must carefully manage their character's resources as they tackle distinct branches to recover the stolen artifacts.

The Heroes encounter a wild array of off-theme challenges. Wave, the trident, is protected by a watery monster inside a force field under a boiling lake. The warhammer, Whelm, is protected by a crazy waterpark gone wrong with a resident vampire. Blackrazor, the mythic sword is protected by a friendly hobbit. Even if a party manages to run these gauntlets and collect the weapons, they face a final twist at the exit. Powerful efreet named Nix and Nox attempt to intercept them and herd them toward Keraptis' final trap. 

This module also features wonderful artwork. My personal favorite is the fighter on page 6. It isn’t the best, but it captures the character's reaction so perfectly. The fighter’s confused look is classic. Who jumps platform to platform over hellishly hot mud? Everything in fighter school trained me not to do this. This illustration perfectly highlights the terrifying suspended disk challenge where heroes must leap across chains above boiling mud while dodging active geysers. The images for Blackrazor and the Mountain itself and Keraptis are iconic of classic Dungeons and Dragons.

You can find this as part of a set, S1-4. DriveThru RPG also has Dungeon Tiles and a new version for 3.5 Adventures to supplement your collection.