The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 6 - Book Keeping and Wishes

I had planned on doing a longer session today, but my blood sugar bounced. It tends to put me in a reflective mode. 

My main goal was to update the character sheets for Rety and the Clerics. Rety is level 2, finally, and the Clerics are level three. I had planned to have Rety hire a second Magic-User and something funny happened. 

I used the OSE NPC Generator. It is super easy. I must have clicked on "create" 2 dozen times, looking for the right combo of stats, spells, and magic items. As per normal, I wanted this character to have a Bag of Holding or a Ring of Protection. 

This is what I got: 

Wow. A ring of wishes on a second-level character. That is fun! Since I am in charge here, I decided to change that to 2-4 wishes instead of the original 1-2. 

Why? 

It's my game, plus I am the referee AND the player characters. Who wouldn't want a ring of 4 wishes? I have every intention of swapping this character's Wisdom and Dexterity before he starts making wishes. 

Additionally, it gives me a chance to tell a really offbeat story. 

I had a bunch of players who refused every adventure hook, running around town doing everything they wanted and nothing that I planned. Because: PLAYER CHARACTERS!

They were having the time of their lives, and I was going out of my skull planning stuff that would never be used. I came up with a great idea that I stole from Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures. You can purchase this book on Amazon.com with this link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Someone offered to sell them a great mansion in a nice location. The party declined and selected a smaller place in a horrible part of town. Since I was reading a lot of Robert Asprin, this town was a lot like Sanctuary in the Thieves World books. 

(Again, you can purchase this book on Amazon.com with this link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) 

Basically, the town was hell on earth, and the party decided to move into the worst circle of that hell. Of course, since this was a railroad, I used the same floor plan as the original house I had thought of, with all the tricks and secrets I had originally planned. 

This house had doors and cubbies that led to other places like mines, and dungeons, and a castle in the sky. Somehow, the party avoided investigating them all. It wasn't like they were trying; they were having too much fun doing their own thing to look in cabinets and cubbies. 

Instead of trying to trick them or kill the party off, I spent most of my time gentrifying the neighborhood. Sanctuary is a hard city to have fun in, and it really didn't fit with what the party was doing. 

I threw in a gag where the party was robbed, but the robbers noticed the cleric, and covered their ill-deeds with an offering to the priest. Then, it happened again right after they spent all of their cash on workmen to clean up the house. The thieves took pity on their lack of funds a second time and gave them a few coins for soup. 

Once the house was in order, I decided to inflict a comical plague on them. Their neighbors were the Bumpuses from A Christmas Story, complete with the pack of hounds. The hounds and thieves became minor backing characters in the party's wild rumpus throughout my wrecked campaign. 

I'm sorry, I get overly wordy and ramble when my blood sugar drops and bounces back. 

We are finally at the part where the party gets a ring of wishes. It was a random treasure roll, nothing I had planned, but I foolishly let it happen anyway. And comedy gold ensued. 

Two different characters wished for two very useful and interesting things. I wish I could tell what those exact wishes were, but besides being well thought out and sincere, I can't remember because the third wish blew them right out of my memory. 

Forever.

The Fighter snatched up the ring and wished for: "A Magic Dog!" 

No stipulations, no modifying phrases or clauses, and no explanation at all. Just "A Magic Dog!" at a time when the party was surrounded by dogs. 

What the hell, Fighter! 

So, obviously, our new Magic User character will burn that fourth wish on "A Magic Dog!" 

I will be back when I feel better and explain what happened once the party rejoins the adventure at The Keep on the Borderlands. I am sick of posting this link to DriveThruRPG, so why don't you try Return to Keep on the Borderlands for 2e?