The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Sessions 12 - Out of Options

This is the third scenario that I played out with the party. The other scenarios ended in a TPK and a few survivors running for their lives after making a series of choices. Also, Simon and his daughters are just off the east and south edge of the map with a wagon. They will not enter the fray for any reason, but will wait to see if anyone escapes. They have a wagon ready to go. 

In this session, the party does not make a plan, and we are just one round after the explosion. Bel has run to the main entrance to see what happened. Sybil ran to room 17 to see what had happened to Celia. Rety brushes past Bel to get to the team at the secret door. 

Bel pours a healing potion into Thomas, and in the next turn, Thomas attempts to revive Dorin. Unfortunately, Dorin died in the explosion. Sybil found what was left of Celia and her dog. She decides murder is her plan. 

Rety arrived at the other entrance and was shocked to see the monsters arrayed:

There is a tree missing because the hobgoblins and goblins cut it down.

Previously, I had mentioned that instead of rolling wandering monsters, I had those wandering creatures join their allies in the caves. The forces arrayed against the heroes are massive. There are 32 Orcs in 4 groups of 8. The goblins and hobgoblins have 2 groups of 8 and one group of 10 on the valley floor for a total of 26. Just off the map, to the southwest are 12 more hobgoblins, armed with spears (6) and crossbows (another 6). There is a second group of 6 spear-wielding hobgoblins up the hill and over the entrance D. I did not draw these because they aren't visible to the party. The kobolds have a group of 8, one of 4, and the last group of 10. The group of 4 kobolds is wrangling 18 rats. The leaders of each tribe are in the middle near the trees. 

The party is about to fight over 100 monsters in one go.

Rety took the bow-armed Fighters and Knights into the ogre cave with her. They couldn't be seen and awaited the monster's first move.

As the explosion went off, I had the monsters roll morale to move on the caves. 16 orcs and 8 goblins pass the check and enter cave D. The goblins led the way and made themselves busy dismantling the chain and wheels so the orcs have an easy path to the slaughter. 

Bel, Sybil, and Thomas arrayed themselves against the other group. Bel, who was closer, fires off a sleep spell on the 8 goblins and drops 6 of them. Sybil steps out and does something interesting; she unleashes phantasmal force on the 16 orcs. 

Before I resolve that action, let's talk about the rats and kobolds. They move on cave entrance E. Remember, there is no communication between Sybil's team and Rety's team. Rety believes the Magic-Users and the Cleric were on their way. They aren't going to the secret door or room 18. They are fighting.  

Everyone with a missile weapon opened fire on the rats from the ogre cave. One was killed, another was wounded. The rats strangely pass their morale check. 

Time to resolve Sybil's attack. She makes an illusory attack on the orcs, an explosion like the one that claimed Celia's life. This is not entirely imaginary; she saw the results in real life. The illusion is instantaneous. It is also a repetition of something that just happened. Only 4 of the 16 Orcs made their saving throws. However, they also see 12 of their friends go down. They flee. 

Now, way back in Session 8, I mentioned how little like low-level spells that are permanent. Phantasmal Force is a potent spell for 2nd level. In this case, it is the opposite of permanent, which can also cause just as many problems as a permanent spell. Sybil's illusion ends quickly and is very specifically tailored. I like it and hate it. 

As a DM, I have to ask myself what just happened. Let's make a couple of rules of thumb for the monsters. To save against this, they need a 16 or better. Roughly 4/5s of the monsters should fail, and 1/5 should succeed. The second rule of thumb is that everyone saw the illusion, but some didn't believe it. However, even those who disbelieved it saw 4 orcs and 2 goblins flee it. They did not see all of the other critters drop as they are deep in the cave.

I rolled morale for all of the monsters collectively. They failed, and I use OSR Solo to determine what this means. I asked, "Do they all run?". I got a result of "Yes, but..." 

The leaders of each tribe move to stop the rout. I rolled again to see what the effect was. The result of stopping the rout was  "Yes, but..." again. I make a simple choice. They could not stop the 4 orcs and 2 goblins from fleeing, but everyone else held it together. 

Additionally, the unit of 10 goblins marked with a star was made up of 8 newcomers and two residents of the Caves of Chaos. The newcomers, shocked, flee with 2 of the resident goblins in hot pursuit. The home team goblins are pissed at the cowards fleeing. A melee breaks out between them.

In the meantime, Sybil, Bel, and Thomas walked to the mouth of the cave and saw the enemy force for the first time, and turned around. The leadership was shocked to see the party hacking and stabbing the downed orcs at the cave mouth. They howl and start rallying the troops for another charge. 8 Orcs advanced on the cave entrance while the 6 spear-armed goblins came down the slope to follow them. Behind them, the leadership unit moves away to the melee happening between friendly forces in an effort to stop it. 

On the other side of the battlefield, the rats and party are battling for the cave entrance. Initiative is simultaneous. Rety and Dorian don't get to attack as the fighters formed a wall. Since the fighting men get multiple attacks based on their level, the rats died horribly. In the exchange of blows, several of the fighting men were injured. The next wave of 9 rats pauses its advance. 

Sybil and Bel killed as many orcs as they could as they retreated back to the hallway. Once inside, they started killing the downed goblins, waiting for the next wave. 

8 orcs and 6 goblins enter the cave. The Cleric and Magic-Users win the initiative. Bel fires off his sleep spell, downing 13 orcs and goblins. Sybil and Thomas take on the last one. While the last orc survives the party's initial onslaught, he wounds Sybil before going down under a flurry of blows in the next round. 

The second wave of rats rushed the orge's cave, but barely held out for three rounds. Rety sees the 2 hobgoblin forces advancing from above and orders the secret door closed. Several members of the party are stuck in the back with spears and bolts, but no one has dropped yet. 

Sybil spends her time wisely, killing as many unconscious orcs and goblins as she can. Bel and Thomas were horrified. She had lost track of the dead and was "killing" the same couple of creatures over and over again. They made a choice to gather up Dorin's body to flee this place. 

Rety gave an impassioned speech to the two Knights, convincing them to doff their armor so they could carry the dead. They agreed. Slammer, Rety, and Solvo took the lead, bows ready. Everyone else carried the remaining bodies. Rety kept impressing upon the Knights that removing the dead was the honorable thing to do. The party was ready to run. The Knights hate this but follow the logic of honoring the dead. 

Rety was pleased to see Bel and Thomas had the same idea, but Sybil's actions were concerning. Rety tried to calm her as the others made their way out. 

The kobolds and the enemy leaders were closest to the entrance as the party exited. The 10 kobolds stuck six different characters. Both of the unnamed Magic-Users were struck, but only one went down. The unnamed fighter picked him up and carried him away. Bel cast a shield to cover the retreat, but as the party ran, not everyone was protected. Behind them, Rety and Sybil argued in the cave. 

In the next round, Solvo and Slammer fired on the leaders as they ran after the party. They traded 2 arrow strikes to 3 spear hits. The party continues its retreat as Rety bodily pulls Sybil after her. Outside, Sybil stopped to cast her last spell, invisibility on Rety. Again, the fighters exchanged missiles with the leaders while Bel ran back to shield them. 

The kobolds let loose one last barrage on the fleeing party. Lefty went down. The leaders and their bodyguards threw spears at Solvo, Bel, and Slammer, who were protected by the shield spell. Invisibly, Rety stopped to help carry Lefty's body. He was critically wounded. Sybil ran to assist by taking the body of the Magic-User Lefty had been carrying. 

Another volley of spears rained down on the party. Slammer rushed the enemy while Solvo called for him to retreat. Bel and the Elf dragged the wounded fighter away.

The enemy froze as 6 crossbowmen, 3 warriors, and a wagon appeared in the valley. The party escaped more cleanly this time.

The party had far fewer dead in this scenario. They lost Lefty and Slammer, in addition to the unnamed Magic-User. Everyone was injured in some way. This was much better than the last butcher bill, which ended in one TPK and one near TPK, where only 4 people made it to the wagon. This time, the party lost all of their loot, most of their equipment, and 3 characters in the breakout. They did manage to escape with the dead, which is something. 

They also know that Punch's real name is Jude. The part of Lefty was played by a man named Arthur. Slammer's name was stolen from the book What is Dungeons and Dragons, a nice score if you can find it. I last posted a link to Amazon. This time, I am using a link to AbeBooks. As an associate, I receive remuneration for purchases through these links. 

I can't wait to do this again, but to be honest, I want to wait to do this again. Yeah, it's that sort of production. Next time you see Sybil, Rety, and the gang will be on a ship, heading to the Isle of Dread.

You can get a copy of X1 - The Isle of Dread from DriveThruRPG.  

One week later, Sir Jude, Rety, and Thomas the Cleric returned on horseback to the Caves of Chaos. Sir Jude wanted to recover the plate armor he had lost. Rety and Thomas were there to stop him from doing anything stupid.

They heard a clanking in the wind as they approached. The orcs had mounted the two suits of plate armor on logs at the opening of the valley. A pile of the party's weapons was displayed below them. Arthur's armor was on the left. The trio paused to take in the sight before Jude kicked his horse and led the way back to town.

"That seems right," Jude said.

Relieved, the orcs retreated to their cave, knowing the display of their enemies' destruction would protect them in the future. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Sessions 11 A and B - The Total Party Kill Post

This is a post about choices, for both the party and the DM's side. This will not be a blow-by-blow post like the other sessions. I will have one last session post where the party successfully defends themselves. Let's recap quickly before I get into the mechanics of a TPK and a near-TPK scenario. 

Outside, the orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and kobolds have arrayed themselves to crush the party. Here are the dynamics of this order of battle. The B2 booklet explains how the two orc bands have an alliance; they are effectively one group. The same goes for the hobs and gobs. 

In every session post, I have stated that every monster group was planning to kill the annoying kobolds until the appearance of the party. The party's presence in the Caves of Chaos has delayed the planned attack on the kobolds. We have three forces outside working together to kill the party. However, they don't entirely like each other. This is important for morale, which is a big deal in BX. 

Here is a link to these books on DriveThruRPG: Basic and Expert. One of the great things about DriveThru is that they actually update titles and send notifications when they do so. Maybe this is really the author doing it. In any case, I noticed that the Expert book has a POD option. As soon as the Basic book has the same, I will order them both. 

Back to morale. 

The orcs will not roll morale if something happens to the hobs and goblins and vice versa. If anything bad happens to the Kobolds, these two groups will react positively, as they want them dead. This will prevent them from running off if the party defeats the kobolds. Also, it allows coloring, as these forces will cheer the party's successes against the kobolds, which is all rather ominous for the party. 

For sanity, I grouped up the monsters: 

• 2 groups of 8 Goblins each 
• 1 group of 10 goblins
• 3 groups of 8 Orcs each
• 1 group of 10 Kobolds
• 2 groups of 9 rats, led by 2 Kobold handlers each
• 2 groups of 6 Hobgoblins 

You see why this ended in both a TPK and a near-TPK. That's 94 monsters and I haven't even mentioned the leaders and their bodyguards. 

Two other events are going on outside. The party's mule has escaped and is running around. It reacts to the monster's movements, so the party does receive an alert when the monsters move. The second event is that the drover family has pulled a wagon up to the southeastern edge of the map with six crossbowmen. They will not enter the fray or the valley, but are watching. 

Inside the cave, we have the party starting in two groups. Belaphon, Thomas the Cleric, and Sybil the second Magic User are all near the cave mouth. There is a raging fire in Room 17. At the end of the last session, Sybil went to Room 17 to see what was happening. 

All of these character links go to PDFs of the character sheets on my Google Drive account. If you like them, you can always use them in your campaign. You could also hit Support Me on KoFi on the upper right to send me money. Either way, I would really appreciate it if you used them at your table. 

At the other side of the map, we have Dorian, Lefty, Punch, Rety, Slammer, and Solvo in Room 18. They are supported by the newcomer party, made up of 2 Magic-Users and one Fighter. The newcomers have already lost a Cleric, a Thief, and a Fighter. The party recovered their bodies in the last session. 

In the TPK scenario, Rety decides to array the party in roughly equal groups to defend both entrances. We have a Cleric, a Fighter, and a Knight at both entrances, plus two Magic Users at each. Solvo the Elf is with the group near Room 18, and Rety is at the other cave mouth leading that group. 

Wave upon wave of monsters eventually breached the caves and crushed the party as they retreated to Room 18. 

The primary issue was that the Magic Users and missile-armed fighters held the monsters off outside the cave entrances using sleep and arrows on whatever wave they were facing. Since the sleeping monsters were outside, they could be woken up again and form another group of attackers. Once the spells ran out, the battle quickly descended into melees that the heroes couldn't win. The archers never ran out of arrows because they were pre-stocked in various places. It simply didn't help. 

In option two, the near-TPK scenario, the party blocked up the secret door and focused on only the cave mouth. Basically, the same thing happened. The party ran out of spells and retreated to Room 18. They managed to unblock the secret door and fled to the waiting wagon. Once the party started the breakout, I ran the scenario 3 times. The Fighters, Clerics, Rety, and Knights died over and over again, and usually only the Magic-Users made it to the wagon. 

What helped the party was that ALL of the monsters participated in the breaching of the cave mouth, leaving a very weak force outside to stop the party. Whoever made it outside simply needed to outrun the leaders and bodyguards, who were already disinclined to get into melee. 

I'd like to talk about this scenario because I tried several game-breaking options to allow the heroes to escape. From the DM's perspective, these were all bad choices because they would have killed follow-up sessions and possibly my whole campaign. In my opinion, TPKs happen because players make bad choices. It is not up to the DM to try to fix it by breaking rules. Let the party find out what works and what doesn't. 

First, I did the easy thing and cheated by letting the magic users enter the fray with undeclared spells. I simply let them have whatever spell they deemed necessary. This is a really bad choice, AND it didn't help the party at all. I posted about letting Magic-Users hot swap spells in Session 6.5. This is a non-combat event, NOT at all appropriate for what happened here. Second, allowing MU's the ability to just select spells at the time of casting gives them too much power and takes away from the spontaneous casting that Clerics can do. This would damage future events by giving too much power to the spellcasters. I do let clerics spontaneously cast. If your god needs you to do it, you can do it. Clerics have that kind of power. Magic-Users do not. 

The second thing I tried was even more egregious. Since the party was facing total extermination, I allowed anyone to fire a crossbow at the onrushing horde of monsters. Lefty and Punch shouldn't use crossbows, but I justified this as they started as crossbowmen. That feels bad, but it has some logic to it. 

Magic-Users firing crossbows is also "just ok", as they would face serious penalties to their die rolls.

Clerics and bows should be right out. They won't use sharp weapons against living creatures by choice or oath. Sharp weapons tend to be ineffective against the undead in most cases. They have better tools in these scenarios, like spells or turn undead.

In all cases, none of this cheating actually helped the party, and as a DM,  I damaged my ability to run future sessions because I broke major rules. I would never do this with players at the table. 

I DO allow MU's and Clerics to use bows and sharp weapons under very strict conditions. Clerics can have the ability to use ANY weapon under non-combat conditions. They can't hurt people with them, so this is limited to sparing or target practice. They never get to roll damage, so no harm, no foul. 

For Magic Users, I allow them to use darts for 1d3 damage at very close range. They can have a very wimpy hand-pulled crossbow for flinging darts if they so choose. Most players try this and determine if hand-throwing a dart and firing one from a crossbow does the same exact thing; they won't carry the crossbow to save weight. The weak, hand-pulled crossbow is a campaign flavor thing with some historical notes. 

Did you know they made clay pellet bows and crossbows for game hunting? Stonebows were completely ineffective in warfare. I would imagine someone tried it to find out how bad it was. Of course, there is a video or 10 on YouTube. 

I also have a rule that Magic-Users can use swords under limited conditions, too. Sybil has a short sword. She is limited to 1d4 points of damage. If a fighter used it, it would go back to its full 1d6. Magic-users are ineffective with swords, but I love the idea of Gandalf and his sword. This seems to be a good compromise, as there is considerable crossover between a small sword and a big dagger. I wouldn't let them pick up and use a 2-handed sword, and no one has ever asked to do so. Of course, this is one of the things you can do with the original rules combat, where everyone did 1d6 per attack, no matter the weapon. 

In these two scenarios, the party's choices and the DM's choices lead to a Total Party Kill and a near TPK, with only random characters escaping over a couple of replayed events. 

In the next post, I will do a nearly round-by-round description of how the party avoided both of these scenarios. The clever party came up with some great ideas that required some game-changing adjudication by the DM. This would completely change the flavor of a campaign and needed to be handled strictly by me so as not to cause problems in the future.  

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Taking Stock

I have finally gotten around to scanning all of the character sheets I am using. I hate my HP scanner, and I am on the lookout for a new printer/scanner combo.  

My default character sheet is the one from OSE/Necrotic Gnome. This is a funny choice for someone who created their own character sheet, but this one is better than mine. At least for B/X games. The one I created was done in 1989 for AD&D 1e with Unearthed Arcana. You can get it at DriveThruRPG at that link. 

Here are the characters in alphabetical order: 

• Belaphon - Magic User
• Dorian - Cleric
• Lefty - Knight
• Punch - Knight
• Rety - Thief
• Slammer - Fighter
• Solvo - Elf
• Sybil - Magic User
• Thomas - Cleric

You can also download a single PDF of all of them here. All of these links lead to my Google Drive. I don't believe they require an account to view and download. 

The individual characters have a lot of resources and gear. 4 of them have Bags of Holding. Rety made sure that everyone with a Bag of Holding had enough food and water inside to support the whole party for a day or so. 

Also, as mentioned in Session 6.5, all of the magic users have shared their spellbooks. This was done at Rety's request to strengthen the party. Solvo, Belaphon, and Sybil have access to the following spells: 

1st-level spells:

• Charm Person
• Detect Magic
• Floating Disk
• Light
• Magic Missile
• Read Magic 
• Read Languages 
• Shield 
• Sleep

2nd-level spells:

• Continual Light
• Invisibility  
• Phantasmal Force
• Wizard Lock

This is a devastating array of magic. 

Rety also made the fighters and clerics pre-stage weapons in locations. In each room the characters control, there is water, food, 40 arrows in two quivers, 6 crossbows and 60 bolts, and 12 spears. Slammer, Solvo, and the two Knights also have shields and polearms prepositioned in the locations they believe they will be most. They don't have enough to supply every room. 

The heroes are now divided into two groups, one at each entrance to their system of caves. This is a problem as they can't communicate and support each other. Also, the fighting men are separated from the spell casters. 

The party does have a pair of minor advantages. First, the escaped mule is causing distractions outside; various factions want to eat it. Second, the drover band is waiting at the base camp for the heroes with six archers. Since they see the smoke, they are on their way to see what is happening. 

I have actually played this scenario out three times, with very mixed results. One was a TPK, one was a near TPK, and the third was a victory for the party. I will have a short post for the two TPKs and why those happened, but I will have an extensive post on the heroes' victory. 

Having the party succeed required careful gameplay by the characters and a ton of adjudicating by the DM. Part of my reasoning for posting these solo sessions was fun, and the other part was to talk about how I make choices as a DM. The last post in this series will show how a DM can fairly referee a session that results in a win for the party without turning monsters into dumb zombies. However, some of these choices can come back to haunt the DM later. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 10 - Dragon Fire and Prune Juice

Good Evening! I am itching to paint some figures, but I also don't want to let this series go. Please excuse the unpainted and half-painted figures.  

Our party was surprised by a well-armed band of adventurers wandering the valley of the Caves of Chaos. They were more surprised that their mule had escaped the kobolds for several days running and had become a regular denizen of the Caves. 

Norin spotted the new group first and alerted everyone. The two Knights blocked up the secret entrance to the ogre cave with the stone treads and met the rest of the party at the main entrance. Rety and Celia wormed their way under the chain and wheel contraption for a better look. 

Rety, I think.

"The first one is a Thief," whispers Rety. "They have two Fighters and two Magic-Users." 

"Right," answered Celia. "And the skinny lady has to be a Cleric. Look at that holy water sprinkler."

Rety hissed in amusement. The "sprinkler" was studded with large metal knobs, and the woman appeared like she watered it with blood, frequently. 

Celia crawled back to explain the situation before Rety made a decision to call to the newcomers. They looked mean. She never got the chance. 

The other party turned away, looking to the kobold caves. 12 of the little beasties came out in formation. 6 held large shields with large spikes on the bottom. In their tiny hands, they looked like mantlets, a piece of siege equipment the Castlian brought to the Keep. The other six lugged crossbows, two each. They only ventured 20 feet out of their cave, and the shield bearers drove the spike of each shield into the ground. 

One of the women, a Magic-User, waved her arms, and an eye-bending shimmer of light appeared between the groups. Three bolts shattered against the shield spell, but a fourth winged the Cleric who was too wide of the barrier. 

As the newcomers took refuge behind their shield spell, Rety dragged her belly on the floor to get back to her team. 

He looks like a Punch. 

"Punch and Lefty, open the secret door! Slammer and Solvo, get your bows ready, but wait for my signal. Dorian, back them up, but don't expose yourself. Bel, give them a shield," she ordered. The men ran off to comply. 

"Thomas, I want you here with Dorin and Celia. I want you to lift the chains and wheels when I call." 

They nodded and took up the rope Dorin had rigged to his contraption.  

"Come on, Sybil. On your belly, with me," said Rety.

Sybil took a crossbow, a quiver of arrows, and another of bolts with her as she slid on her back. She was ever non-compliant. Rety kissed her magic ring of protection and wiggled her way back to the entrance. 

The newcomers and the kobolds hunkered down behind their respective shields, exchanging missiles. It was clear the newcomers were considering the caves to the south with trepidation. The kobold crossbowmen were working with their shieldbearers. The bearers reloaded for them, allowing them to fire every round instead of every other round. 

I deemed this effective but slow. The kobolds always lose initiative when doing this and also fire last. I also deemed the prior two sentences should have been one sentence with a semicolon connector, but no one but AI uses semicolons in 2025. Goddamn AI, bane of my existence. This is why I use a 1999 iBook for writing. 

It gave me a semicolon like I wanted. However, it left the redundant "but". 

I thought Bel would be younger.

The one thing that AI does do well is track characters and locations, so long as those locations are well labeled. Bel, Dorian, Lefty, Punch, Solvo, and Slammer were in room 22, removing the stone treads they had just put there. Punch and Lefty, trying to be true Knights, didn't swear too much. Rety and Sybil were in the cave mouth while Dorin, Celia, and Thomas were holding the rope to let them back in quickly. The 3 mules were munching breakfast quietly in the L-shaped hall, left of the intersection to the cave mouth. 

And in room 17, 3 giant rats wiggled their way out of the debris blocking the stairs. They snuck up on and surprised Dorin, Celia, and Thomas. Instead of attacking, all three went through the motions of washing their faces with their paws. A small necklace fell from each rat's neck before they fled back to room 17, with Thomas in pursuit. Dorin inspected the necklaces; each was a simple piece of twine with copper coins strung on it. 

A very militant-looking Cleric. 

Thomas entered room 17 in time to see the rats disappear back into the pile of debris clogging the stairs. He couldn't stop them. He also couldn't think of a single reason why they would enter and then flee. Cursing, he retreated back to the cave mouth. 

"I'll do the missiles, you do the shield," Rety said to Sybil. 

Sybil nodded. All of the action was happening to the left of the cave mouth. Rety moved to the right to get a better angle and waited for the fighters to appear from the ogre cave. 

In the meantime, the new Fighters unleashed arrows on the kobolds, and the Cleric and the Thief pelted them with bullets. It was a stalemate. The kobolds wore chain armor and had a plus 2 bonus from the giant shields they hid behind. Relatively speaking, they had a wall rather than individual shields. 

Rety edged to the right of the cave mouth, trading range for a better angle. When the fighting men stepped out, she struck one kobold dead with an arrow. The fighting men knew a signal when they saw one. Punch and Lefty charged, Solvo and Slammer arching arrows over their heads. 

And the trap was sprung. 

From above, 6 bolts whistled overhead, striking both of the new Fighters and one of the Magic-Users. Mercifully, it wasn't the Magic-User controlling the shield spell. 

At my table, once a spell is in effect, except if the description says otherwise, it will not fall. Unless the caster died, that is. If a caster is getting ready to prep a spell and gets hit, I declare the action is prevented. They don't lose it; they just can't cast it now and have to start over in the next round. If they have completely prepped the spell, then get hit, that hit foils the spell and results in losing it. I am semi-generous because of the relatively few spells low-level casters have. In AD&D, this is a common thing. Due to the way B/X works, it is far less common.      

The newcomers are under serious threat, but not completely screwed, yet.

Slammer. The name was taken from the book
What is Dungeons and Dragons?

In the next round, Solvo, Slammer, and Dorian fired at the hobgoblins to break up their reloading, while Lefty and Punch advanced on the Kobolds. Slammer rolls a luck 20 and 6 combo, killing one hobgoblin. The other Magic-User and Sybil threw up shield spells. Bel hung back since the team was doing well. 

The hobgoblins retreated back out of sight to finish their reload. Rety downs another kobold with a good roll. The kobolds fire furiously, 11 shots that all miss because the heroes have bunched together behind the shield spell. 

There is a difference between crossbows and arrows, one part training and one part mechanics. Arrows obviously can arch through the air to hit targets at greater ranges. Crossbows can also arch, but they lose effectiveness fast. It's harder to do and not obvious to do unless one is also an archer. The hobgoblins aren't great crossbowmen or archers. 

Elves, like Solvo, look better without helms. 

Solvo and Slammer loosed two arrows over the ridge where the hobgoblins are hiding. They missed, but the arrows gave the hobgoblins pause, and they took cover. Rety and Dorian took potshots at the kobolds. In the momentary break, the newcomers begin to move to the orge's door and safety. 

The heroes won the initiative and began moving, while Rety's team discouraged the enemy with additional missile fire. The problem with winning initiative is that you go first. There were no easy targets, and all of the party's missiles were wasted before the hobgoblins popped out to respond. 5 of the kobolds do the same. The effect was devastating. The only newcomers not hit were the mages behind their shield spells. Punch slung his shield to pick up the Thief while Lefty assisted the Cleric in a hobbled run to the orge cave. 

The party lost initiative, but only had to fend off the kobolds for the round as the hobgoblins reloaded. Rety struck another kobold, causing it to leap behind a shield. 

Back inside, Celia noticed an odd noise, a gurgling sound. She checked the water barrel and shrugged. Thomas sends her to check the other barrels in 17 and 18. Celia dashed to room 17 first, as room 18 had ready guards. 

Celia discovered the water barrel in room 17 was also intact, but an odd smell permeated the room, like oil, alcohol, and strangely, prunes. Outside, above the mouth of Rety's cave, a mixed group of goblinoids rained bolts down on the newcomers and the Knights. Rety was grazed by a spear from above, and Sybil found herself hemmed in the entrance, her shield spell protecting only her. 

"Lift!" yelled Sybil. 

The two heroes pulled the chain and wheels out of the way. The escaping party, the Cleric, Thief, Fighter, and Knights, bore the brunt of the missile fire. The Thief was killed instantly, and Lefty threw the unconscious Cleric over his shoulder. 

Celia searched around the room for the source of the smell and gurgling. It came from the clogged stairway. A fluid ran down the slope from under the debris. The smell of prune brandy*, oil, and other vile and volatile liquids accompanied it. A blue flame licked over the surface.

"DRAGON FIRE!" yelled Celia. 

A massive whomp shook the Caves of Chaos, stunning everyone near room 17. 

Sybil.

Lefty and Punch deposited their charges in the orge cave and took up a rear guard as the other retreated with the dead and wounded. Thomas flailed, clutching his ears as smoke wafted from room 17. Dorin lay still. 

Rety and Sybil emerged from under the wildly swaying chain of wheels. Sybil ran off, following the smoke, while Rety collided with Bel coming from the other direction, seeking answers or at least orders. Rety motioned for him to tend the wound and dashed to the western rooms to see what other trouble she could find. 

Bel tended to Thomas, knowing the Cleric could help Dorin. Rety continued on to the room with the secret door.  

The scorecard looks very bad. Rety, Thomas, Punch, Lefty, the two Magic-Users, and the new Fighter were all wounded. The new Cleric, a Fighter, and the Thief were dead. So were two of the three mules. Celia was missing, and Dorin lay dying. The new Magic-Users only have one 1st-level spell left each. Bel, Thomas, and Dorian have all of their spells available, while Sybil has expended one first-level spell.  

Lefty matches Punch.

Outside, the orcs came down from their perch as the kobolds, goblins, rats, and hobgoblins advanced on the main entrance to the heroes' home. Rety* and the Knights argued about blocking up the secret door. 

(*Edit - I botched reading my notes and said this was Sybil. Sybil went the other direction and is nowhere near the Knights. It was Rety.) 

Under all of the shouting, Punch muttered, "If I live through this, I'll start using my real name." 

Lefty and Rety looked askance at him before continuing their bickering about honor vs. hiding.  

In Session 11, we will learn what the Caves of Chaos have in store for the heroes and how they will react to this loss.  

*Prune brandy is just the sort of stuff that I would think goblins would drink. In the real world, as near as I can tell, no one makes actual prune brandy. Plum brandy is unaged brandy, while what is called prune brandy is aged plum brandy. That is aging in barrels, not aging the plums or prunes. I would think there would be a difference. 

I am throwing an ad here for very little reason. I strongly suggest reading "What is Dungeons and Dragons" by John Butterfield, Philip Parker, and David Honigmann. I have seen several covers, but I don't know if they were different runs or different covers for different markets. As always, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The first link leads to my 2020 review (below the picture), and this link leads to an Amazon page for the book. 

As always, thank you for reading along and supporting me. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 9 - The Battle of Too Many Armies

Session nine starts 36 hours after the end of the last session. It is daybreak on day three of the taking of the goblin caves. 

The previous night, the party's watch saw a pair of kobolds leaving the hobgoblin cave. They were surprised as they didn't detect them entering the hobgoblin cave. This was concerning. It was now pretty obvious there was a connection between cave A and F. 

I need a mule as a mascot.

The whole party awoke to the braying of a mule in the valley. The mule was cropping the grass in the middle of the valley. 

"Perhaps a tunnel," Rety said. 

This isn't true; the party simply didn't see them creep around the perimeter of the valley.  

As they decide what to do about the mule, the kobolds, and the giant rats emerge from their cave. A couple of goblins and hobgoblins also exit their cave but turn back quickly. The mule evades the kobolds by loping west, near cave G. The kobolds retreat before gathering reinforcements with ropes and set off after the mule. 

While the party watches, Norin makes himself busy in room 17. After much swearing and hammering, he asked the fighters to help him. He removed the treads from the stairs and wanted them stacked by the secret door to the ogre cave. This left a ragged slope instead of proper stairs at the bottom of the stairway, and allowed the party to block up the secret door as needed. The fighters struggled to move the heavy stone treads into place. 

In the meantime, the mule has attracted too much attention. A full dozen kobolds were stalking the mule. It seemed that the goblinoids decided they wanted it more and came out with an equal force of crossbow-armed troops. 

Rety decided to pull the sniper card and had the party ready bows and slings in the mouth of cave E. Before the party could act, two more groups appeared. A full 22 orcs appear, in two equal groups. Each was led by a particularly large and nasty leader. The party backed into the gloom of their cave to study the situation. 

They knew there were caves on the north face of the valley, but couldn't see them due to the trees. Rety cursed herself for not investigating those, but also knew she didn't have the manpower. She should have used the Eyes of the Eagle. In fact, she forgot who had them, so she asked for one to get a better look.

The goblinoid gave a challenging war cry before rushing the kobolds. Midcharge, the orcs gave a challenging war cry and charged the goblinoid horde. The noise of imminent battle brought the stirges out of their lair. 

This is the Cave of Chaos at its finest. 

Rety redeploys the party to guard the entrances. Punch, Thomas, and Slammer took cave E, while Lefty, Solvo, and Dorian took the back of the hallway from cave D. Sybil, Celia, and Jake the Dog were sent to room 17, and Bel and Norin guarded room 21. Norin had rigged a rope to the middle of the chain of cart wheels so the party could lift them a bit to make passage less difficult. 

Why is the dog named Jake? Name another famous magic dog? Sure, Joshua is cheating, though. 

Barrels make everything better.

Rety left herself the task of running between the groups. If worse came to worst, they would seal up cave E with the stone treads and maybe a Wizard Lock, then defend only the mouth of cave D. She began dragging crossbows to the intersection of cave D's tunnel. Next, she brought spears, then a barrel of water, and some rations. She wanted to ask Celia to help, but she didn't want the wily Sybil on her own. 

In fact, Sybil was anxiously flipping through her spellbook, deciding if she wanted to magically defend one of the entrances instead of following orders. Celia wisely offered her a cup of wine to settle her down. Bel had an easier time, as Norin just wanted to double-check his work. Norin muttered about not knowing there was a tunnel between the hobgoblin cave and the kobolds' cave. He was pretty sure that it had to be an underground river, as the rock was too tough to mine through. 

Again, Norin was also wrong, but trusted Rety's insight. Which happens to be very wrong in this case. 

The party watched the orc and goblinoid formations close and decided to wait rather than engage in combat. They can't help but notice that there are very few goblins left, and some have been replaced by women. The warrior-women are much better armored and armed than the traditional goblinoid troops. They wore chainmail and shields, plus they carried both axes and crossbows. The shields have ground spikes; the women prop them up when using the crossbows.  

The mule galloped off to the western end of the valley. 

This is not a stirge.

The stirges were the deciding factor in what happened next. They swept over the orcs before descending on the goblinoids. The two fighting formations focus on the stirges, a bane to all who live in the valley. Being monsters, they do occasionally take potshots at each other, but not as much as they would have liked and enjoyed. Both sides want to rid the Caves of Chaos of the vermin that harass them. 

The order of priority was the stirges, then the tricky party, and finally, perhaps the kobolds. The kobolds used to be everyone's main annoyance, but the party changed that by stirring up the Caves.  

As the final stirge falls, an odd thing happens. The goblins broke into two groups. One group left with the hobgoblins, and the other, led by the chieftain and his guards, went with the orcs. 

Rety has taken a count. Her party could take any one group of monsters with difficulty, but all of them together were overwhelming. It turns out that Solvo, Celia, and Norin could identify the function of the forces arrayed against them than Rety could. Those three also speak some of the languages they heard, making them excellent observers. She assigned the Knights to guard them as they spied from the cave mouth. She did this because she didn't want one of her archers or mages attacking, as they were wont to do.  

Rety tasked Slammer with inventorying their weapons and ammunition stores, and he took to the task with gusto. The Clerics patrol the cave network, looking for any problem they might have missed. The two Magic-Users took care of the mules and cooking tasks, while Rety used Norin's tools to disassemble what was left of the cart and sorted the lumber and gear they brought. 

Just before dinner, Jake barked at the contingent of goblins exiting the orc lair. Ominously, they entered the kobold's den. Before dinner was over, a group of kobolds crept to cave G and disappeared. Not long after, the gobin chieftain and his guard carefully walked upslope back to the hobgoblin caves. 

No one slept well that night. They knew they were 3 days from resupply and possible escape. 

That evening, a great white form moved from the mouth of the valley to Cave G. Solvo swore it looked like a white bear. 

Although there was no combat, I assigned 150 exp to each character for their efforts in planning, cooperation, and defense. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 8 - Chaotic Assault

The next session or three will be a little bit different. In the last post, I only explained what the party could see. This will continue for a while. 

At sundown, Rety had Sybil cast a spell for her before the Magic-User went to bed. Belaphon, Rety, and Solvo crept out of the cave mout
h and up to the overwatch post that the goblinoids used to the party's cave. Finding no one about, Rety placed a pot against a tree and tied a string to the lid. They unwound the string 40 feet to the east before retreating. Lefty and Punch traded places with them, lying in the brush with the end of the string.   

In the meantime, Norin, Thomas, and Doian placed a heavy spike in the ground at the mouth of cave D. Norin attached a heavy chain to the spike, and the Cleric dismantled the carts' four wheels. They strung the wheels on the chain and affixed the chain to the ceiling of the cave, 30 feet back from the entrance. While not an impenetrable barrier, the wheels and chain will slow any attackers. 

The Knights took turns resting and watching for enemies in the brush. Back at the cave, Solvo, Slammer, and Sybil slept. A couple of hours into the Knight's watch, 6 goblins ventured into view and did their best to hide themselves from the cave mouth. Unfortunately for them, that was done in full view of the Knights. 

At midnight, Rety, Celia, and Belaphon took Slammer and Solvo's place. The dog followed Celia rather than Sybil, as he knew where the food came from. Thomas, Dorian, and the Dwarf were taking turns resting between the mule's makeshift stable and the hall leading to the mouth of cave D.  The Elf and Fighter crept to the mouth of the Ogre's cave. After a moment, they strolled out in plain view. The goblins spotted them immediately and gave a warning call like a strige, the only bird-like thing they've heard in a while. 

The six hobgoblins with crossbows readied their weapons and exited their cave. 

Lefty pulled the string, lifting the lid off the pot. The Sybil had cast continual light on its interior. The goblins spun around and were dazzled by the bright light. They were also silhouetted by the spell. Two of them were struck by arrows and fell dead. The Knights charged and took another goblin down. 

The hobgoblins were expecting enemies on the valley floor, but were distracted by the melee to their east and missed seeing the Elf and Fighter. They advanced toward the obvious fight. Punch took down another goblin as Lefty danced back and forth with the last two. Slammer and Solvo unleashed another pair of arrows, this time at the hobgoblins for 3 and 5 points of damage. The two struck hobgoblins shot back, hitting Slammer for 4 points of damage and Solvo for one. 

There are six targets.

Lefty was hit for 3 points of damage but downed his opponent. Punch and the last goblin exchanged a series of parries and feints. The four hobgoblins continued their advance on the Knights while the other two exchanged missile fire with the bowmen below. All four missiles hit. The hobgoblins struck first for 2 and 3 points against the Elf and Fighter, but died moments later. 

Lefty covered the pot, plunging everyone into darkness again. Punch splits the last goblin in two. Confused, the hobgoblins open fire. Lefty was hit, but the other three bolts found nothing but air. Solvo injured one, but a second was killed. 

Punch dropped the pot on the ground, freeing himself to melee the hobgoblins. Again, the hobgoblins are dazzled and confused, and they drew swords. Punch and Lefy slew two, and Solvo got the third. Unfortunately, Slammer's arrow whistled by Lefty's head, nearly hitting him. Slammer rolled 5 against the hob and a 9 against Lefty, which was also a miss. 

If you read the comment from Ruprecht, (here) this is how I handle missile fire in melee. First, all even-numbered misses occur because the shooters held their fire, knowing they would miss. They are that good. Since the roll was 5, Slammer loosed an arrow. He was then forced to roll against Lefty's AC of 3. The arrow was already in the air, no even number roll would protect the second target in this case. I played this up a bit for drama, as 9 isn't remotely close to a hit. 

In the next round, Lefty and Punch overwhelmed the last hobgoblin standing. The four fighting men beat a quick retreat back to their respective hiding places. 

An hour or so later, a lone goblin was sent to check on the guards. The hobgoblins can only surmise that something went horribly wrong, as no one reported back in. Concerned, they sent 2 more crossbow-armed hobgoblins as overwatch for the lone goblin. The pot trick works again. Solvo and Slammer dispatched the three guards while the Knights stayed out of sight. This time, Lefty and Punch collect the pot, weapons, and change purses before retreating with Solvo and Slammer into the ogre cave. 

The party heard a ruckus from the hobgoblin caves as the two chieftains exchanged words and maybe blows. In response to the noise, 4 kobolds and 4 rats ventured outside to see what was happening. Solvo and Slammer took a shot at them. They missed by a mile, but the kobold heard the arrows go by and dropped to the ground. Over the next three rounds, a pair of kobolds and one rat were killed as they first advanced on the fighter's location, then fled on their bellies back to the cave. 

At dawn, all four fighting men and Clerics retired. Celia and Norin set about their daily tasks with strict instructions not to expose themselves to the enemy. As the others ate and slept, Sybil and Belaphon took to silently studying in room 21. They heard the guards on the other side of the secret door moving about. Sybil silently pointed to two spells Belaphon should study for the day. 

If I painted these,
I'd have proper pictures for you. 

Once they were done learning their spells for the day, Sybil stood up and let out a theatrical yawn, right in front of the secret door. It looks like Sybil is way more chaotic than the party. The shuffling of gob and hob feet stopped. 

She cast a spell on the door, making it turn invisible. Her dog barked at the goblinoids. The four hobgoblin crossbowmen fired on her, but the bolts stopped dead as they hit the invisible, but still stone door. Sybil lifted the digitus impudicus at them. The goblin spearmen charged. The invisible door shook, as dust roiled from the edges with the impact. 

The Magic-Users laughed at the guards. "Bel, goblins. Just goblins." 

He nodded at her. 

It took the four stunned goblins two rounds to get reorganized, and by that time, all four were charmed. The Magic-Users gave the dread signal of finger to throat, as Sybil released the invisibility spell and the door faded back into view. 

(I dislike low-level spells that give a permanent effect. I have no particular answer to them, other than to allow the spell caster to end them at will. The first link is to the SRD for OSE. Old School Essentials is by Necrotic Gnome. They have a wide array of products. You can view and purchase them here.) 

Although they didn't know it, everything happened simultaneously on the other side of the door. Over the next 3 rounds, they heard the deathrattle of 4 hobgoblins and 2 goblins. The bewitched goblins killed one more goblin and injured several others before they fell. 

Rety was peeved when she learned her spellcasters had used up almost all of their spells in one go, but couldn't complain about the results. In her mind, the Fighters combined were as strong as the Magic-Users, and the Clerics plus Rety formed a third powerful group. Now, with the fighting men sleeping and the magic users out of spells, it was only Rety, the heirlings, the Clerics, and a dog to defend them for a whole day. 

For the rest of the day, they heard alternating bouts of activity and silence from the hobgoblin caves. At nightfall, the goblinoids recovered their dead. Rety quietly watched them from the mouth of the cave. They saw her, too, but had no response. 

For this session, the party killed or caused the deaths of 12 goblins, 12 hobgoblins, 2 kobolds, and 1 giant rat. This, with the treasure and a 10% bonus, equals 651 total experience. I also give each a bonus of 150 exp for planning and creativity. 

At this point, several characters level up again. I should scan their sheets in and walk thru who has what. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 7 - Divide and Conquer

It's session 7, and the party is ready for a fight. They left the Keep before sunrise, leaving the drovers behind. In six days, the drovers will come to see what befell the party. 

Rety and the Knights lead the group, followed by the mule-drawn wagon and everyone else strung out behind them. They used the Eyes of the Eagle from the treeline and spotted some changes in the valley of the caves. 

From Session 4.5 and Session 5, the kobolds completed their improved defenses. Good-sized mounts for the giant rats ring their cave entrance while spear-armed guards patrolled the slope. Also, several kobolds were working with axes to clear away the debris of the burned trees. A new barrier of brush covered the approach to the kobold cave. 

Rety wasn't worried. Originally, her plan was to hit the kobolds' cave, as they were the weakest creatures in the caves. Now that the goblins have been swept out of several rooms of their cave complex, Rety believes they are weaker. She was unaware that the goblins and hobgoblins were in cahoots. 

Solvo the Elf reported seeing motion up the slope above cave B and cave F. On further inspection and a couple of die rolls with OSR Solo, the party decides that everyone in front of cave F has moved to the slope above cave B. They were totally wrong. There were two separate groups of watchers.  

The party makes a dash to cave D. They were immediately spotted by the combined group of goblins and hobgoblins, but the hobgoblins waited for the goblins to return from the slope above cave B before doing anything. The kobolds retreated inside their warren. 

The cart entered the caves, and the mules refused to move more than 30 feet down the hall. Norin the dwarf, and Celia wedged the wheels while the party split up. Belaphon, the two clerics, and Solvo drag timbers to the east. Sybil, Slammer, and Rety ran ahead of Punch and Lefty, who escorted Norin. Rety and Slammer readied their bows. Punch and Lefty marched with polearms. 

There was a hell of a racket throughout the Caves of Chaos. The goblins and hobgoblins raced through the halls. In the confusion, the other guards rushed to the entrance, where a heated conversation ensued. 

The eastern party reached room 17 and discovered the barricade. Flommox, they dropped their lumber and ran westward, screaming their alarm. 

Rety's team had the goal of finding and blocking the hidden door in room 21. In their last foray, they saw too many goblins disappear in that direction, so they correctly guessed there must be a door. They just didn't know where. They set out 4 lanterns to assist them in the search.

The western team heard the ruckus behind them from Solvo's team, but didn't know what it meant, as it was not a part of the plan. The goblins and hobgoblins also heard the yells of alarm and quickly came to the conclusion that the party was in room 21 searching for the secret door. The six spearmen and the 8 crossbow-armed guards run for the secret door in a disorganized horde. 

Norin, Sybil, and Rety spread out to search for the door, under the cover of the Knights and Slammer's bow. To everybody's horror, but no one's surprise, the secret door went "Clunk!" and swung open. 

I rolled for which way the door opened against the table in OSR Solo. I asked myself, "Does this door open outward?" The result was "no and..." The next question I asked was, "Does the guard's order make sense?" The answer was "no", so I determined that 4 crossbow men are in front of and behind the spearmen. 

I took this scenario from real life. I used to work in a hardware store, and you'd be surprised how many people purchase doors without considering which way they open and swing. Nothing is more funny than seeing someone mount the hinges on the same side of the door as the doorknob. Extensive consumer testing has shown this does not work. 

I rolled initiative. Since the party won, I determined that Rety could pull her bow, which is the "no and..." result. One of the crossbowmen takes an arrow to the face and drops. Slammer hits a second one for 3 points of damage. Sybil unleashes charm on an exposed spearman. One crossbow bolt whistles over Slammer's head, and a second bounces off Punch's armor for just a single point of damage. Punch and Lefty can't or won't advance due to the missile fire as Norin stays out of sight in the corner, ending the combat round. 

Two things happen at nearly the same time. The guards lose their morale check and decide to close the door. They missed by one, so they are fairly sensible and reasonably choose to close the door. The party wins initiative. 

Rety shouts, "Lantern!" and Lefty and Punch look around, confused. 

Slammer was not confused and picked up a lantern and hurled it into the crowd of monsters. I decided that two of the crossbowmen are unhitable because of the door, but the third was spattered, as was the dead one. They fall into room 21, very dead. I forgot oil does 1d8 until it burns out. 

Through the crack of the closing door, the charmed goblin saw Sybil make a slashing gesture across her throat and smiled. 

Sybil doesn't speak goblin or hobgoblin, but the message was heard, loud and clear. The charmed goblin killed one of the hobgoblins holding the door in his surprise round. He managed to wound the other hobgoblin at the door before a flurry of spearpoints dropped him. 

The five remaining goblins held the door closed, conveniently helping Norin and Rety hammer in spikes. As they worked, Sybil Wizard Locked the door. Norin complained as he thought he would be securing a door that swung the other way. He returns to the wagon for more lumber and tools. 

He grumbled, "Magic is good, but mechanics is better." 

The eastern party explained the blocked stairway, which raised eyebrows. The two Clerics returned to Celia and set watch on the cave mouth, while Rety plans a formal search of the complex. Solvo, Slammer, Punch, and Lefty are ordered to guard Norin's back as he works his dwarven skills on the first secret door, then the second secret door leading to the Ogre's lair. 

The party is tired, and it is not even midday. Rety pushed on, with the Magic-Users and Elf in tow, searching every wall for more secret doors. Celia served a cold lunch. Rety asked the rest of the party to help with the search, and after about 10 minutes, determined the Knights were unsuited for the job and sent them to secure the mules in one of the dead-end tunnels. 

This presented a few problems for Punch and Lefty. One mule refused to calm down, and the decision was made to run it out of the cave. Slammer wanted to eat it, but EVERYONE ELSE objected. The mule delivered a couple of bites and one brutal kick to the Knights before galloping off in the direction of the road and presumably the Keep. 

By nightfall, the party convinced itself that there were no more secret doors or traps in the area they claimed. 

Norin declared, "Those stairs are blocked, well and completely. Nothing short of dragon fire or prune juice can unblock that!" 

Everyone had a good chuckle. They set their quarters in the Chieftain's quarters. It was nicely appointed, although slightly smelly. The party rested in shifts as they knew the night would be long and the coming days longer.