Dyson’s Delve - Session 14

Last delve saw the more-or-less total destruction of the elemental cult that had taken up residence in an ancient temple. But it also saw the party encounter a new type of reptilian humanoid, and they don’t have a lot of certainty what that might mean.

So for this next delve, they would like to understand who those creatures are and what they’re doing in the temple. That said, I wanted to give them more of a reason to continue exploring, so I pulled out the Tome of Adventure Design (by the same author as Swords & Wizardry). I rolled up a mission, “locate intruder/spy”. Who could that be? The context here is that they have previously taken a prisoner, so he will have given them some information. Another random roll says that the “patron/target” of the mission is “police authority (vigilante)”.

Therefore, some rich vigilante has tasked them with checking on one of her agents who has gone missing. As a reward, she offers them a full 4000 gold pieces for retrieval of the agent or at least confirmation of their fate.

As a reminder, this whole adventure is based on Dyson’s Delve (also see the related blog post). I hope more folks support Dyson Logos’ work!

Additionally, some of the links in this post are affiliate links, if you’d like to help me keep buying the other supplements I use in this and other campaigns. (Of course it doesn’t cost you anything extra.)

Preparation

As ever, they’ll roll through some downtime before outfitting their expedition.

Downtime: Chuckles

The barbarian has accumulated too much wealth. In theory, he could commission a splendid artifact, but he doesn’t yet know any master artisans. Perhaps he could visit one of the “dens of iniquity” that he has been patronizing to find one, or, better, he could hire a thief to help them get into that locked door guarded by the living statues.

So he’ll go about cultivating a relationship with a thief (ultimately, this will lead to a specialized retainer). I’ll pull out my old copy of the D30 Sandbox Companion to roll them up.

They are a human thief, lawfully aligned (which in my mind referes to big cosmic forces, not piddly “human” laws - they’re not chaotic). He’s male and slightly higher level than Chuckles (5th-level). I’m not going to deal with his ability scores right now, but he’s known to wield a poisoned dagger. Unsurprisingly, he has an “acquisitive” temperament. He’s a bit thin and doesn’t necessarily love what he does, but he doesn’t know any other way to make this kind of money. I’ll give him the name “Gwynn”.

As with some of the other actions, there are two options, and we’re looking for an “adventure companion”. I think this is feasible, assuming the group offers to pay Gwynn and give him a share of the treasure (he’s not going on the rest of the delve, just this portion.) Chuckles also gives him 500 gp as the typical wage for a “spy”. That gives him a +1 modifier to his roll, which boosts the result to “willing”.

However, I notice here that “recruiting an adventure companion is not a downtime action and can be done in addition to a downtime action”. So I’ll have Chuckles also engage in his typical revelry, drinking and other debauchery, which will cost him 300 gp but gain 300 XP and a boon: the experience of a lifetime! He gets an extra 50% XP (150) from this carousing in which he drank so much that he fought an entire bar and woke up hung from his ankles in the guardpost before getting a stern warning. They let him go because it turns out that the captain of the guard is a fan (from the minstrel stories he’s previously heard).

Downtime: Khnar

The elven fighter has almost completed his martial training to master a “shield bash” technique. He’s almost got it, but mastery is elusive (even while practicing with his sparring partner Krimkol) and the martial tracker does not advance. He won’t get the benefits of a +1 to his AC with his shield and using it as a weapon that would deal 1d8 damage on a hit. Next time, perhaps.

Downtime: Krimkol

As mentioned above, the dwarven priest is training with Khnar, trying to practice at arms more generally. He’s in good form and gets +1 to hit and +1 to AC (melee) until the next downtime.

In terms of his spells, he will continue to prepare detect evil and protection from evil. As before, he’ll cast the latter spell as soon as they get into the dungeon proper. Last time, he used 4 charges from his staff of healing in addition to the two previous charges, so he has 194 charges remaining.

Downtime: Parouz

The elfblade has basically caught up on XP with the others (except Chuckles due to his near-constant carousing). And while I have a few new spells that magic-users could learn, she’s nowhere near high enough level for those. I think instead she’ll gather intelligence about the creatures they met: she gets shaky intel and learns that they are troglodytes.

Troglodytes are subterranean reptile-people. In battle, they emit a horrible smell that weakens most other species. Failing a saving throw against the smell causes the victim to lose 1 point of strength per round for 1d6 rounds, with the loss persisting for another 10 rounds thereafter. Troglodyte skin is slightly chameleon-like, which allows them to mount very effective ambushes. Troglodytes despise the civilized peoples and seek to annihilate them, but different clans do not ordinarily work well together. Troglodyte bands are often led by strong specimens, which can be 3 or 4 hit dice monsters.

(From Swords & Wizardry: Fiends & Foes p. 105)

But she gets some ambiguous or misleading information, so perhaps she believes that they are significantly weaker than they are (leading them to underestimate them if it comes to a fight).

She still has a scroll of fireball, so she will prepare read magic plus sleep twice. She should cast read magic when Krimkol casts his preparatory spell.

Planning the delve

With the (temporary) addition of Gwynn to the party, they’ll go through the temple up to the locked door and let him work on it. His job isn’t to scout, but he will be expected to fight. Once they’ve gotten through the door and dealt with whatever evil is on the other side, they’ll get him back to the temple so he can depart with his share of the treasure. (All that treasure will still count for XP purposes, though.)

Once that first phase of the delve is complete, and assuming they’re still in fighting shape, they’ll descend to the next level below and look for their patron’s agent.

Resupply

As before, they’ll bring the same retainers: two crossbowmen, four dwarves-at-arms, and two lantern carriers. Krimkol hires the dwarves, while Khnar employs the humans.

• Hire four dwarves-at-arms at 35 gp each for the week (140 gp total)
• Hire two crossbowmen at 35 gp each for the week (70 gp total)
• Hire two porters for carrying lanterns and treasure (14 gp total)
• Purchase provisions and ammunition for the delve (40 gp total)

The Delve

I have made annotations on my group tracking sheet for Krimkol’s temporary bonuses. For Gwynn, I’ll include his stats below:

• Dwarves (4): HD 1 (3, 3, 7, 8 hp); AC 15; Atk war hammer (1d4+1); Move 6; Save 15; Morale 10; Special: +1 to attack rolls (+2 total), +2 to saves and morale (included), darkvision 60’, detects attributes of stonework. Speak Dwarven and Common.
• Crossbowmen (2): HD 1 (8, 8 hp); AC 12; Atk heavy crossbow (d6+1), short sword (d6); Move 12; Save 17; Morale 9; Special: missile rate of fire 1/2. Speak Common.
• Lantern Carriers (2): HD 1d6 (2, 6 hp); Atk spear (d6); Move 12; Save 18; Morale 7. Speak Common.
• Gwynn: HD 5d4+5 (14 hp); AC 13; Atk poisoned dagger (d4+poison); Move 12; Save 11; Morale 10; Special: lethal poison (save or die), backstab x2. Speaks Common and Thieves’ Cant.

The Underclock starts out at 20, as normal before porters start carrying treasure (as I added last time). The die has stepped back down to a d8.

I have also made modifications to the wandering monsters table for Level 7 due to the effective destruction of the cult. We’ll see how that plays out!

Turn 1

The party enters through the side entrance in the hills. It takes a full turn to get through it, and then some.

• Underclock: d8! = 4 => 20-4 = 16

Turn 2

They make their way to the entrance to the temple proper. Parouz casts read magic (noting that she has a scroll of fireball) while Krimkol casts protection from evil on himself that will last through the end of Turn 14. (He has a scroll of continual light but clerics don’t need read magic as far as I can tell.)

At the same time, Chuckles and Khnar open the door.

• Underclock: d8! = 7 => 16-7 = 9

Turn 3

In the temple, they pass through the antechamber, air chapel, and main sanctuary. They’re moving at normal speed, in a sense, because they aren’t exploring these rooms again.

As before, Krimkol and Khnar stand in front. Chuckles and Parouz are behind them, then crossbowmen, then lantern carriers, then Gwynn and the dwarves. The tension here is quite thick, and they know they’re not alone in the temple.

• Underclock: d8! = 7 => 9-7 = 2

Turn 4

In the fire chapel, unfortunately, the fire beetles take exception to all this traffic and react with hostility.

• Fire Beetle (8): HD 1+3 (7, 6, 8, 10, 9, 4, 6, 10 hp); AC 15; Atk bite (1d4+2); Move 12; Save 17; Morale 7; L N; CL/XP 1/15; Special: light glands (give off light for 1d6 days in 10ft radius)

The group knows they’re in here, so there’s no chance they’re surprised. The beetles are 20’ feet away, so there’s an opportunity for the crossbowmen to fire.

Round 1: Having won initiative, the adventurers have their crossbowmen volley at the beetles. They don’t come close, though, and so the adventurers move into melee. (The dwarves hold back for this round, keeping the crossbowmen, porters, and specialist safe.) Because these monsters have more than 1 regular HD, the adventurers don’t get to use their Multiple Attacks ability on them. Khnar uses his non-magical battle axe for this fight and kills the 4 hp beetle. Krimkol does 2 damage to the first beetle (down to 5 hp). Chuckles is not able to hit the beetle he’s facing, nor does Parouz. The beetles attack back, one of them on each adventurer plus one each on Parouz and Chuckles. Chuckles takes 5 damage, but no one else is hurt.

Round 2: The adventurers win initiative again. Only Parouz hits, killing the 9 hp beetle. Two of the dwarves move in to help, attacking from behind, but they don’t manage to do any real damage. There are still six beetles, but now they’re facing six enemies, so I’ll have them distribute their attacks evenly. In the end, Chuckles takes another 6 damage, Krimkol takes 3, and one dwarf follower also takes 3 damage - killing him!

Round 3: Regretting that she didn’t do this sooner, Parouz starts to cast sleep on the beetles. Unfortunately, the monsters win this initiative roll. There are six beetles and five enemies; the extra attack goes against the dwarf. Chuckles is hit again, for 7 damage this time (18 so far, so he’s getting a bit rough around the edges); none of his allies are, though. The adventurers in melee are unable to hit their enemies, but Parouz completes her spell and puts all of the beetles to sleep.

Rather than face them again in the future, the adventuring party kills the beetles. For now, they’ll leave the glands, because they have plenty of lamp oil.

• Underclock: d8! = 3 => 2-3=-1

Turn 5

Before they can leave the fire chapel, a pair of wererats enter the room. They’re hesitant upon seeing the adventurers; this isn’t who they expected to find down here.

Khnar explains that the cult is no more, and they are not looking to hunt the wererats and their kind, having no cause for complaint. They were just leaving, in fact! The wererats react with a bit of confusion, but ultimately they don’t want to start a fight with a larger force.

The Underclock resets to 20 before the roll.

• Underclock: d8! = 8+3 = 11 => 20-11 = 9

Turn 6

From the fire chapel, the group is able to go up the stairs on the northwest side of the temple, all the way to the secure post where they have the locked door.

• Underclock: d8! = 2 => 9-2 = 7

Turn 7

For this turn, Chuckles will listen at the door, Parouz and Khnar will be prepared to push through, Krimkol casts detect evil, and Gwynn will attempt to pick the lock. I’ll handle that last bit as follows: he can make the usual “pick locks” roll as a 5th-level thief, but on a failure, I’ll make an extra Underclock roll to represent the extra time and effort needed while the dungeon is resisting their intrustion. That’s just a 30% chance of success, unfortunately - but he succeeds!

Krimkol confirms that whatever is on the other side is evil indeed. Khnar needs both Parouz’s help as well as the crowbar, and they fall into the room beyond together.

• Underclock: d8! = 3 => 7-3 = 4

Turn 8

This room is fairly decently-sized (30’ wide by 40’ deep). It’s finely appointed, with a divan, a few chairs, and a wardrobe. There’s a beautiful woman standing on the other end, facing away from them. Parouz notices immediately that there’s no mirror in the room and quietly whispers to the others to be careful. Chuckles has a sense of danger as well and averts his gaze. When the woman turns around, they can see her hair writhing like snakes. They have encountered a medusa!

Kiss of Medusa (1890), facsimile of a woodcut by Wilhelm Kotarbiński. Public domain.

• Medusa: HD 6 (22 hp); AC 11; Atk weapon (1d4) and snake-hair (lethal poison); Move 9; Save 11; Morale 8; AL C; CL/XP 8/900; Special: gaze turns to stone, lethal poison (save or die).

Her reaction is hostile. From The Monster Overhaul:

Seeing the red and glowing eyes of a Medusa turns living creatures to stone. If a creature just glances at a Medusa’s face, the creature’s limbs become heavy, slow, and grey. They can Save to restore movement. If they fail, they are rooted in place and count as an immobile target for the purposes of attacks.

If they get a good look at a Medusa, by targeting them with an attack or by meeting the Medusa by surprise, the creature must Save or turn to stone. If they pass, they are still rooted in place (as above).

There’s a bit more, but I don’t think the adventurers know anything else about her or her type. So everyone except Parouz and Chuckles must make the first save: Khnar fails, as do the crossbowmen. (I think the porters are far enough back, and afraid enough, that they won’t be up front looking at threats. The dwarves are short and in back, so they can’t get really even get line of sight.)

The group is definitively not equipped for this, but she leaps to the attack.

Round 1: The adventurers win initiative. Chuckles and Parouz turn and tell everyone to run! The dwarves, porters, and three of the adventurers (except Khnar) run as well. Khnar and the crossbowmen are rooted in place, but they can save: Khnar fails again, but the crossbowmen pass. The medusa attacks Khnar, and he gets -1 to his AC from being rooted in place (losing his Dexterity bonus). Fortunately, her attacks fail, even so.

Round 2: The adventurers win initiative again and keep fleeing. Khnar almost feels himself able to move, but can’t quite get his legs to cooperate. The medusa attacks him, and while her weapon fails to hit him, the snake-hair does. He fails his save…

…and the last thing the other adventurers hear from Khnar is a brief gurgle from the pain of the poison entering his system, then a crackling sound as the Medusa turns his flesh to stone.

While they make their escape, they can hear her laughing maniacally behiond them as she also flees the dungeon.

• Underclock: d8! = 7 => 4-7 = -3 (encounter)

Turn 9

As they flee to the stairs, hearing the echoing laughter of the medusa behind them, they find a crawler behind them. Fortunately, it seems completely sated and instead finds its way into the path of the medusa. They don’t look back to find out the result.

The Underclock resets to 20 again, then I make the roll:

• Underclock: d8! = 3 => 20-3 = 17

Turn 10

Gasping for breath on the next level, they find themselves back down in the main temple. Their loyal brother-in-arms, Khnar the elven fighter, has been lost for good. In theory, a high-level wizard could reverse the effect, but they know no such person. And in any case, they’d have to recover the “statue” first and find a way to get it safely out of the dungeon. In the end, Khnar’s final stand likely saved the lives of his fellow adventurers, and that’s how they’ll choose to remember him: as a hero.

Gwynn is obviously unhappy that they weren’t able to recover any treasure, but he’s wise enough to know not to express that disappointment to people who just saw their friend die. He silently takes a gland from one of the fire beetle corpses and leaves the dungeon.

• Underclock: d8! = 3 => 17-3 = 14

Turn 11

After some consideration, the rest of the group does the same. I’ll make one more Underclock roll to see if they encounter any trouble on the way out: no, they don’t.

Experience and rewards

• Monsters: 8 fire beetles (15 XP each)

That’s just 120 XP, divided three ways, for 40 XP each. This is a somber result, of course, and I need to figure how how I’ll have the group proceed. I don’t think a group of three can effectively proceed deeper, but there’s also not necessarily enough XP available in the upper levels for a lower level character to catch up.

I’m considering the following options:

1. Recruit a fresh character at 1st level and restock the upper levels to a limited extent.
2. Recruit a fresh character at 1st level and visit another dungeon site.
3. Proceed with the current group and see how they fare, perhaps with additional retainers (mercenaries).
4. End this campaign and start the next one that I’ve already been considering.

I don’t simply want to bring these characters into the next campaign because I want to spice up the setting a bit. As written (and as played thus far), Dyson’s Delve is fairly vanilla. That’s fine and helpful while I was re-acquainting myself with the procedures and source material, but I definitely want more overland exploration and certainly more science fantasy. Meanwhile, DD has lots of traditional mythological creatures (like the harpy, medusa, and gargoyles). That could be explained in a similar way to how Gene Wolfe uses creature names and other terms as a way to make the fantastic seem a bit easier to grasp without simply using the same things we commonly associate with those genres, but I don’t think it works in this case because the creatures are so well-known.

So after some thought, I think I’m going to mix 2 and 3: I’ll add a character at 1st level, have them proceed with the current dungeon, and perhaps ensure that they don’t rush into front line combat (for whatever that will do in a world with flying monsters and ambushes). But I can see the end game for this group approaching soon, one way or another.