Ruins of the Lizard part 2

Dramatic announcer voice: On our last episode of Ruins of the Lizard, our heroes ventured into the upper works of the ruins. There, they encountered a band of gnolls and began to fight, knocking out several with a Sleep spell. We see them now in between the buildings on the south side of the upper works! Intro.mp4 

More seriously, this is a continuation of the series of play recaps that accompany my megadungeon campaign. Today's session begins with Gabriel, the high-dex Elf Fighter, and Elebereth, the Elf Magic-User.

The gnoll fell, and Gabriel loosed another arrow from his bow. The arrow struck into the weak wood of the door, destroying the last bits holding up the gnolls. The gnolls charge, one swinging his axe and biting deep into Gabriel's side. Blood gushed out of the wound, as Elebereth sprinted off while she could.

She returned to the sleepy town of Willowdale, where people were nailing roses to their doors. This was a traditional ward against evil, but she paid it no heed and entered the Drowned Rat, a local bar. There she found a cleric, Smith the servant of At, god of artisans and 5 mercenary spearmen.

They ventured back to the upper works, this time coming in from the western side. Approaching a building under the control of the lizardmen. The lizardmen asked Elebereth to come inside and meet their king, who was on the first dungeon level. The lizard king paid them for the gnolls and hyenas they killed (5 GP for each hyena, 10 for each gnoll) to a total of 60 GP, offered to pay them a further 10 GP for every room they claimed for him, and sent them on their way down into the second level.

Upon reaching it, they met a dryad, who wasn't very happy to see them. 400 years of barely surviving underground does something to a person, y'know? In any case, they went on their way after a few futile attempts at conversation and entered the alchemist's workshop in Room 6. They checked out some reagants and looked into Room 10, but were scared off by the Chaos Beasts and went into Room 7.

Encountering the spiders, the battle was on. One spider was on the ground and lost initiative, but the other dropped from the roof and grabbed the sergeant of the men-at-arms, dragging him up among the webs. The beast was repeatedly speared and ran off. Its mate charged, enraged by the loss of the other. Elebereth loosed her darts, striking it between the thick, chitinous plates and driving one deep. The spider died instantly.

Searching the room, they happened across the chainmail of fire resistance. They left the room and headed down the hall to the left, entering Room 3 and looking around, searching the room. They found the secret door behind a bookshelf and entered 2. The ghouls attacked, but were turned by Smith and retreated back to 1. Where all of the other ghouls live. Needless to say, they were not happy. The party and their men-at-arms retreated to the door and braced for a charge, and the charge came. The ghouls and ghast were massacred by the spears. Elebereth splattered one, while another tore up one of the men-at-arms. Smith smashed his skull in, as the mercs impaled the rest.

They retreated to the surface, stopping by with the lizard king to collect money. After running the calculations, Smith had enough XP to level up from his first venture into the dungeon. All-in-all, a good session. As always, here's a copy of my notes for the dungeon that will always stay a little behind current: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hpi4n_-WngNexp7zLn4-NCM_uI_XFwDYKtboX4v_dv8/edit?usp=sharing

Hellmaze

Map

I made a labyrinthine level for your murderous megadungeon! It's intended to be slotted in to any of your mythic underworlds easily, or even be added as a secondary minidungeon to allow your players some respite. Remember to enter the File menu and use Fork to make and edit your own copy of the map. This adventure is compatible with the core rules of Swords and Wizardry, but feel free to use whichever game system you prefer. Swords & Wizardry, S&W, and Mythmere Games are trademarks of Matthew J. Finch, and I am not affiliated with Frog God Games, Mythmere Games, or Matthew J. Finch.

Random Encounters

Roll 1d8 for encounters

1. A careening ghost-chariot, which got lost from the main race
2. 1d4 kobolds hunting for an exit
3. A Minotaur
4. The maze walls shift, changing the layout of the maze.
5. 1d4 giant spiders (small ones)
6. Cave in! All players must save or take 4d6 damage. The party's current location, and all of the passage for 1d6*10 feet is impassable.
7. Another adventuring party
8. Roll twice

Keys:

1. Stairs up to the surface or previous level
2. A fountain which neutralises poison and reverses petrification.
3. 22 Small Giant Spiders with 1320 GP  scattered through a huge pile of bones.
4. 18 kobolds camping, looking for the way out
5. A Minotaur
6. A control panel with 6 knobs. The knobs have the following effects:
1. Provide the player with the ability to cast a single first-level spell at will, without memorizing
2. Drains a level
3. Shifts the level layout (Referee should fork in Mipui) or teleports the party to a point on the map at the Referee's discretion
4. Makes a random weapon used by a PC +1 or removes curse
5. Summons a fire elemental under the control of the PCs
6. Disintegrates a character unless they save. If they save, they permanently gain 1d4 bonus hit points.
7. A broken control panel. There are four knobs, but only one will function. It summons a fire elemental, which will fight the players to half HP. After it reaches half HP, it will surrender and procure a seal which binds it to a player. The seal can be broken and will summon the fire elemental under the summoner's control for 3 rounds, after which it will return to its home plane.
8. A gang of 9 lizardmen
9. Preserved chariots. There are many ghostly chariot racers preparing themselves.
10. A deep chasm. Across the chasm is a tribe of 31 orcs with 1395 GP.
11. Ghostly charioteers careen around these forsaken racecourses. They start at Area 9 and disappear at Area 12. Anyone hit by a chariot is knocked down and takes 4d6 damage, saves negate.
12. Ghost charioteers stop and disappear into white, translucent mist. There is a scoreboard, with Blues and Greens as the two headers.

Monsters

Giant Spider (smol): 6 HP, HD: 1+1, AC: 8 [11], Bite (1 hp) + poison, Save: 17, Poison (+2 save or die), Move 9, XP: 3/60

Kobolds: Hit Dice: 1d4 hp, AC: 6 [13], Attacks: Weapon (1d6), Saving Throw: 18, Move: 6, Alignment: Chaos, Challenge Level/XP: A/5.

Minotaur: 33 HP, 6+4 HD, 2d4/1d3/1d8 (horns/bite/axe), AC 6, save 11, never lost in mazes, move 12, Chaotic, XP 6/400

Fire Elemental: 51 HP (Surrender at 26), 12 HD, 2d6 (fire), AC 2, save 3, ignite flammables, move 12, XP 13/2,300.

Lizardmen: 9 HP, 2+1 HD, 1d3/1d3/1d8 (claw/claw/bite), save 16, breathe underwater, move 6 (12 swimming), Chaos, XP 2/30

Orcs: 8 HP, AC 6, 1d8 (sword/axe), save 17, move 12, Chaos, XP 1/15

Legal Stuff

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Magic Items

So it's time for another Swords and Wizardry homebrew post! This time, I'm handing out magic items. So without further ado, onto the items!

Cube of Unreality

The Cube of Unreality is a powerful magic item. It appears as a silver box, engraved with maddening patterns and ancient runes. It contains 2-7 silvery darts. Each dart contains a small sliver of absolute nothingness contained within rune-covered silver. The darts will, upon contact with a creature on its home plane, create a destructive chain reaction with the stuff of reality absolutely consuming the target unless it makes its save vs. magic. A Cube of Unreality may also fire all darts placed within on the same round. It regenerates 1 dart each time a Shadow is fed to the box, and 1-4 each time a creature capable of level drain is sacrificed.

Sceptre of the Sovereign

This item has 3-18 charges. It appears as a silver sceptre with the design of an ancient empire at its tip. This staff has four functions: Casting Charm Person and Command, both of which consume but 1 charge, and the raising of a fortress. The last function consumes 10 charges. Additionally, it attacks as a +1 quarterstaff and will generally inspire respect in people

Hungry Weapon
A Hungry Weapon is a dangerous cursed item. It attacks as a +1 weapon but must kill a foe each day or it will begin to feed on its owner. Each day the Hungry Weapon goes without being fed, it causes damage to its owner on a to-hit roll equal to or less than the day's number, so that on the first day only rolls of 1 cause damage, on the second day rolls of 1 or 2 cause damage, and so on.

Ring of Entropy
This powerful ring has 4 charges and recharges 1 each day. It has the ability, draining a charge, to fire a blast of pure chaos energy. There is no save, and upon striking the target the firer rolls a d10 on the following table:

1. Target is teleported to a random location
2. Target's gear loses all curses upon it
3. Target takes 3d6 damage
4. Target heals 3d6 HP
5. The target must save vs. magic or die
6. The user is consumed within a storm of chaos, roll 3 effects on the table for the user
7. Roll again twice, ignoring even results
8. Roll again twice, ignoring odd results
9. Roll again twice
10. Roll again three times

Fearsome Critters

So today I was looking for some interesting creatures and during my extensive research, I came across an interesting bunch. So I'm going to stat a selection out for S&W complete. I picked them from the ones that sound like interesting opponents, and hope to kickstart your creativity. So without further ado, the critters

Axehandle Hound

HD: 1
AC: 8 [11]
Attacks: 1d6 (bite)
Saving Throw: 17
Special: Chew through wooden handles in 1 turn
Move: 12
Alignment: Neutrality
Challenge/XP:  2/30
Axehandle Hounds are doglike creatures which eat wood. They will sneak up on camping characters and eat the handles of their tools, because the treating process creates a taste which they enjoy. Elf-worked wood they like most of all, but they will settle for natural wood if need be.

Ball-Tailed Cat

HD: 4+2

AC: 6 [13]

Attacks: 1d4/1d4/1d8/1d6 (claw/claw/bite/club)

Saving Throw: 13

Special: None

Move: 12

Alignment: Neutrality

Challenge/XP: 4/120

At a passing glance, the ball-tailed cat appears to simply be a black-furred big cat. Upon a closer look, however, the critter's true nature is revealed, as a large flail-like ball lies at the end of its tail

Cactus Cat

HD: 3+2

AC: 5 [14]

Attacks: 1d4/1d4/1d6/1d12 (Claw/claw/bite/bodyslam)

Saving Throw: 12

Special: Anyone attacking with short melee weapons takes 1d4 damage

Move: 9

Alignment: Neutrality

Challenge/XP: 4/120

This critter is a deadly beast, appearing as a big cat with dirty yellow fur rather like a hyena. However, its relatively humble appearance hides the truly deadly nature of the beast. This critter has deadly spiked fur, which it uses to great effect by slamming its foes. It resides in desert regions, and drinks cactus juice which it finds intoxicating.

Glumberoo

HD: 2

AC: 9 [10]

Attacks: 1d4/1d4/1d6 (Claw/claw/bite)

Saving Throw: 15

Special: Immune to all damage except from fire, instantly explodes if exposed to fire.

Move: 6

Alignment: Neutrality

Challenge/XP: 5/240

This creature appears like a walking ball, with thick, elephant-like legs and tiny ears. It has a tough, black hide, but secretes a highly flammable oil that dries up 1d8 days after the creature dies unless bottled. The explosion of the beast causes 10d6 damage to all creatures around and leaves enough oil behind for 1d4 flasks of the oil, which cause 2d6 damage.

Hidebehind

HD: 3

AC: 5 (14)

Attacks: 1d4/1d4/1d8 (Claw/claw/bite)

Saving Throw: 15

Special: Rolls 4d6 in grapple if it attacks by surprise, surprise 4 in 6 in wooded areas

Move: 15

Alignment: Chaos

Challenge/XP: 4/120

This creature looks like a black bear walking on 2 legs. It moves unnaturally quickly and typically lives in wooded areas, hiding behind trees (hence the name) and picking off woodsmen by grappling them and dragging them back to its lair to be devoured.

Joint Snake

HD: 2

AC: 6

Attacks: 1d4 (Bite)
Saving Throw: 16

Special: Lethal poison bite, regenerates 2 HP per round.

Move: 9

Alignment: Neutrality

Challenge/XP: 5/240

This critter looks to be a simple snake, but can reassemble itself. Its poison is highly deadly, and a single lethal dose can be extracted from the snake. The snake's venom is also a powerful ingredient for healing potions.

Wampus Cat

HD: 4

AC: 4

Attacks: 1d4/1d4/1d8 (Claw/claw/bite)

Saving Throw: 14

Special: Can roar at a creature, causing that creature to save vs. magic or take double damage from all sources and make all saving throws at -2.

Move: 12

Alignment: Chaos

Challenge/XP: 6/400

The Wampus Cat is a ghostly beast, appearing as a panther. It will howl at creatures, often heralding their imminent doom. It is not known whether it is the cause of this effect or merely the herald of terrible fortune. 

Ruins of the Lizard part 1

This is the first proper session of my Swords and Wizardry campaign. This time I managed to rope in another player, and thus the tale of Elebereth Silverblood, elf magic-user, and Gabriel, elf fighter and brother of the other elf fighter from the last session.

The elves had entered uncharted (well, very recently charted) territory, heading upriver to find the remnants of the previous expedition. They decided to head to the Great Tree for a better vantage, stopping by the Ruins of the Lizard on their way.

Approaching from the western edge, they snuck around to the gnollish buildings on the South side. Seeing his brother's head mounted on a pike, Gabriel flew into a rage and fired on one of the patrolling hyenas with his longbow. The hyena howled long and loud, while the other lunged at him. The beast, not seeing the pit trap between him and his target, fell in.

Elebereth threw a spray of darts at the hyenas, injuring but not killing. Suddenly, the 4 gnolls who survived from the previous expedition opened the door to investigate the commotion. Seeing Gabriel, one lifted Galadril's bow high and yelled a taunt.

Elebereth, acting quickly, cast a sleep spell and knocked out all of the gnolls and hyenas when three more burst out through the door, drawn to the sound of battle like moths unto flame. Failing to disentangle themselves from the door, Gabriel and Elebreth flung lamp oil. Gabriel followed up with an arrow which pierced the poorly-crafted helmet and thick skull of a gnoll, killing it instantly.

Thus the first session with the full party of our Ruins of the Lizard campaign ended, on a hell of a cliffhanger. This is the stuff which great campaigns are built on!

Ruins of the Lizard part 0

I played this session with only one player, so consider it a kind of prologue to other reports to follow. I'm playing in a partially-complete homebrew megadungeon for Swords and Wizardry complete. The only real houserule I'm using is that all monsters have 1d6 hit dice, instead of 1d8. This means that A: it's compatible with S&W light, and B: players can plow through much more in one session than they could otherwise. I'll give you guys a link to the maps and notes here. This isn't my actual notes document, but I'll update it before every report, the reason being that this one has read-only maps.

The session began in the wreckage of an expedition into the wilderness that had been utterly destroyed by gnolls. The player had 2 characters, Galadril (an elf archer) and Alatar (a human magic-user). They tracked the gnolls to their hideout, carefully avoiding any form of random encounter.

The party approached the clearing (Upper Works) from the north. They slowly made their way around to the east, when suddenly they found two of the captives from the expedition! Attempting to sneak over and set them free, they were noticed by the gnolls and hyenas which used to live at 9. Galadril set the prisoners free, while Alatar knocked down the gnolls with Sleep. They proceeded to sneak over to 8, where they promptly killed 2 gnolls and were picked off one at a time by hyenas.

Thus ended the first session of my megadungeon. There'll be more next time I give it a shot (hopefully), and at the end there'll be a full megadungeon developed through actual play. I think that removing some monsters will make it much more fun, and will allow the players to experience much more of the dungeon. These changes have been noted in the Upper Works section.