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[Raven Crowking]

The first real session took place on Tuesday. The same characters were used – Mike had a human barbarian and a halfling fighter; Heather had a gnome rogue and a half-elf ranger. They knew that they were going to be exploring a ruined keep, and chose to do so beginning in the early morning. I drew them a quick sketch map of the area, showing the keep’s towers, walls, archway, some visible rubble. The map also shows a stream and pool, a bridge over the stream, a cluster of trees to the northeast, and a ruined catapult lying not too far from the keep proper. They were told that the river was slow-moving, covered with duckweed and lily pads, and that there were reeds growing along the banks.

Mike was suspicious of the bridge, but was reassured when he saw the culverts and realized that it was made of stone. They crossed and went up the keep proper. (I told them they saw ripples in the stream – perhaps a fish snagging an insect – as they crossed the bridge.)

They examined the heights of the towers from outside. They asked about a way in, imagining that the archway still contained an effective door. As it did not, they entered the keep. After a brief examination of the lower courtyard beyond the archway, Heather’s characters examined the north tower and Mike’s explored the south tower. Both towers are 30 feet by 30 feet.

In the south tower, the main floor still survives, as does part of the second floor. Within the main floor, cobwebs criss-cross the rafter beams, and the floor is thick with dirt and bits of stone. An iron ladder is bolted to the center of the south wall, leading upwards to a trapdoor to the second floor. Arrow slits look toward the gateway, to the south, and to the east.

A large spider (about the size of a small dog, light brown and yellow with a mark on its abdomen similar to a reddish-orange skull) hides in the rafters waiting for prey. It manages to surprise the barbarian, but not the halfling fighter. Because the spider has 1+1 HD, it is not rabble.

(Due to the fighter “Cut Through the Rabble” ability, “Is it rabble?” or “Are they rabble?” quickly became the battle cry of the fighter!)

There were enough fights during the session that I can’t break them down into a round-by-round with any clear memory. It took 2 rounds to beat the spider, though, with the halfling making a successful Fort save against poison at one point. They go up the trapdoor, discover the owl nest, and decide to leave it alone.

Meanwhile, Heather’s characters discover the trapdoor hidden in the floor of the north tower. No dice rolls were involved – for some reason she was keen on examining the floor (the ceiling is gone, exposing the tower to the sky). This might have to do with her experiences with pit traps in Basic Fantasy, where they are used to good effect in some of the free modules.

In any even, the trapdoor is locked, and the characters leave it for now, going to the upper courtyard.

This area is occupied by six goblins (two spearmen, three archers, and an animal trainer armed with a whip) and their two trained dire rats. In 3e, a “dire rat” is what used to be known as a “giant rat”. In RCFG, this is a “giant rat”, and a “dire rat” is a rat about the size of a tiger. They are cunning, and prefer to attack by ambush, getting the drop on their opponents whenever possible. They are sometimes trained by goblins and other evil humanoids. Think of the rats in H.G. Wells’ Food of the Gods (if you are familiar with the book) and you will get the idea.

The party manages to surprise the goblins, but while deciding what to do fail a Stealth vs. Perception, and the dire rats become aware of them. Because only the dire rats are aware of them, the party still has 1 round before anyone else can act (the dire rats are held on leads by the animal trainer). Mike considers taking out the trainer, but opts against it, firing one arrow with his halfling fighter at a dire rat and another at an archer (using Cut Through the Rabble). Heather’s ranger shoots the dire rat again, but it is still up. Mike’s initiative is high enough to give him one more shot, so he shoots another archer.

Again, there was enough combat this session that I cannot clearly remember the round-per-round blows, but the animal trainer releases the rats, siccing them on the PCs. Had the animal trainer been taken out, the rats would have attacked the nearest creature, carrying off their kill to eat privately. One of the rats was cut down by the time it reached the party, and the other died beneath the barbarian’s axe. The two goblin spearmen fled, but the archer and the animal trainer lasted long enough to die in melee combat.

The characters looted the goblins, and turned their attention to the three entryways they saw.

They first examined the ruined kitchen, finding the poisonous adder there and allowing it to slither away without harm. They then went into the ruined chamber next to the kitchen, where the gnome rogue found a slip of paper reading “....lies beneath the north tower in the Crystal Grotto....” This sent Heather’s characters back to the north tower to investigate the trapdoor.

Mike went to the ruined kennel, where he discovered the bones of a human soldier wearing chainmail – a chain around his neck still holding a rusted iron key. He also managed to locate the treasure under the cot – a small unlocked chest containing a mouldy cloth bag with 35 cp in it, a potion (reddish tint, cinnamon smell, spicy but metallic taste, made him feel slightly faster), and two potions of healing (light green, fragrant smoke rolls out of bottle when opened, no odour, minty taste, 1d6, easily identified as such when a sip made him feel slightly better).

Mike’s characters joined Heather’s at the trapdoor, unlocked it with the key, and opened it up. Below they saw a stone shaft, some 10 feet deep, with an iron ladder bolted to the north wall. The halfling used his silk rope, tied to himself, with the barbarian holding the other end, to test the ladder. When it appeared to be solid, he called to the rest of the party, and they proceeded downward.

Beyond the shaft was a stairway going south for 20 feet, a landing, and then stairs going west 20 feet, leading to a 30-foot square room vaulted to a height of 12 feet with an arched doorway in the center of the north, south, and west walls. They look down each hall, and then head west.

This hallway leads to a room is some 20 feet deep by 50 feet wide. Sconces for torches (now empty) are bracketed to the wall on either side of the door. The room is vaulted to a height of 12 feet. The far wall is carved with several images of knights cut into relief on the wall. That wall seems to be damp – water seeps through the ceiling and across the reliefs to puddle on the floor. The room otherwise seems to be empty. They look around for a couple of minutes, find nothing, and leave.

They then choose the north passage. This leads to a door with an iron-barred window. It opens into a 20-foot square room with a similar door in the far wall. This room was obviously once that of the jailor. The far door is locked with a sliding bolt, which can easily be unlocked from within the room. It creaks open on rusty hinges when the barbarian tries it.

Beyond the door is a long, low hallway (arched to about 7 feet high), with iron-barred doors hanging open on either side. The hall is 50 feet long, with four 10-foot square cells to the north, 10 to the south, and one to the far east. The area smells of old rot and corruption.

Each cell holds three animated skeletons, for a total of 27. These are primarily the remains of prisoners left here to die by the jailor, although one is wearing chainmail and has both a short sword and a key ring.

The players forget that there is a door with a sliding bolt behind them. Because two of them are short, all four can fight in the hallway, whereas only three skeletons fit in the front line. I have to random-roll each round to see which PC isn’t attacked.

This is a long battle; the longest of the game so far. At first, the PC’s lack of weapons causes them problems. The halfling fighter has to use his epee’s pommel to attack, for example, because P weapons don’t damage skeletons at all in RCFG. When the first skeletons fall, PCs scoop up long leg- and arm-bones to act as makeshift clubs. Luckily, the gnome has a sling and plenty of bullets, so he is able to help! The barbarian uses the “flat” of his battle axe, taking a –4 penalty to hit.

The battle takes long enough that the “battle fatigue” rules almost come into play. The total length of the battle is 15 rounds, with the lower-Constitution PCs falling prior to their reaching fatigue point. Surprisingly, the PCs fare relatively well. They manage to slay all but three of the skeletons, and of those skeletons two are damaged when the halfling at last falls.

They come to (having Shaken it Off) in individual cells. The cells are still not locked, so they go to loot the skeletons, taking the chainmail and sword. The barbarian is especially interested in the helmet that went with the mail. After a beat, they realize what has probably happened, and check the door to the cells. Yup. Locked from the outside.

The PCs have two axes among them, so they lay to and hack through the door. (All of this time, I’ve been checking for wandering monsters, and still they run into nothing at all, even with the noise of the axes!) Outside the door, they discover the bones of the three remaining skeletons – they made it not more than 5 feet from the door. Puzzled, the players try to figure out why this is. Mike suggests that the cell corridor might be magical, and tries placing some of the bones back into the cells. Nothing. Unhappily for the PCs, the room keeps its mystery.

The PCs now check the south way. The door to this room is stuck from the damp, requiring a Prowess AS DC 12 to open, which the barbarian manages easily. Beyond the door is a 30 foot by 60 foot room, with a ceiling vaulted to a height of 10 feet. It smells of rot. The room is filled with various crates, bags, and barrels, all of which are rotting, damaged, or sprouting pale violet mushrooms, yellowish mould, and the like. Water has oozed through cracks in ceiling and walls, so that all of the walls are damp to the touch.

Heather, again due to experience with Basic Fantasy, warns Mike about yellow mould.

They begin searching, and the halfling discovers a patch of yellow mould. Since he has just been warned, I give him a (free reaction) Reasoning save DC 5 to recognize and avoid it. Mike rolls a 1. Luckily, the halfling has fantastic reflexes, and isn’t poisoned.

Eventually, they find a number of useful items in this room. For every 10 minutes spent searching, I am rolling three dice. The first determines what, if anything, is found (d8), the second determines who does the finding (d4), and the third determines whether or not a random encounter occurs (d6).

Finally, a wandering encounter occurs – 3 giant ants. RCFG giant ants are about 2 feet long, and have 2 HD each. With the PCs already wounded from the skeletons, and even with the players trying some Combat Advantage, the ants clean their clocks. All four are rendered unconscious.

Now, if this had been a ghoul, the PCs would have been dead. But, being giant ants, they carry the fallen back to their nests. There are only three ants, so one is left behind – a random roll determines it is the halfling fighter. When he Shakes it Off, he goes in pursuit of the ants. He follows them out of the dungeon level, and into the courtyard before finding them. Luckily, carrying the PCs slows them down.

At first Mike considers shooting at the ants with arrows, but a small ant carrying a medium half-elf gives a 2/3 chance of targeting the half-elf, so he instead charges the closest ant. Finally, some high rolls! The ants, being mindless, give him the chance to engage them one-by-one, which proves their undoing. However, by this time the gnome has succumbed to his wounds and is truly dead – the first PC death in RCFG.

The players decide that they are going to camp near the ruin, to try to heal.

I calculate XP, and we call it night.

We began the game at 6:00 pm, with plates of spaghetti & glasses of pomegranate soda. We ended the game at 8:30 pm, with an expectation to pick it up next Tuesday.

As with all playtests, this one demonstrated some areas where the rules need tightening, but also showed that the combat engine allows for fun, tense combats that don’t grind all night. The focus was clearly on exploration – finding stuff – as opposed to moving from one set-piece battle to another.

It was fun.

I am planning to finish the spell material so that I can convert Village of Hommlet and Keep on the Shadowfell for future playtest sessions. (I was going to use Keep on the Borderlands, but I used that with Mike in 3e, so I’d rather something he didn’t know so well!)

RC