The Ever Expanding Dungeon: Session 35 and My 500th Post!

This post is the 500th here on Tabletop Diversions, and so it made sense to feature a session summary for the Ever Expanding Dungeon.

'tween story (using Mythic Variations)

Setup: 
The party returns the Dagger for 4 weeks of rest and relaxation, armor repair, and healing, as well as some sparring and tactics practice. The Sheriff is a little concerned about the activity, particularly as a magic-using type seems to be involved, but otherwise allows it to continue. After two weeks of rest, they are ready to return the dungeon in the hills.

Is that what happens? 50/50, Chaos 5, 63. No

For 'tween stories, if you get an ordinary no, then just choose the next most logical thing:

After 2 weeks of rest, the party opts to head into the dungeon again, seeking fame and fortune. 

It isn't fancy or terribly interesting but it gets the job done.

Return to the dungeon

Utilizing the survey that some of the players filled out, plus my own preference as Ygg, it was a sure thing the party would return to the scene of the last battle, but in terms of where to go from there, there was a difference of opinion.

Having agreed to return to the scene of their most recent encounter, Zilliniy and Ygg wanted to venture East towards the unknown, while Leegand and Eomond wanted to head north to see if it connected to area 17 on the map. Runolf, Maglom and Lykidas saw little difference in the choices.

Utilizing my Intra-party Decision Making system:

Does the party go East?

Ygg -11 + 1
Zilliniy - 7 +1
Eomond - 12 +1
Leegand - 8 +1

Ygg and Zilliniy = 20 yes
Eomond and Leegand = 22 no

The difference is 2 in favor of no.

Treat as a 50/50 roll in Mythic, Chaos 5: 53 + 2 = 55, No

After brief debate, the party decided that, once in that room, they would check out the north door.

They moved quickly through the dungeon to the Gnoll Shrine room (they don't know it's called that) 

Anything here? I chose to use the b/x stocking die roll of 1d6. 5, Empty, Treasure? 4, no treasure

Wandering monster ? 1, nope

Checking the secret door from the hallway into the room of their final stand against the orcs, Eomond and Leegand listened for anything on the other side.

I based this on the survey responses.

Does Eomond hear anything? I can't find in S&W:Whitebox a roll for hearing noises, so I posed it to Mythic - 80, no

For Leegand, I am using the thief class from Whitebox Heroes (since S&W: Whitebox has no thief class). I roll a 4 (on a d20), which means he does hear something.

Although Eomond could hear nothing, Leegand, possessing that ability to hear even the faintest hint of potential trouble or income common to all those who engage in questionable activity outside the limits of the law, overheard the murmuring of voices in a heated exchange.

I turned to Mythic, What does he hear? Negligence of the Public. Which i figured would be some kind of argument about something - I don't know why.

Rather than enter through the secret door, which might reveal its existence to creatures who might not know of it, Ygg suggested they check the door to the room where they and the Dwarves started their battle against the orcs last time.

Ziliniy and Runolf coverd the steps, while Eomond and Leegand again listened.

I used the same method as before:
Eomond - 02, he hears something
Leegand - 14, nothing

Eomond hears "Punish good" according to Mythic.

The sound of a whip cracking and muffled screams was all to clear to Eomond.

Thinking it could be someone in need of help, or someone who might be happy to be helped and return the favor, the party prepared to enter.

Leegand checked door for traps, found one, and was able to remove it.

I decided I would treat traps this way: If the PC detects a trap, they can then try to disarm it if it turns out one exists, but if they don't, and one exists, then they automatically trip the trap.

Using the Whitebox Heroes thief class again, I roll a d20 and get a 3, which is a yes

I check with Mythic, is the door trapped? 42, yes
Can he disarm it? I roll a d20 and get a 3, he succeeds in disarming it

Next, I checked to see if the door is locked.

Again, I as Mythic, Is the door locked? 46, yes
Can he pick the lock?  I roll a d20 and get 9. I turn to the table in Whitebox Heroes, and find he fails to pick it.

The door, however, was locked, and his attempt to pick it, failed.

Wandering monster check? 5, nope

The party arranged into Door Smashing Order.

         Door
Maglom     Runolf

Zilliniy       Ygg
Leegand    Lykidas

        Eomond
The door flew open and ....

Scene setup: 

The door flew open to reveal some orcs beating a dwarf who is shackled to several others of his kind, who are deceased.

Does it hold? Chaos 5, 8, yes
How many orcs? I turned to the d30 DM Companion and found 5 orcs present. Just five? AHAHHA. Piece of cake

Using the S&W:WB method of testing surprise with 1d6:

Are they surprised? 4, no
Is the party 3, no

Initiative: Party: 5, Orcs 1

Maglom moved into the room and yelled for them to unhand the dwarf.

Zilliniy's bow aimed steadily at one of the orcs, while Runolf glared threatingly, the flicker of flame from the party's torch dancing off the honed blade of his trusty axe.

Mythic: Do the orcs stop? This seems unlikely, given they hate dwarves and one just told them to stop.  42, No

Somewhere, I read that in S&W, each PC can take only 1 action per round of combat, which seems absurd, but on the other hand, I rather like as it feels very wargame-y and reminds me of GASLIGHT.

• Zilliniy let her arrow fly: 17+1 = 18, hits for 4 points of damage and drops an orc where he stood
• Runolf charged the nearest orc with Ygg following close behind
• Leegand attempted to sneak into the room to flank and attack the one with the whip.
• Lykidas held his ground, prepared to cast Sleep at the first sign of its necessity.
• Eomond covered the party's rear - the last time they failed to do so, they were surprised by orcs coming up behind them.

With one dead immediatey, I had the orcs check morale. There's no mechanism for this in S&W: WB, the intent is that the GM will decide. I decided to keep the wargaming theme going and rolled a d6, if i rolled more than their number, they would fail - rolled d6, 3, they passedDoes anyone see Leegand? First I rolled to see if Leegand was successful in sneaking, he was not. Then I asked Mythic if anyone noticed 10, yes.

• The orc nearest Runolf attacked him, but failed to cause any damage (it rolled 14)
• The whip orc charged towards Leegand
• The other two charged Maglom (determined by die roll: 1-2 Maglom, 3-4 Zilliniy and 5-6 Ygg) yelling "Kill the dwarf!"

Fighting continued for 3 more rounds, with orcs dropping and some party members minorly injured (save for Zilliniy who took 6 damage)

With 2 orcs left... 

Does the part give them a chance to surrender? Based on responses to the survey, I deem this Unlikely but then roll 33, yes

Maglom ordered the orcs to drop their weapons
Do the orcs comply? 81, nope

Runolf gets 3 attacks each round and hacks up one of the remaining orcs. The other find's this line of argument persuasive.

The orc dropped his sword and surrendered.

Does anyone from the adjacent room enter? 50/50 68, no
Anyone from the hallway?(Wandering monster check 2, nope)

Maglom interrogated the orc for the party.

I used Mythic to learn something about the orc's personality: Open for Food

The orc told Maglom that he and his people are starving, that the dwarves have cut them off from their food supplies and that they are desperate.

Ygg tried to persuade Eomond to give up some of his rations to get the orc to talk more.

Does Eomond agree? Very Unlikely 69, nope.

Will Maglom? Very unlikely- these dudes have been slaying dwarves, even if not her own 07 but Ygg pulled a guilt trip, mentioning tales of Gutzom's kindness.(truth or not it worked)

Maglom offered the orc some food and he became downright chatty.

Can he show them where the orc lair is on the map? 50/50, no.

Is it on this level? 81, no

Further down? likely. 40, yes

He notes that it isn't on the map, but further down into the dungeon.

How many of his people are there?

She asks how many of his kind there are,and he answers [Mythic replied Abuse of Weapons] that with the in fighting, and the battles with the dwarves, and the lack of food, their numbers dwindle daily.

Ygg felt a bit sympathetic - afterall, the Hedonistic Lumber Jack wants everyone to party.

Ygg had Maglom ask the orc if his people could pay for food to be delivered to them? 

Mythic: 50/50 33, yes

He nodded yes, although he seemed a bit confused by the question.


Ygg proposed to the party that they return to town, gather food and such, and then sell it to the orcs for a profit.


I turned to Mythic, and asked Does anyone disagree? 

Based on the survey replies to how much gold should be spent on negotiating with NPCs, I decided that the odds are high someone will disagree. Likely, 12, yes. 

Who? After looking at it, I saw that Ygg might be alone in this plan.

• Zilliniy has a deep seated racial hatred for orcs. 
• RUnolf wants adventure, which playing delivery boy isn't
• Maglom still isnt happy these dudes were beating the dwarf

Speaking of, Leegand checked the dwarf. is he alive? 50/50  91, no

Does anyone agree with Ygg? 50/50, no

Lykidas could go either way, as could Leegand, Eomond wants adventure but a supply of easy gold isn’t terrible either.


Party conflict:
Ygg - 11 + 4 = 15

Zilliniy - 7+5 = 12
Runolf 11+1 = 12
Maglom 15 + 2 = 17

That's 39 opposed to Ygg's 15.

It wouldn't have mattered, as I rolled a 93 anyway, for an exceptional no.

Not only did they disagree with Ygg, much of the party was for killing the orc - seeing him as a liability and not to be trusted, plus there's that whole "I hate orcs" from Zilliniy and Maglom pointing out the pile of dead dwarves shackled together.

Ygg conceded that the party was right and noted that it is an opportunity lost but that this is just how things are.

In typical fashion, the party looted the bodies. [Anything? 1d6, 5, no] but found nothing.

They readied themselves to try and enter the adjacent the room, despite the heated exchange Leegand had heard before, and which had now gone silent.

The Ever Expanding Dungeon XP Awards

Well I finally got around to calculating the XP for the last two sessions of my solo dungeon crawl, The Ever Expanding Dungeon.

Here are the XP totals and what 's needed for the next level (those who started at 2nd level, which is all but Ygg, started with enough XP to be at 2nd):

Ygg : 1045/1500
Lykidas : 3701/5000
Zilliny : 6691/10,000 (Variant Elf, so I could map her to b/x)
Eomond : 3509/4000
Leegand : 2501/240 (using White Box Heroes for the Thief class)
Runolf : 4139/4000
Maglom : 2921/4000

Two characters leveled up and there was also some shopping and pretty much anyone who can wear plate armor is. 

Runolf and Leegand are now both 3rd level.

Runolf now has 15 HP, Leegand is up to 10.

For those curious, in the last 2 sessions"

Runolf dealt 37 points of damage, with Zilliniy close behind at 30 (the next nearest is Eomond with 12)
Maglom took the most damage - 14 points - followed by Zilliniy and Eomond with 13 each.


I've already played the next session, and since the next post will be my 500th, it seemed appropriate that it be dedicated to the Ever Expanding Dungeon.

Happy Blogoversary and 100,000 Views!

On Saturday, Tabletop Diversions turned 3 at the same time it crossed 100,000 views.

I'm also approaching the 500 article mark.

With so many milestones so close together, I should probably consider doing some kind of celebration here on the blog.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this. 

Yep, my son is going as a backhoe loader for Halloween.

Please excuse the mess. i finished it at 5AM Saturday morning and a few hours later there was a mad dash to attach the straps and get everyone ready to go to the Atlanta Zoo for their "Boo at the Zoo" event.

To Screen or Not to Screen?

One of the things that drew me to punk rock was the idea that the stage isn’t a sanctified space for the performers to deliver their message from behind an imaginary barrier, and upon which the audience could only gaze in adoration. Rather, the stage is just another spot in the room, and there is no barrier, real or otherwise, band and audience blend together until it becomes impossible to determine who or what the performance is and who the audience is. (As a side note, it doesn’t usually work that way. People are conditioned to the audience-performer divide and often play their conditioned roles.)

Abandoning the DM/GM screen is a bit like that - perhaps without the pretension that I packed into that last paragraph - and tears down a wall.

I’m currently reading Alexis Smolensk’s How to Run and he notes that he does not use a DM screen. His reasons for dropping the screen seem to align with my own when it comes to rolling dice in the open so, I thought I would give it a try sometime.

As fortune would have it, last week the FLGS was quite crowded with Warhammer40K players (a new thing at the store and what looks to be a another big draw for them, although not as big as Magic:The Gathering) and rather than the usual two tables, we were consigned to a single small table - which was fine as we had about half of our usual number. Even with just four of us, the table was pretty crowded with character sheets, dice, the abstract combat sheet and miniatures, not to mention my map book, dungeon key, etc.

It seemed like a suitable opportunity to try and run screenless, if only to save some table space.

Despite the authority I am assumed to have as the “DM”, the fact is that I am playing the game, too. My role is different than the roles of other players who are responsible for one or two characters (I let player’s run their hirelings and charmed opponents, unless I think the NPC would refuse or resist the action the player is having them take), but I am still playing the game. Although it's subtle, without the screen, I think there was a definite mental shift on my part, if no on the part the other players.

Was I worried that the others would see my maps? A little, but not because I thought they would cheat (I’m not really sure how you can cheat at playing an RPG).

Rather, when I am running a PC, for me, much of the fun is the discovery of the place; with the map in view (not in the middle of the table mind you), that might be jeopardized. More importantly, to me as a DM, now that I’m trying to give them successes when they roll as such, it makes it harder to modify the map when they find a secret door I didn't know was there.

But that raises the question, what am I afraid of if they see me add it to the map? That I will undermine my role as DM because I am supposed to be all knowing about the game world? (I don’t think that’s written anywhere) That they will know I improvise and that parts of the game are “made up” randomly determined? I don’t worry about this when there is dialog or reactions in combat or when I roll to see how an NPC reacts to a character with a particularly low charisma score, why then in this situation does it matter? Is the map sacrosanct? Is there a rule or unwritten social contract that says Thou Shalt Not Modify the Map in Play! (i don’t mean Quantum Ogring something. For that I think there is indeed a social contract that thou shalt not undermine agency even if you think the other players will never know).

Some people will point out that the screen is helpful not for hiding anything but because it has frequently used information for the DM. I would agree, except, I play war games and typically, war game rules do that on Quick Reference Sheets that are simply held in hand. Why is a screen, usually in a static location on the table, more helpful than sheets you can hold in hand and reference while moving about? (Ever since I played in a DCC game in DragonCon 2013 with one of the most animated GMs I have ever witnessed, I have, for the most part, given up sitting when running a social game.)

In my experience it’s not better, and it might actually be worse.

When I’m standing, reading items at the bottom of a screen is difficult to say the least. The same info held in hand is easily read. That said, I’ve started putting much of the relevant info for creatures, traps, etc. into my key, and memorized most everything else (b/x lends itself to this). Players are responsible for knowing their Saving Throw numbers, To Hit numbers, etc.

I’m running the next session of the Trelleborg dungeon on Friday night and expect to have more players in attendance. I will try it without the screen again and see how it goes.

Solo RPing as Improvisation Warm Up

One thing I noticed at DragonCon in my 2nd session of The Dungeon of Akban was that I was decidedly  freer with my improv than either the session of the Purple Worm Graveyard or the first session of the Dungeon of Akban. After giving some thought to it, I believe that it wasn't because it was the 2nd time I ran Akban that weekend, or the 3rd time over all, but rather, it's that I played Ganakagok for 4 hours beforehand.

I'm sure those who do improv acting warm up in some way or another - but I only have an episode of Family Guy as evidence of that, and that may not be the most authoritative source. Never the less, having played a character for several hours preceding my own game, I stepped into the role of GM with my improvisational muscles thoroughly loosened up. 

By way of example:

When they found the dented helmet, which  I figured looked like something a Roman Centurion would wear, I described the sensation of coldness that they felt as the approached it, simply for effect but this was enough to land it stuffed in the backpack of a character (of a 1st time tabletop role-player at that).

In the final combat, she lobbed it toward the White Witch and her wererat collaborator, hoping to somehow release whatever magic she imagined it contained. 

Seizing the opportunity, I described an array of mystical lights, shooting forth from the helmet, and a ghostly glowing form of said Centurion taking shape beneath it. He attacked the Witch on behalf of the character who had released him, and when the Witch and the wererat were finally dead, he saluted her (the character who threw it, not the witch) in thanks for freeing him from his earthly bonds.

OK, that's not mind blowing or anything, but it's not part of the adventure as written, it was a spot light moment for the player, it vindicated her taking the helmet and her hopes that it was magical, it "awesomed up" the experience of the game (important for a 1st timer), and it was an "F*** yeah!" moment for the table (literally, enthusiastic explanations were made).

I'm not sure I would have come up with that idea in that moment if I hadn't been playing earlier in the day.

So, before the last Trelleborg session, I decided to conduct a rather poorly controlled experiment:

I broke out Cthulhu Dark, a free and very rules lite game of Lovecraftian horror, some Rory's Story Cubes (the three 9-dice sets) and a d6 and went to work improvising an adventure. I set up each scene by the roll of 3 Story Cubes, and handled GMing with the d6 using 1- "Yes and", 2-3 "Yes, but", 4-5 "No, but", and 6 - "No, and", and game mechanics as needed (particularly the investigation roll). 

I played on and off throughout the day.

I didn't play for four hours or even remotely close, but when I got to the store to run Trelleborg, I felt ready to go, to react to the players with less hesitation and more awesome. I certainly felt like I relied less on my standard reactions to their activity. Clearly this is all anecdotal,as well as poorly documented, and the players would have to tell you if I did in fact deliver anything worth noting.

While I can't prove it, I also believe it was the warm up that allowed the idea to give them successes when they roll a success to come to the fore, in the moment, rather than on reflection during non-game time. 

Whether or not solo role-playing is the most efficient way to warm up for improvising in a social game is another matter and I'm happy to consult other sources if anyone cares to enlighten me. In the meantime, this will be my new go-to prep the day off a game.

Adventure Maximus : Solo Example

For my solo attempt at Adventure Maximus, what seems like forever ago, I generated my character according to the rules, and ended up with a Minotaur Officer. 

To me, the minotaur is one of the iconic races of Adventure Maximus. Possibly because he's on the box and really catches my eye. And I've always liked the Minotaur of Greek myth.

The Officer class gets plate armor and that was my main motivation for choosing that above the other two I drew (I can't recall what they were).

My equipment card came up: My Axe (here meaning the slang for guitar, although shaped like the hacking weapon. picture something Gene Simmons would use on stage with KISS). Unfortunately, the axe's bonus could only be activated as long as the player played air guitar at the table. This is kind of useless in a solo session, or rather, I didn't feel like figuring out how to handle it so I decided I'd ignore that feature.

For my ability card, I drew Braids and Beards which, depending on how much I spent could increase my armor class or heal wounds.

I randomly generated a few names on line and chose "Gundar."

The mission: Snow White needs my help because the Master Assassin escaped with the fabulous Cake is a Pie to the Road in the Crystal Caverns.

Master Assassin is a boss creature, Cake is a Pie is an equipment card and the McGuffin and the Crystal Caverns is a map card. The other details are from the MadLib adventure generator.

Scene 1, Chaos 5

[Rather than drawing the creature, equipment and map cards for the first encounter, i only drew the map card to start, so I could set the scene: The SOurce of the Snake Bite River]

Gundar, having received the plea from Snow White to recover the fabulous Cake is a Pie, set out to track the delectable healing treat. As a former officer in White's Fighting Fantasy Brigade, he felt duty required his acceptance of the mission.

[I couldn't decide if he was going to start from the Source of the Snake Bite River or if he was journeying there. Enter Mythic GME: Is he starting from the Source of the Snake Bite River? 50/50. 60, no]

Gundar left his home in the pre-dawn hours towards the Source of the Snake Bite River, a river which had long ago carved much of the land, including the Crystal Caverns. By following the river, he hoped to find the long rumored secret entrance to the road within.

[I needed some sort of focus for the scene so I rolled on the Mythic Action and Verb tables: Oppress Emotions. This made me think of monks, so:]

A monastery at the mouth of the river would be his first stopping point. 

It would do no good to rush head strong into battle - a lesson Gundar had learned long ago. The propensity of the minotaurs for rage is well known, less so is their ability to turn that power into a calm abiding from which they can, like the greatest zen master, act spontaneously without fear or hesitation.

As Gundar approached the monastery, he caught site of two lizard men scuttling of the water, They looked sneaky and suspicious as they eyed the lone traveler approaching.

“My beef is not with you. Move aside, and let me pass," said Gundar, his voice booming.

[Do the lizard men heed his warning? 50/50. 47.]

Despite outnumbering their quarry, the thought of fighting so heavily equipped an opponent had them rethinking their plan and without further ado, slipped back into the cool rushing waters of the river.

Once inside the monastery, Gundar sat with monks there and chanted the sacred syllable "Moo!" for some time.

Scene 2  Chaos 5

[I drew the map card for the 2nd encounter, Location: The Court of Darkness]

Gundar, having achieved inner calm, bade the monks farewell and began his way down river. There, looming in the distance he saw the spires of the Court of Darkness. Going around the city would add too much to his journey and so he decided to enter into the foul place.

[I turned to Mythic to get a sense of what was happening in the city: Praise Danger]

Word must have gotten out about his journey, and denizens of the dark city gasped and mouthed silent cheers for our hero. Silent because they were under the watchful eyes of the Court’s guard. Any cheering of any kind would be subject to harsh penalty.

[Gundar has the Notice ability, so I decide to put it to use. Do i notice anyone skulking about the shadows wishing me ill? 6 successes!]

Gundar glanced up at the spires from time to time. Something about the Gargoyles wasn't right. In fact, it appeared that two of them had changed position since he last looked.

He readied his crossbow carefully and then turned to fire.

[Initiative (roll and count successes): Gundar 3, Gargoyles 2]

Gundar shot his crossbow  [It takes 1 action point to use the crossbow, and he scored 5 successes. Damage is done if the attack has more successes than the target has armor. They have Armor 6 and thus no damage was done] and the bolt sailed past them.

[Since he can take one action per Action Point, he shot again, 5 successes. And again, nothing, and the third time wasn't a charm either.]

The gargoyles attacked Gundar [they have 2 AP each] but cannot penetrate the plate mail.

[After all sides have acted, the initiative moves to the next player, in this case the GM or the gargoyles and then all sides act again. This continues until combat is resolved.

8 Rounds of combat and neither side did anything of note.

Gundar spent an AP to bring on Razorback, an ability on his Ability Card, which improved his armor by 1.]

Tired of wasting time, Gundar took off running through the streets, trying to shake the gargoyles.

[It costs 2 AP to move out of close range combat, so he held 1

For the gargoyles' part of this initiative I asked Mythic, do they pursue? I set it at 50/50 since I have no idea why they chose to attack. 29, yes]

With the advantage of flight, the were able to easily track their prey and attack. 

[It cost them to 1 AP fly into range, leaving 1 AP to attack and they did 2 damage.

On his next turn, Gundar, with 4 AP now, his max allowed, since he saved one when he ran, spent 3 on invoking Red Dwarf to regain 3 health, and then attacked, ineffectively.

Five more rounds and i was tired of the combat so again, I had Gundar try to find a way out.

I asked Mythic, can he find a place to duck into? very likely? 74, yes]

Finally, Gundar ducked into a small dive of a diner, panting. The owner came out, and seeing the armored minotaur, and assuming the worst of anyone so attired, said “Bathrooms are for customers only. Buy something or get out.” 

Gundar handed him a copper for some water and peeked around looking for another way out.

[Again, I used his Notice skill: 4 successes. ]

Gundar spied a door at the back of the kitchen behind the counter. Since the shop keeper was a bit of a grouch, he went to check out the bathroom first, in case there was a window he could fit his large minotaur frame through.

[Mythic: is there a window ? 35, yes.

is it big enought to crawl out? unlikley82, nope ]

Back to the front, Gundar attempted to convince the owner to let him use the back door. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, going for the intimidation effect.

[I rolled 4 success for Gundar to 2 for the shop keeper]

Begrudgingly, the shop keeper let him through.

Out in the alley, Gundar glanced up at the skies. 

[Are the gargoyles there? 60, no.]

He made his way out of the Court of Darkness and continued following the river towards the Crystal Caverns.

Projects and Updates

As you may well imagine if you saw my last post, I've got a lot of packages to get together and weigh and get shipping quotes on. That doesn't mean there's nothing else going on.

For those waiting on the next Ever Expanding Dungeon session, it's coming. I tried to calculate the XP for the last three sessions just this evening, but I didn't really have everything on hand to do that, so I'll try again, possibly tomorrow night when I'm not packing up books to send out. I am also trying to find a way to make the survey responses more readily available during a game. In the meantime, I'll be using Mythic Variations for the in-between story while the party heals, before returning them to the dungeon. 

I also have two sessions of Ariale's game to write up. There's been a lot of bloodshed out Fjorgyn's way!

My second  RPG zine, Save vs. Paper Cuts,  a one-pager that I attempted to get done for DragonCon, is sitting around waiting for me to dig out the scanner, scan the cover "art"/"logo". Once that's done, layout will be a snap since it's only one side of a piece of paper. When it's available I'll alert everyone through the usual channels. It will be available for a stamp basically.

The other day, I decided to break out Cthulhu Dark and play a solo game, more to test an idea than to start yet another campaign. I'll write up the whys and such soon.

Friday night, the GURPs campaign I am playing in kicks off. We're playing the Reign of Steel setting/campaign (I guess?). Honestly, we rolled up characters so long ago that I've forgotten all but the overview I came up with for my character (and the GM has the character sheets, so I can't even remember what skills he has). Let's not even talk about whether or not I remember how combat works in GURPs. My enthusiasm for this was really high back in June or whenever it was, but with so many delays, I have to admit, it's kind of waning. I'm hopeful that once I'm there playing, I'll be as excited as I was then.

The next BKC game will feature a Guadalcanal scenario - I just need a 2 hour window to set up and play the game. That might be tomorrow night, or maybe Friday night after I get back from the FLGS.

Speaking of wargaming, there's a pile of unpainted miniatures that keep looking to me to do something with them. Never mind the painted ones that haven't been out in awhile (they will factor into next year's plans i think). The unpainted ones are probably not long for the sale/trade/give away pile. 

And as for challenges and such, here's where i stand currently on the ten games, ten times:

Game	Total
nuts! final version	10
Blitzkrieg Commander	5
Song of Blades and Heroes	0
S&W Whitebox	9
Tunnels & Trolls	0
Adventure Maximus	2
Urbion	10
Battle Over Britain	2
MIce & Mystics	0
Pathfinder Card Game : Rise of the Rune Lords	0
	38

Given that there's only 3 months left in the year, and that they are busy months for holidays at that (I have my son's Halloween costume to build over the next few weeks, then November is both NaGaDeMon and NaNoWriMo, December always goes too fast), I doubt I'll finish all ten games, ten times. I started in June though when I first heard of it, so I don't feel too badly about it. 

On the other hand, if I don't play Mice & Mystics or Pathfinder Card Game, they'll probably both go up for sale, since I'll have had both too long without any use and I have lot's of other games waiting to be played that I acquired more recently.

My Yard Sale

Get this stuff out of my house!

Everything is paperback unless otherwise indicated. Consider it all to have shelf wear, to have been read (not always true) and in good condition, unless otherwise indicated. Many are in much better condition but I don't feel like taking the time to take pictures.

Prices are, well, pay what you want.

If you have any questions, ask in the comments.

Here's the deal: If you want anything, 1 thing or 2 things, or even 20 things, leave a comment. First come, first serve. I'll let you know if you are first (this is being advertised in more than one place) and we'll work out the shipping details
.
What do I want? For starters, you pay shipping. And tracking if not included in your shipping method of choice. And insurance if you want it. All payment via PayPal. Those of you outside the US, please be aware that shipping is ridiculous.

If you're in the Atlanta metro-area and want to come and pick it up, you're off the hook for any cost.

For those who feel compelled to give me something in return, here's what I'd be happy to receive:
cash (via paypal unless it's in person), gift certificates to DriveThruRpg or Amazon.com


RPGs:
Labyrinth Lord
Labyrinth Lord : Advanced Edition Companion (Pending)
Uresia: Grave of Heaven d20 System (Pending)
Space: 1889 (Pending)
Monsters of the Endless Dark, d20 System
Points of Light Campaign Setting
Points of Light II : The Sunrise Sea Campaign Setting
Basic Fantasy RPG (Pending)
Unframed (coffee damaged)
Devilmount (Pending)
Tegel Manor (revised and expanded, water damaged) (Pending)
City Book I
Whitehack (Pending)
Legends of the Samurai (hardcover) (Pending)

Wargaming:
Nuts! 2.0
Captain General, Pike and Shot Society
Peiper at the Gates (Two Hour Wargames, Nuts! scenarios)
War Against Japan (Two Hour Wargames, Nuts! scenarios)
Featherstone's Skirmish Gaming, John Curry Reprint (Pending)
Featherstone's Battlenotes for Wargamers, Solo Edition, John Curry Reprint
More Wargaming Pioneers, vol. 4, John Curry
Military Modeling Guide to Wargaming by Stuart Asquith
Terry Wise's Introduction to Battlegaming, John Curry Reprint
Warfare in the Age of Reason (Kind of beat up)
Wellington Rules
DBN 1.0
Volley & Bayonet (status markers uncut)

Magazines:
Battlegames #27
MWAN, #75,  vol 13. No. 5, May/June 1995
MWAN, #76, vol 13, No. 6, July/August 1995
MWAN, #77, vol 13, No. 3, September/October 1995
MWAN, #78, vol 13. No. 4, November/December 1995

Misc:
From Pike to Shot : 1685 - 1720 by C.S. Grant (Pending)
Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces: Uniforms and Equipment 1932-45, Osprey (Pending)
The Kobold's Guide to World Building (Pending)
Uniforms of the Imperial Russian Army by Borris Mollo, c1979, Blandford Press, Hardcover
U,S. Marine Rifleman: 1939-45: Pacific Theater, Osprey
The French Foreign Legion, Osprey (Pending)
The French Foreign Legion by Douglas Porch (pretty beat up, underlined, highlights, etc)

Reflections on the 10th Running of the Trelleborg Campaign

Friday night I ran the tenth session of my open table D&D b/x campaign at my FLGS. Attendance was good - four returning players and one new one, a guest of one of the others. 

There were, I think, two or three big developments:

One thing we have done more or less from the start of this campaign, is to let players roll all of their own dice: secret door detection, listening, thieves skills, etc. This isn't per the rules of course. The players are always supposed to be second guessing whether they succeeded and there was nothing to find, or whether they failed the roll: "You find not evidence of secret doors", "You see no traps on the lock", etc. 

However, as someone somewhere wrote, any excuse to roll dice is a good one, player's like to roll dice, and we're all adults.  In practice, it doesn't really matter if they roll it or i do. there is tension as the dice are rolled and all await the results. 

A success is obvious to all, but often there isn't anything to find, so I decided that success meant the character was certain beyond all doubt that there wasn't the thing in question, be it trap or hidden door or noise making entities on the other side of the door, and that is how i would describe it. 

If they failed, I'd tell them that they found nothing, but obviously, they weren't totally sure. However, if they really botched the roll, I might suggest that they were sure of their finding, despite its incorrectness. The players, the thief in particular since he attempts these things far more often than the others, started, at this last session, doing that himself when he would roll exceptionally above the required target for a find a trap, would turn to the group and say, "It's safe." 

I thought that was pretty awesome.

However, I also started doing something new this session. I think it's from reading Dungeon World and the whole "make maps, leave space" dictum. 

About midway through the session, it dawned on me: if the player's roll a success GIVE THEM A SUCCESS.  Some of you undoubtedly spit your beverage all of your screen just now, and are perhaps shaking your head in disgust. Hear me out.

The base line assumption in most classic RPGs is that the GM/DM knows all, especially when it comes to the dungeon, or the village or whatever, that it is all well laid out. But, the reality is, we improvise a lot. We improvise NPCs, we roll random encounters and go with it. Some DMs randomly generate hexes as their party explores. All I've done is decided that, my map is incomplete.

So when the characters searched a wall for a secret door, and one of the players rolled a 1, damn right there was a door there. News to me AND to the players, which adds some additional enjoyment to the game for me as well - I'm exploring right along with them. 

I started small: a secret compartment with a minor treasure, finding a trap that had already been triggered (so the door was in reality still not trapped). I got a little cocky with a hidden passage to a room (even though I was able to use it to spotlight one of the characters who rarely gets it), and, although I was glad to reveal some more of the history of the dungeon and why the dwarves abandoned it, I inserted something into the fiction during my improv that I'm going to have to think on a bit. Fortunately it doesn't effect the present state of the dungeon, but the players are going to follow up on it as they try to gain an understanding of the place and I should be ready for that.

The other development Friday night was that I learned that my players, at least what I consider my core group, have an interest in a long lasting campaign that goes beyond the walls of the dungeon. There was talk of renovating the ruined tower above the dungeon to serve as their base of operations. They are claiming several abandoned cottages in town to refurbish and use eventually as worker housing (for the crew who will work on the tower), there was a suggestion of creating their own merchant caravan and selling their wares up and down the road to Hedeby, of buying a ship, exploring the coast for natural protected ports and becoming pirates, etc. 

I could not believe my ears; their characters have goals that go beyond the stated mega-dungeon crawl i use to advertise the game. I had hoped for this, but I did not expect it.

It's a very exciting thing - at least from where i sit - although I might need a new name for the campaign!

Thinning the Herd

Lately, more than usual, I had been contemplating the shelves of gaming related printed matter that I have gathered over the past few years, and, in particular, whether or not having these items in hand had, in fact, brought anything worthwhile to my gaming and whether any given item would continue to do so.

In three years, my collection of gaming related print material has grown some 400%. That this coincides with the birth of my son is no accident. Money I would have spent going to see bands, going to bars, etc. was instead funneled into this hobby. But, if I am honest, much of the material is unread or, at best, barely skimmed, and offers little to no value to me as a result. It seems obvious, but simply having something does not improve my gaming experience.

This isn't an unheard of situation in tabletop gaming related circles - indeed, it seems excess is the most common state of affairs. Never the less, what should bring enjoyment was becoming, or had already become, something I dreaded. When would I find time to read all of it, let alone use it? Making checklists and timelines of such things was impossible without feeling stress, the antithesis of what a hobby should bring.

Perhaps, with the clarity only a week at the beach can give, I drew a line in the sand (no pun intended!).

With a detached ruthlessness reserved for mothers tossing boxes of old baseball cards and comic books into the trash, I reviewed each and every item on my shelves. "I could mine this for ideas", "I paid a lot for this", "I might need it someday" or "someday I might play it" were not acceptable reasons for holding onto something.

For each item I asked one or more of the following:

1. Do I use this?
2. Have I had this item for more than 12 months without using it?
3. Do I enjoy the game system?
4. Do I really like it or am I just "meh" about i?
5. Is there a sentimental reason to keep it?
6. Do I own this in another form, i.e. ebook or PDF?
7. Is this or similar information available online for free?
8. If I don't use it, and think it's worthwhile to keep, how can I work it into my current gaming?

The only items that got free passes were items that were recently acquired: Adventure Maximus, Tremulus, Dungeon World and 5e on the RPG side, and various WWI rules on the wargaming side.

When all was said and done, about half of my collection was weeded away. 

Of those, a good 20 or so books are in the "hold for another 6 months" box, at which point they will be reevaluated, but the rest ended up in the donation pile (popular history stuff and some fiction that I think the library can easily sell at its book sales - why do i think that? Mostly because that's where I bought it) or the "for sale" pile.

The sale pile is a little larger than I expected and the thought of tens of ebay ads or tumblr posts brings me no joy, so I'm considering alternative ways of getting them into the hands of gamers who might enjoy them. Stay tuned to this blog for any announcements about that.

In any case, already, the results are palpable; I look at the gaming shelves and smile. 

I see the games I enjoy and the games I want to explore further. I see cherished books, like the TMNT RPG, next to often consulted reference sources, such as Condray's Swedish and Russian Armies of the Great Northern War. I see depth if not breadth, more signal, less noise. I see inspiration and exciting possibility, rather than the gluttony that produced the previous situation and the accompanying dread and guilt.

Other than outstanding Kickstarters which have yet to ship, going forward, with rare exception, I intend to stick to a "1 in, 1 out policy" with respect to gaming materials (at least the physical kind. I haven't yet gone about tackling the morass of PDF rules and such). I did this previously, but had let that rule slip during the last few years.

Meanwhile, my load has been lightened and I feel at ease.

Next stop, the lead and plastic mountain.

Adventure Maximus! : Reviewed and a Basic Idea for Solo Play

Adventure Maximus! got its first outing last week (it's part of my 10 games, 10x challenge). If you're not familiar with the game, it's a card based RPG, designed for kids. I backed the Kickstarter awhile back and only recently gave the rules the once over before deciding to bring it with me on vacation.

The whole thing comes in a nice approximately digest-sized box with character sheets, rulebook, Adventure Sheet, cards (lots of cards), 5 blank dice and the stickers to apply to them (rather than using pips, there are three symbols per die: 1 sword, 2 swords and what looks kind of like the "at" symbol).

Character creation is fairly simple: players draw 3 race cards (which detail any special abilities the PC has) and choose 1, then draw three class cards (additional special abilities, armor and weapons) and choose 1. Based on the class card, the player may draw one or more Equipment and Action cards, and, if applicable, Spell cards.

Adventures are Madlib generated (and can cross into the utterly nonsensical as a result - basically, it provides about as much motivation as required for the average dungeon crawl) and individual encounters feature a map card, an equipment card (the treasure) and a creature card. Three encounters make up the adventure, so the third creature is a boss creature encounter. The boss has its own equipment, spells and actions, just like the PCs, which makes them very dangerous.

This mirrors a typical video game pattern and, given the target audience, makes a lot of sense.

From a tabletop perspective though, it is, without a doubt, a complete railroad, no matter how much you improvise - if the players must go to a particular location, and must encounter a particular thing, it's a railroad. I think, for a kids' game, as a way to introduce role-playing, this probably isn't horrible as it makes life easy for the Maximus Master, who might also have no experience with gaming. 

I found thinking of the defined quests as markers to be hit, alleviated some of my aversion to the rails. Also, there is no reason that the Maximus Master can't insert additional locations/encounters along the way and in fact, the rulebook encourages this. Nor are there any scripted resolutions, so player's have at least limited agency.

Ariale, for example, made it past a giant bug simply by avoiding it. She didn't get the loot, but it was a trade off. When she encountered a were-weasel, rather than fight, she parleyed, gave him the wish from her genie lamp which cured him of his lycanthropy and got the treasure that way (plus a bonus XP). She recovered the object of her quest from the big boss in a similar creative fashion, without actually defeating the boss, which left the boss as a potential recurring enemy going forward (if we play again - it doesn't lend itself to chat gaming).

Each PC gets Action Points based on their race card that regenerate per combat round, and can presumably be spent out of combat as well, without restriction. The average for PCs seems to be 3 points. Special abilities, Action Cards, Equipment Cards and Spell Cards all require action points to use. Again, each round of combat, the PC earns their Action Points back, but they may not exceed the maximum allowable for their race.

All dice rolls count successes: a sword = 1 success, two swords = two successes and the "at" symbol thing means 2 successes + roll that die again and add those successes (so, an exploding dice mechanic I guess?). The 5 dice provided, in my limited experience, are more than enough to cover most situations.

Experience Points are given after each encounter, rather than at the end of the adventure. Everyone gets 1 for participating (kind of like those "participant" awards they give to kids just for being on a team) and the Maximus Master can pass out up to 1 additional point per player for roleplaying, creative ideas, etc. Spending the points improve the character in various ways, depending on how many you spend. 

I like this mechanism, as it encourages the player to weigh the risk/reward of saving their points for a bigger upgrade.

I also gave the game a try solo, which I am pretty sure the designers never intended. In fact, given that at least one card bases its duration on the amount of time the player air guitars, I'd have to say it didn't cross their minds.

However, this is why I went in on the Kickstarter: I love cards generally, and the art on these in particular, and I figured I could use the card draws to create scenes and then use various solo techniques to play them out.  Never the less, for the 10 game challenge, I decided that I would try to stick as close to the way the game is meant to be played (that is, rather than re-purposing the decks into my own game).

The big difference was that, while I had to reveal the Map, Equipment and Boss Creature card to generate the adventure,  I only revealed the Map and Creature cards for the first encounter and nothing of the 2nd, until necessary. This way, I could preserve the sense of discovery that I would have in a social game. I used Mythic to run the encounter - it's like second nature anymore to use it, and would allow me to get on with the gaming.

The setup worked well (I'll post a write up of the session as a follow up to this)- my Minotaur Officer clomped around in his full plate to good effect and despite the rails (which I couldn't entirely see thanks to the delayed card draws), with Mythic, it went typically off course each encounter - although i gave up on the third encounter because I ran out of time thanks to some issues with the combat system during the second encounter.

Similar to T&T combats without spite damage, I ended up in a combat that seemed to be interminable - neither side able to rack up damage in any meaningful way due to high armor on both sides. Only by running away from the combat and ducking into a tavern(an act that took 3 tries before I could escape the gargoyles thanks to Mythic and poor die rolls) was I able to end the encounter in an "in game" way. 

Obviously, if I was adjudicating this combat in a social game, the gargoyles would have given up when they realized they couldn't do any damage, but maybe to return later with more of their kind. Solo, it seemed a cheat just to rule that without dice to back it up.

Both sessions were enjoyable, although I think I stumbled with the rules more than I would normally find acceptable. i found more than one card that did not seem to fit the system as described in the rule book, but that's probably just a "me thing" and will be corrected with further experience with the game.

Vacation Getaway

I disappeared from here for a bit to spend a week in St. Augustine, Florida. Amidst surf and sun and playing on the beach, we took in the Castillo de San Marcos and the Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum (the 1st one of the now 80-strong chain) - both offered some gaming related images, and some games were played as well.

More posts to follow to address all of that. In the meantime, there's a 6 hour+ drive, with a 3-year old, waiting for me in the morning .

Session 34: The Ever Expanding Dungeon

We rejoin our party on their way out of the dungeon. You will recall that last episode ended with the following

Do they encounter anything on their way out? 1, wandering monster ,

5 Dwarves.
Room 3 RED HERRING/RESOURCE DRAIN

The following was played on 9/5/14

Chaos 6
Are these the same dwarves from Session 29? LIkely, 13, exceptional yes

Setup: Approaching from the direction of room 31 came 5 dwarves marching two abreast, with one in the rear. As they entered the party’s torch light, one of the dwarves in the front rank immediately recognized the party and hollered out to the others. Although Maglom understood what they were saying, it was Eomond who understood their anger.

“It’s those dwarves Lykidas dropped with his Sleep spell!”
Dwarves surprised? No, Party? Yes
Does the setup hold? 1, No, Altered
Is it that the dwarves don’t recognize them? 69, No.
Is it that the dwarves have other issues?10, exceptional yes, Attainment information

New setup: Approaching from the direction of room 31 came 5 dwarves marching two abreast, with one in the rear. As they entered the party’s torch light, one of the dwarves in the front rank immediately recognized the party and hollered out to the party in Dwarvish.

Maglom translated, “He said they are hunting the green-skins, a band of them.” 

Upon noticing the bodies, the leader of the Dwarven warband added, "Where are the rest?”

After explaining that this is all the party had encountered, the Dwarven leader entreated the party to join them, and offered that all will be forgiven in the matter of the ring and their unknowing aid to the thieves.

Does the party want to go?

Leegand and Maglom are badly wounded  Both of them strongly want to go back to town to heal.

Zilliniy and Eomond are injured but less so
Runolf is all for going - he needs the money and perhaps there’s some to gain by joining with these fellows.
Maglom is torn between helping the dwarves and healing
Lykidas doesn't have a horse in this race. His remaining spell is Hold Portal.
Ygg can see reasons for both sides and is playing the classic fence sitter.

The values below are the Charisma plus the shift away from 50/50. If someone starts at 50/50, I rolled to see which side of the Yes/No divide they fell on.

Leegand- Impossible 12+5
Maglom - Very unlikely 15+2
Eomond - Unilikely 12 +1
Zilliniy - 50/50, yes. 7+1
Lykidas - 50/50, Yes 12+1
Runolf - Very Likely - 11+2
Ygg - Neutral

No- 47
Yes - 35
+12 to roll (to shift it towards No)

I rolled a 21 and then add the 12 = 33, which is a Yes result.

Convinced that the added number of the Dwarves will offset their injuries, the party agreed to go with them.


Room 4: Big Bad , Chaos 5
Listen(Leegand and Eomond both fail with 3 and 4 respectively)

Setup: The party approached the door the dwarves suspected as the direction of the orcs, and after taking a listen, move out of the way for the dwarves to open the door. As they kicked in the door and the light from the party’s torch shone into the room, the eyes of many green skin orcs met theirs.

Does the setup hold? 5, Modified- altered

Setup: The door kicked open and the party’s light flooded a room empty save for some chains hanging on the wall [an owl bear was hear once i think]

The party and dwarves pressed onward. Listening to the various doors out of the room, noises were heard coming from the east door..

Do the orcs burst in?50/50, 43, Yes
How many? 14 orcs (2 abreast)!!!!!!!!!!

The door suddenly smashed open and 2 large orcs barreled into the room followed by more.

Party and dwarves are surprised (rollled a 1)

The front orcs attack the dwarves immediately in their way, swinging battle axes. One of the brutes liberated the head of a dwarf from the attached shoulders.

[Here all hell broke loose. This is a LONG combat - the longest I have ever played. It isn't the most prosaic thing I've ever written, but I don't think I could do it justice without the round by round summary. Names next to rounds are the initiative order.]

Round 1 - Orcs, Party + Dwarves

4 more orcs entered the room but their attacks were blocked and parried. Ditto for the Dwarves. Runolf was the first of the party to dive into the fray.

Round 2- Party + Dwarves, Orcs

Again the Dwarves managed to do nothing.

Runolf slashed an orc with his hand axe (4 HP), but it just sneered at him.

Ygg raced up to meet the orc tide.

Lykidas, Eomond and Zilliniy begin preparing an escape route and check the west door:and hear nothing

Round 3 - Party2 (Lykidas, Eomond, Zilliniy), Party 1(Runolf and Ygg)

+Dwarves, Orcs, Party 3(Maglom and Leegand)

Eomond kicked open the west door, and Zilliniy charged in to secure the space.

Ygg crashes his war hammer into an orc (5 hp) but it shakes off the blow.

The dwarves fare better this round and drop two orcs but more rushed in.

Round 4 - Party 3, Party 2, Party 1, Orcs

Confident it's unoccupied, Zilliniy signaled the all clear. Lykidas followed her in, and Eomond signaled to Maglom and Leegand. He held the door as the latter two dove into the room beyond.

Runolf crashed his axe into the orc in front of him again and this time it collapsed into a butchered heap

A dwarf near Ygg ganged up on the orc the cleric had wounded previously and sent it to the abyss.

More orcs spilled into the room. (It's like a freaking clown car of orcs!)

Round 5 - Party 2 (everyone but Runolf and Ygg), Party+Dwarves, Orcs

Eomond hollered for party and dwarves to fall back before ducking in the room

Zilliniy's elven senses go crazy and she detects a secret door (in S&W: Whitebox, elves auto-detect on a 1-2)

Lykidas runs to listen to the north door while Maglom runs to the east

Ygg falls back towards the door.

will the dwarves fall back? 50/50, 70, no

Will Runolf? unikely 43, NO (chaos is 5 remember)

Runolf attacked and wounded another orc (5 HP damage) but the injury is not enough to end its existence.
A nearby dwarven ally goes for the same target, and the orc succumbs to its wounds.

In the far corner of the room, a dwarf drops another orc.

Do the orcs keep fighting? 29, yes

Orcs move in (yes, more)

One of the dwarves in that far corner is skewered on an orc's sword.

Round 6 - Party 2, Orcs, Party 1+ Dwarves

Over the din of battle from the other room, neither Maglom nor Lykidas could hear anything.

Ygg called Zilliniy over to use her bow and hollered for Runolf and the dwarves to fall back.

Zilliniy ran over, knocking an arrow as she did.

Meanwhile, two more dwarves met their end at the hands of the green-skinned orcs. Only one dwarf remains.

Do runolf and dwarf fall back? Likely, 95, no

Runolf and the dwarf were in a blood-fueld rage and unleashed blow upon blow on the nearest orc, but to no avail.

Round 7 - Orcs, Party 2, Runolf/Dwarf

Do the orcs charge Ygg and Zilliniy? Very likely 41, yes

Several of the beastly horde rush toward the party in the adjacent room as the final dwarf meets his maker.

Runolf, in blood splattered armor amidst a sea of red and bodies, is now cut off from the party. Without missing a beat, he lopped the head off the orc in front of him.

Round 8 - Runolf, Party, Orcs

I realized I had misread the rules for fighters, and found that Runolf attacks TWICE per round because he's 2nd level and the orcs have only 1 HD.

Swinging both axes now, he hit two different orcs (scoring 4 and 5 damage) but both stand.

Finally the orcs have hit a log jam and can't press onward, their numbers having reached the doorway for the party 

Due to the close range, Zilliniy dropped her bow in favor of her sword.

Runolf's good fortune breaks for a moment, and he takes painful slash on his arm (3 HP, he's down to 8)

Ygg is nearly run through (5 HP damage, and dropped to 1). The amount of blood spraying from his side is sickening.

Round 9 - Runolf, Party, Orcs

Runolf swings but his blows are blocked.

Ygg fell back and Eomond, arguably in better shape, moved up to face the crushing horde.

Zilliniy let loose a warrior cry and the last thing the orc saw was the look of hate in her violet eyes.

Lykidas pulled out an oil flask and set about lighting in to throw.

Meanwhile, Runolf was struck again (3 HP, down to 5) and Eomond took a piercing wound to his thigh (down to 7 HP).

Round 10 - Runolf, Orcs, party
Runolf, hoping to survive a bit longer and to gain a tactical advantage (right now, he can be surrounded on all sides) crashes out into the hallway,hoping the use the doorway to limit the effectiveness of the orcs.

do any orcs pursue? likely 77, nope

The orcs facing Zilliniy snarl and roar as they each deliver terrible blows upon the party members (Zilliniy hit for 3, Eomond hit for 3 (down to 1))

Eomond fell back but Zilliniy chose to stand and fight. Unfortunately, in her rage she lodged the blade of her sword into the door frame. (she rolled a 1)

Nothing like hoping a one-eyed man hurling a flaming liquid is on target, but Lykidas took the chance (with a chance of hitting Z.) and his oil  landed true on the orc directly in front of Zilliniy, igniting the orc, though not killing him quite yet.

Round 11 - Orcs, Party, Runolf

The flaming orc fell backwards into the rest to die, while the one that had been in front of Eomond, rushed in to face Ygg.

Another pushed past the burning orc to take its place.

With all her might, Zilliniy succeeded in wrenching her sword free of the frame.

Lykidas ran to her side with plans to slam the door shut (but that can't happen until next round).

Runolf, seeing he wasn't followed, threw an axe at the mass of orcs, but the blood caused it to slip out of his hand, ruining his chance of hitting one.

Round 12 - Runolf, Party, Orcs

In no shape to rush back into the fray, Runolf pulled his dagger and threw it, piercing some vital organ of one of the orcs opposite. It dropped to the ground dead a few moments later.

Lykidas slamed the door shut and yelled at Zilliniy to hold it so that he could cast Hold Portal.

Ygg and Eomond and the orc engaged in a scrum, but no victor could be declared.

The orcs outside the door attempted to force it open again. Do they succeed?22 yes. Sigh. Of course, they do.

The door flew open and knocked both Zilliniy and Lykidas back.

Round 13 - Runolf, Orcs, Party

Knowing the party was in bad shape and that his chance of survival was dwindling, Runolf raced in swinging.

The orc facing Eomond and Ygg slipped under the force of his swing and crashed to the ground.

Two orcs charged Zilliniy and Lykidas.

Zilliniy (rolled a 20 and did 6 damage) - cleaves her attackers head in two, and then kicked his body back towards the throng of orcs trying to surge forward.

Do the orcs retreat (down over 50%)? 100, exceptional no, Nope, they’ll fight to the the death.

Round 14 Orcs, Party, Runolf
The orc on the ground struggled to his feet.

The orc attacking Lykidas hit the unarmored one-eyed man for 3 points of damage (not to belittle the orc's accomplishment, but come on. one eye? no armor? a freakin' dagger?)

Another orc moved up to attack Zilliniy.
Meanwhile, two ganged up on Runolf and he was gravely wounded (down to 1 hp).

Zilliniy, with orc blood streaming in rivulets down her blade and over her hands, lost her grip and her sword flew from her hand (another 1 rolled)

Before the orc in front of him could stand, Eomond struck downward with a mighty blow that ended the foul creature's life.

Lykidas, pissed off no doubt at being attacked, deftly sliced into his opponent with the blade of his dagger (for 2 hp)

Runolf has the heart of a fighter, and giving up was not an option; he struck and killed one of his attackers.

Round 15 - Party, Runolf, Orcs

Zilliniy grabbed her dagger and stabbed the orc in front of her (for 2 HP) but he still stood.

Eomond rushed over to assist.

Ygg joined Lykidas.

Meanwhile, Leegand, who had been severely injured (1 HP) by the orcs on the steps, mustered his strength to whip a sling stone at the orc attacking Lykidas but missed.

Maglom, sensing an imminent end to her recently found friends, charged into battle (she has 2 HP).

Runolf, meanwhile, dealt blow after blow to his opponent (5 HP) and it still stood.

Fortunately, the orcs were completely ineffective this round although Runolf would now face two.

Round 16- Runolf, Orcs, Party
An orc attacked Eomond but missed in his rage and managed to drive the sword into the stone floor (he rolled a 1)

Ygg's warhammer connected with the thick skull of the orc before him, but it just shook it off.

Eomond's blade cut into orc meat but it STILL stood.

Round 17 - Party, Runolf, Orcs
Eomond struck the orc again and this time sent it back to its maker.
Runolf, a whirl of blades and blood, mowed down another orc.

Another orc charged up to Eomond, this one was bigger and scarier than the rest.

Round 18 - Orcs, Party Runolf.

An orc attacked Runolf, and this time the fighter's defenses failed (He's at -1 and will die in 2 more rounds from bleeding out without someone to bandage his wounds)

Eomond suffered the same fate!

Leegand, seeing his comrade in danger, charged to grab Eomond and drag him away.

Round 19 - Orcs, Party
Zilliniy was struck with a devastating blow (for 5 hp she’s down to 2). She staggered as her own blood streamed down her face.

Leegand, despite his own injuries dragged Eomond out of harms way, the thick black red trail revealing the gravity of Eomond's woundsl

Zilliniy, with a fury like no other, impaled her assailant with her sword and wasted no time to look for her next target.

Lykidas, making a good show for a magic user, tries to stab an orc but trips on his own robe (rolled a 1)

The orc, distracted by the sight, meets his end as Ygg's warhammer crashs into the side of his face.

Runolf is down to -2, he dies next round without attending

Eomond is down to -2 he dies next round if leegand doesn't stabalize him

Round 20 - Party, Orcs, Runolf

[I held my breath rolling initiative]

Picture this in slow motion if you will. The floors are a river of blood. Not one member of the party is free of the red goop. It pours out of them and their opponents. The sounds of yelling, of weapons clanging drone and drown out even your own screaming.

Ygg saw Runolf's body on the ground and realized he must act; he charged to get past the orcs to reach Runolf and stop his bleed out.

[i rule he has to roll 2 successful attacks to force his way through AND HE DOES. I pretty much cheered outloud

BUT I also rule that Runolf will have to make a save to stay on longer though since technically Ygg is only allowed one action per round. I figure the save adjudicates whether Ygg is able to do enough this round or not. ]

Zilliniy sliced into the orc in front of her, but it only stopped for an instant (4 hp damage)

Maglom charged to face the head orc.

Lykidas taking advantage of Maglom's stature, threw a dart over her head at the orc but missed in the chaos of the moment.

Runolf rolls his save HE ROLLS 18!!!! HE SAVES!!!! And stabilizes at -2 HP.

Round 21 - Ygg, Party, Orcs

Ygg tended to Runolf's wounds, tying bandages and applying pressure.

Inside the room, Leegand did the same for Eomond.

Of course, all of this would be for naught if the defense at the door collapsed.

Speaking of which, Maglom was struck hard and flirted with a loss of consciousness (she's down to 1 hp)

Zilliniy hoping to end this madness, stabbed furiously for the orc's heart but, it was ready, (she rolled a 1) and her dagger jammed in the orc's wooden shield.

Round 22 - Party, Orcs

Picture if you will, amidst the spraying gore, the smell of death, the sounds of violence, a small, but solidly built elf with braids of white hair matted with blood, leaping up to throw her fist into the face of her large, brutish, green-skinned orc antagonist. 

And missing.

Meanwhile, despite the Crouching Tiger style action going on to his left, Lykidas lets loose another dart and his aim was true (3 HP). 
Maglom got in on the fun, and struck the orc (for 3HP), causing it to momentarily say a prayer to its deity of choice.

Laughing the hearty laugh of the evil, Zilliniy's orc attempted to run her through, but only managed to catch her side (still, she's down to 1)

I felt terrible that people might think I fudged to give Runolf a chance to live. I decide he needs to make another saving throw. He does!!! i stopped feeling guilty.

Round 23 - Party, Orcs

With unmitigated fury, the elf hauled back and unleashed a fist like iron into the face of the orc, collapsing its snout and driving the head back with such rapidity that its neck snapped. A BARE-HANDED KILL!

Round 24 (I thought it was 23, but i misnumbered this round) Orcs, Party

Maglom is struck and dropped unconscious (she’s unconscious at -1)

This is looking like a very close run thing indeed.

Zilliniy, feeling her oats, punched the leader, and sole remaining orc, repeatedly in the ribs until one of them cracked and pierced something vital (2 HP damage but combined with the Lykidas's dart and Maglom's sword it's enough)

After the last orc fell to the ground:

Lykidas quickly bound Maglom's wounds (she rulls 4 and is back up to 3.
Leegand bound Eomond's wounds, but he only recovers enough to still be unconscious at 0

Ygg finished binding Runolf’s wounds and he’s at 1 and conscious but badly wounded

Ygg bound his own wounds and is back up to 3

Lykidas does his own and back to full

Zilliniy bound her own and is up to 5 (gained 4)

Leegand isn’t elligible as he suffered no damage in this combat.

The party agreed to get the hell out but not before searching ALL of the bodies

Any coin on the orcs? Very likely since this could be seen 5 the treasure 47 yes
Using the S&W: Whitebox treasure rules, I roll a die, and get 6 for my multiplier.

210 xp * 6 = total value 1260 gp

Scene 5 TREASURE!!!! Chaos 6 [I ruled that it won't go up since the party was victorious but it certainly isn't going to go down with a near TPK]

Looting the dead dwarves and orcs, the party found ten 100 gp gems and four 60 gp gems, which made sense since the orcs were just wandering around.

party exits dungeon any encounters?no THANK HEAVENS!!!!