Dolmenwood Campaign Session 0 Report
This will be the start of my ongoing session reports for my newly started Dolmenwood campaign. We were using a Shadowdark/Dolmenwood/OSE/homebrew mashup for the system, but I’ve decided going forward to just use the Dolmenwood system with some tweaks in future sessions. Spoilers ahead for Winter’s Daughter, an adventure module for Dolmenwood.
The party is made up of Basil (Human fighter), Chloe (Breggle cleric), Hollace (Human wizard), Shamash (Human fighter), and Stira (Human thief). They begin in High Hankle, either recently arrived from the greater empire to the south or as locals who have not had opportunity to travel the wood.
They all have an NPC friend in common: Dimothy Tolman, who has landed himself in jail and requests the aid of the group. He just needs enough bribe money to get out, and fortunately had a line on some treasure to be found in a barrow to the north, the burial mound of Sir Chyde. Thus the party found themselves in the woods, on the path to the tomb (I started them off directly at the adventure site just to get the ball rolling. We’ll be dealing with travel afterwards).
The party first encountered a circle of standing stones on the path leading to the tomb, inside which was an eerie twitching stag skeleton covered in green ooze. Unsettling metallic owls hang from the surrounding trees looking onward. Basil, would be archeologist, stepped forward to investigate first, and found the haze surrounding the skeleton dizzying so backed away. Hollace inspected the runes carved on the stones and determined they relate to summoning, perhaps some form of witchcraft (the group is not yet familiar with the Drune or the witches of the wood). A toad hopped from the wood and rather disconcertingly uttered the word “Betrayal” before hopping away (and becoming something of an obsession for Shamash, though he didn’t pursue the toad). Deciding to to keep their eyes on the prize, they moved forward to the tomb.
Four of the party had enough strength to move the block of granite that sealed the tomb, and promptly did so. Chole lit her lantern and the party descended. They entered a room with various religious objects (a book, candle, wooden cherub, and Chapes holy symbol of the Pluritine church), which animated as soon as the group entered (getting particularly agitated at Stira and Hollace as Chaotic characters). Basil nabbed the book from the air and sat on it. Stira and Hollace were also very deft as their objects dove towards them, Hollace capturing the candle in her bag and Stira snatching the holy symbol by its circular form. Chole, being a cleric, managed to calm the cherub down with gentle assurances and prayer. They all tied up the objects and stashed them way, bound, for now. The scuffle revealed a mosaic below, which Shamash cleared to see a scene of Sir Chyde fighting frost elves. This, along with some imagery on them standing stones outside, let them to comment that frost elves (or maybe elves and fairies in general), didn’t seem to be well liked here.
Undeterred, they searched deeper in the burial mound, finding a room with an empty plinth with drag marks leading back to the entrance and an ornate mirror. Hollace prompt strode up to inspect it, only to be caught in its magic and paralyzed. The others cautiously began inspecting the mirror and frozen Hollace from the side, looking for ways to help her. Initial prodding and moving the frozen wizard were no help, nor was Chloe slinging the wooden cherub at the mirror (to its dismay), shattering it, although this prevented future paralyzations. Shamash decided to carry Hollace along the drag marks and out of the tomb, with the idea he would place her in the standing stones. Fortunately the sunlight outside immediately cured her affliction.
Meanwhile Basil and Stira forged ahead, finding an old chapel with a door hidden behind a tattered tapestry. The door was swollen and stuck, so Basil forced it open, revealing a hidden room and a tunnel behind. Attracted to the noise, three worm creatures like tongues with lamprey mouths emerged and attacked, seeking a meal, while the rest of the group caught up. Rolling high on initiative, Basil quickly was able to dispatch two of the worms. Hollace followed up with a magic missile to finish the last before they could act. The room secure they managed to find a book in a desk, which gave a clue: the name of one of Sir Chyde’s trusty hounds.
As they were about to leave Shamash decided to clear this floor looking for another mural, instead finding a loose flagstone. After careful inspection by Stira, they determined it was safe to open, and found a metal box inside with a suspicious looking lock. Opting to investigate later, they stashed the box for now.
Moving onward, the party came to a large room with sealed stone doors, large stone dog statues chained to the wall, and an inscription saying to “call to the companions”. Shamash figured they would need to call out the names of the dogs, of which they only had one. More investigation would be needed.
We had to end the session here, as we had spent most of the time in character creation and setting up the new campaign, but this was a great start!
Merchant Dispositions using Reaction Rolls
Merchants are one of the few people who have liquid coin to buy treasures dredged from dungeons and may have the inclination to do so (Nobles would rather claim it as theirs to begin with and the Church will happily accept donations but maintains paying for treasures is sinful and base). Even then, the goods must be either something the merchant feels they can resell at profit or want personally as a status symbol. So they will usually offer less than its value.
The following is a procedure for dealing with merchants with a modified reaction roll table. Make a 2d6 roll for a given merchant. This can be modified by character bonuses or circumstances as you would any reaction roll. Then consult the following for the result:
2 or less: Offers 50% of value for the goods, but hires thugs to rob you and recoup their coin.
3-5: Offers insultingly low purchase prices (10% of value). Reaction rolls to haggle at -1.
6-8: Offers 50% of value.
9-11: Offers 50% of value. Reaction rolls to haggle at +1.
12 or more: Offers 75% of value, reaction rolls to haggle at +2.
Keep the rolled disposition for a known merchant the party returns to, unless changes to circumstances would mean a change in attitude.
Haggling
You can haggle with a merchant by making another reaction roll once. The end result assumes you’ve gone back and forth and exhausted negotiations. Any good arguments for the player or trade skills should factor into this roll as bonuses (or maluses if they are poor hagglers).
2 or less: They refuse to budge on their offer.
3-5: They will pay 5% higher than initial offer.
6-8: They will pay 10% higher than initial offer.
9-11: They will pay 15% higher than initial offer.
12 or more: They want this for themselves, and will pay full value. There is a 1-in-6 chance they pay 25% more than its value out of desire to own it.
Manipulating Reputation Tables
Things that can manipulate your players’ reputation tables (usually NPCs, sometimes monsters). Usually their manipulations will be local to their area or settlement.
The Slanderer
If offended, the Slanderer adds a lie on the party’s table. If egregiously offended, they add 1d6 lies over the next several weeks or months. These can be removed of the Slanderer is made to publicly retract them.
The Gossip
Roll on the reputation table upon meeting the Gossip. A result rolled is duplicated to another entry. There is a 3-in-6 chance this new entry is mutated. On a 1 it “explodes” adding yet another copy.
The Bard
Similar to the Gossip, but with a profit motive. Roll on the reputation table when the party enters a settlement. On a result the party’s reputation proceeds them, and the Bard has already spread their deeds adding another entry to the table. There is 4-in-6 chance the deed is exaggerated, becoming more heroic or scandalous.
The Bard can spread this reputation wider than most: any entries added also go on neighboring reputation tables (or larger tables).
The Bard can be paid to spread your renown. They can also act as a supercharged Slanderer if crossed.
The Renown Thief
Eager to claim your glory for themselves. Roll on the reputation table, if the result is positive or neutral but impressive, make a note next to that entry with the NPC’ name. They are claiming that deed for themselves and denounce other claims to it as lies. Clever renown thieves will fabricate some evidence of their completing the task.
The Starry-eyed Fan
Usually young and naive, or easily impressed. Roll on the reputation table; on a result that is positive or impressive they become enamored with the party. They add a lie to the reputation table in the party’s favor. There is a 3-in-6 chance this deed is something obviously beyond the party’s capabilities. On a 1, this explodes, and the fan adds yet another false entry.
The Historian
The historian is interested in setting the record straight for posterity. Or a record anyway. Bring corroborating evidence of one of your deeds to them and they will record it in their official record. This spreads the deed to other locales / adds them to bigger tables.
There is a 4-in-6 chance the deed recorded is slanted in such a way as to favor the local authority or power structure (make a second entry in the table with this altered form). The lower the roll the more egregious these changes are.
The Repairer of Reputations
Likely supernatural and/or magical. The Repairer of Reputations does not require a roll on the reputation table; they keep a ledger of all deeds in the area. They can strike a deed from your table — for a cost. This may be coin, or a nefarious quest (probably in the service of repairing someone else’s reputation). If you are caught performing this second deed not to worry, the Repairer can help with that too. Just one more little task…
If the Repairer of Reputations is killed their manipulations start to come unraveled, and striken deeds are again associated with those who committed them. This not only affects the party but the wider area, creating chaos as people’s ill actions come to light.
The ledger contains the truth of all deeds in the area.
The Eater of Memories
Definitely supernatural. Can eat deeds given willingly, removing them from the reputation table and all memories in the world. This may leave inconsistencies and gaps in the history of events.
The Eater of Memories doesn’t discriminate between good and bad deeds, but does prefer more widespread ones. More memories to eat are more filling. However, if fed once it will become attached to the party as a source of food, and it’s always hungry. It follows them begging and whining incessantly to be fed growing louder and more insistent as time goes on. If killed it just returns the next day or whenever it is inconvenient. It can be driven away by feeding it lies, which makes it retch and flee. It is forever your enemy afterwards.
Cow Tools
A scenario for use with Violence. If you know you know.
Over the past several months you and your companions have become self aware, awakened to a sedate, bovine consciousness.
Now as evening falls you stand upright over the supine, bleeding body of the Farmer — your creator, father, tormentor — wielding crude tools. He has a keyring on his belt.
You need to get out before “they” come. You aren’t sure who “they” are. The Farmer always said if others found out about you “they” would be close behind.
You also need more of the Formula lest you revert to the intellect of a typical cow. You know the Farmer created this somewhere else on the farm.
Cow tools: Your strange bovine intelligence has limitless creativity but lacks sophistication. You can quickly craft a tool for any situation but when using it you have a Disadvantage or it has some other drawback.
Awakened Bovine: You have limited exposure to the human world. You can speak in a lowing bovine drawl, and there is a 1 in 6 chance you can read.
The Farm
A small, nondescript and unnamed dairy farm on about forty acres of land. There are ten milking cows on the farm. The players are the only awakened bovines.
The Barn
Stalls for twenty cows. A section at the back is an open area with a hayloft. This is where you all stand now, over the dead body of the Farmer. The other cows of the herd occupy the stalls, the nearest are awake and made nervous by the smell of blood.
The Farmhouse
A two story weathered 1800’s gothic farmhouse serves as the home for the Farmer and his family.
Outside
A long drive from the road leads up to the farmhouse, splitting off to the barn and shed.
Around back is a small garden full of enticing vegetables.
First Floor
Veranda Small enclosed patio to the entryway. A dog, Belle, sleeps on the porch. She is unafraid of the familiar cows but may bark to see them out of place. If given the Formula she becomes sapient in 1d6 hours and will join you, at the price of her share of Formula.
Dining
A dining room with solid, rustic table and chairs. A cabinet of fine china stands on one wall.
Kitchen
A standard home kitchen. Stairs go up to the second floor, and another set go down to the basement. Sharp kitchen knives can be found here, as well as heavy duty cookware.
A small bathroom is attached to the kitchen, as well as a walk in pantry.
Hanging over the back door is a double-barrel shotgun (unloaded). There is ammo in a kitchen drawer.
Parlor
A living room with a couch, reclining chair, and ancient television. The Missus is here watching TV, the glow flickering in the window.
Storage room
Old heirlooms, furniture, and keepsakes gather dust. Space has been cleared for a sewing table.
Bedroom
A small bedroom, with little decoration and bed neatly made.
Workshop
An attached workshop and garage. Assorted tools, welder, scraps of lumber, and bench for reloading ammunition. In a locked gun cabinet is a hunting rifle with a box of rounds.
Second Floor
A narrow hall connects the upstairs rooms, a tight squeeze for a cow (disadvantage on most actions).
Main Bedroom
Bedroom of the Farmer and the Missus. Dominated by a painting of cows.
Junior’s Room
The room of the Farmer’s son Junior, 16. Decorated in sports pennants and trophies. He is reading a magazine. If he hears a disturbance he’ll go for the shotgun in the kitchen.
Little Miss’ Room
The bedroom of the Farmer’s daughter, 10. Decorated in pink and lace. She is asleep, if startled by an intruder she will scream.
Bathroom
A shared bathroom at the end of the hall with a clawfoot tub.
Basement
Glass jars of pickled vegetables and sacks of potatoes and onions. At the far end is a locked door.
Behind the door is the Farmer’s lab. Chemicals in barrels line the shelves, lab equipment on benches. His lab notebook is here, the scribblings of a deranged mind or a genius. He was obsessed with creating a “better” cow with no indication of criteria used to determine this. The method for creating the Formula is written here. It is all nonsense to the bovines.
On the workbench are two dozen vials of Formula. One vial needs to be consumed per cow per week to maintain their sapience.
A locked storm door in the back of the basement lead to the back of the farmhouse.
The Shed
A large shed filled with farm equipment, a tractor, automatic milkers.
Events
In half an hour the Missus goes out to see what is taking the Farmer so long. If she sees him she calls an ambulance. If there are signs of foul play she calls the police. If she spots a bipedal bovine she goes for the shotgun in the kitchen or the rifle in the workshop.
In one hour a car breaks down on the road near the farmhouse. The couple head up to knock on the door and ask to use the phone—they don’t get service on their cells out here.
Escape
To the North are rural homes and wilderness.
To the West is town, a couple miles away.
To the East is the interstate.
The South is filled with dairy farms. It’s easy enough to slip into one, force yourself back on four hooves and blend in among the unenlightened cattle.
If traveling south, a light will steak out of the sky before resolving into a large flying saucer overhead. A beam of light pulls all aboard. Roll 1d6. On a 4-6 you are welcomed as ambassadors to Earth. Your sapience is made permanent. On a 1-3 you are probed and vivisected, remains left scattered on the field you were found in. You become the subject of conspiracy theories and urban legends.
Eventually the Formula will run out. You can’t stand the thought of returning to what you were before.
Instant Panic Effects for Mothership
Mothership Panic effects are great and flavorful, but many are longer term consequences that might not matter so much in a one shot or short scenario.
I came up with a simple rule (adapted somewhat from Delta Green) that augments the existing table:
Whenever you fail a Panic check choose an immediate response of fight, flight, or freeze, in addition to the normal effect.
Fight: You instinctively attack the source of your fear without coordination or consideration of the situation. You must fight for 1d5 rounds or until the source of your panic is killed or flees.
Flight: You flee the immediate source of your fear at full speed for 1d5 rounds or until you feel you have reached safety. You are heedless of other danger while you do so.
Freeze: You freeze in place unable to act for 1d5 rounds or until the source of your panic is no longer present.
An ally can try to snap you out any of these conditions with an action, for which you immediately roll a Fear save, breaking out of the condition on a success.
Players always get to choose which effect when they panic, and it can be different each time.
NPC Stress and Panic
Using this simple system you can add Panic checks to NPCs easily, without having to track a bunch of conditions.
To track Stress for an NPC make four checkboxes or circles. Whenever an NPC would gain Stress (from a failed roll, or just from an encounter) mark a box. Each box counts as five Stress, so if they need to make a Panic check they will be rolling against 5/10/15/20. If they Panic, choose one of the instant effects above, then reset their Stress boxes.
Mothership Simple Lifepaths
In the Mothership Player’s Survival Guide there is an option to sign up for military service, effectively giving you Marine skills, stats, and trauma response. Plus a nice little hat tip to Traveller in the fact that you can die in character creation.
To me this looks like a lifepath done in typical Mothership simplicity, handled by a single roll. So that made me think what such a lifepath roll would look like for the all the standard classes. This would be used at character creation (and is in fact the method I’m thinking of doing character creation for my modern horror Panic Engine system).
Note: Take the stat and save bonuses, maluses, and trauma response as normal for each class.
Marine You sign up for a 6 year term of service with the Colonial Marines. Make a Combat check to see how it went:
- Success: Gain Military Training, Athletics, and two Trained skills. You have a rank of Corporal.
- Critical Success: as Success, but you may gain an Expert skill instead of the two Trained skills. You have a rank of Master Sergeant.
- Failure: as Success, but you only gain one Trained skill. You were busted back down to Private.
- Critical Failure: If the roll was even, you were wounded in action and have Max 1 Wound. Gain skills as Success. If the roll was odd you were dishonorably discharged after a court-martial. Gain Military Training, Athletics, and Rimwise.*
* Alternatively: You were killed in action.
Android The creation of sapient Android minds is more of an art than a science, even copies of the same model line can have variations in the final results. Make a Sanity save to determine your build quality:
- Success: Gain Linguistics, Computers, and Mathematics, and two Trained skills. You have passed your Quality Assurance inspection.
- Critical Success: as Success, but you can take an Expert skill instead of the two Trained skills. Exceptional build quality, flagged for special assignments.
- Failure: Pick two of the three skills of a success plus an additional Trained skill. Quality rating downgraded, flagged for lower grade service.
- Critical Failure: Gain skills as Success. If the roll was even you have a manufacturing flaw in your body, -20 Speed. If the roll was odd you have a manufacturing defect in your logic core, -20 Sanity. Either way you failed QA inspection but escaped before you were recycled.
Scientist You have enrolled in higher education or training of at least 6 years of education. Roll Intellect to determine your academic success:
- Success: You gain a Master skill, and an Expert and Trained pre-requisite. Gain 1 additional Trained skill. You graduated with success and gained your degree.
- Critical Success: as Success but treat the pre-requisites of your Master skill as having a +20 bonus as well. You are a prodigy in your field of study with an understanding few have.
- Failure: You gain two Expert and and two Trained skills. You failed to complete your program but still got something out of it.
- Critical Failure: You are a pariah in your field of study. If the roll was odd, your controversial position or discovery was correct, but the world was not ready. Gain skills as a Success but lose your +30 Sanity save bonus. If the roll was odd you were ejected for legitimate controversies, such as publishing fraudulent data. Gain skills as Failure and lose your +10 Intellect stat bonus.
Teamster You started an apprenticeship to learn a trade taking two to four years. Roll a Strength OR Speed check (whichever is better).
- Success: Gain Industrial Equipment, Zero-G, and Expert and Trained skill. You completed your apprenticeship and are licensed for work.
- Critical Success: as Success, and gain an Expert and Master skill from the Industrial Equipment or Zero-G branches. You exceeded expectations, and were sponsored for an advanced training program. This add an additional two years to your education.
- Failure: as Success, but only 1 Trained skill as a bonus. You passed your credential requirements, barely. Your best bet for work are less discerning operations.
- Critical Failure: You were involved in a colossal mistake that resulted in criminal charges, only just now released from prison. If the roll was even you were falsely accused, if odd the charges are legitimate. Either way gain Rimwise, Industrial Equipment and one Trained skill. Your only hope for work is unlicensed or illegal operations.