DwD Studios

Are you doing a direct conversion from the book? I always wanted to try this adventure/setting.

Yep, direct conversion - although some minor NPC's have been hijacked by the players and I've altered a few elements, as is my perogative as the GM. :D

Nice work.

How difficult/easy, time consuming was it? I've read through parts of this adventure when it came out in the compiled book form, and thought it was very inventive and well written. Based on its size, you have a lot of material and game time in front of you.

I've been considering doing the same with The Sinking series from 0One Games.

Very cool write-up, these are fun to read. I like the "dark creeper on a leash."

Have you tried the Minor NPC rule? I was thinking you could do something like this;
Last Laugh Thugs 55 (leather DR2, club 1D+1, purse of 2Dx2gp)

"How difficult/easy, time consuming was it? I've read through parts of this adventure when it came out in the compiled book form, and thought it was very inventive and well written. Based on its size, you have a lot of material and game time in front of you."
It was a doddle to switch it over to Barebones, but I've done the same with content from the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG as well with no difficulty. My only concern is that the PC's will max out all their stats before the campaign has run its course - since there's just so much of it to run! :o

"Have you tried the Minor NPC rule? I was thinking you could do something like this;
Last Laugh Thugs 55 (leather DR2, club 1D+1, purse of 2Dx2gp)"
That would probably have been easier, I forget why I didn't do that - I must have had a good reason....

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

1/20: LIFE'S BAZAAR (Part Two)

Before they descend into the crumbling ruins of Jzadirune, Keygan Ghelve warns the Farstriders (and Ruphus) that the abandoned gnomish enclave was abandoned for a reason - a magical plague called The Vanishing decimated the population of magical artificers. The party thank him for that cheerful news then set off, kicking their pet Creeper along ahead of them (in case of traps). The long, winding staircase eventually terminates in a a long hallway, the walls are lined with bronze masks that all begin to speak as one as the heroes pass. The disembodied voices welcome the Farstriders to Jzadirune, but warn them that seeking to plunder these ancient halls will bring ruin upon them. The party agree to take that under advisement.
Fellian took Charm (as well as Illusion) when he advanced his Spellcaster level, so he casts that on the Dark Creeper now to ensure the wretched creature doesn't get any funny notions about leading them into a trap. The effect will last for 19 hours. Fellian names their guide Stinky. Fario is not impressed, as once you name something you start to grow attached to it.

Stinky begins leading the party through the maze of dark, partially collapsed ruins. Fario calls a halt when they pass what looks to have been an armoury. Inside they find a suit of gnome-sized armour and several small shields. Fellian opens a small wooden box and finds a minor enchanted item overlooked during the exodus of Jzadirune, a Wand of Burning Hands (3D fire damage, as Offensive Strike).

* little does Fellian know, the Wand is contaminated with The Vanishing, he then rolls a critical failure on the STR roll to resist contracting the plague, oh dear... *

Some time later, the party hear voices ahead (more nasty Dark Creepers) and Stinky advises them that they must pass through their lair in order to continue. They retreat a ways down the passage and secure Stinky to a wall (much as you would tie a dog up before heading into a supermarket) before making their assault of the Creeper's nest.

Fellian casts Offensive Strike against the three Creepers huddled around the fire, pelting them with shards of ice. They are badly wounded by the attack, but none of them are killed. Fario moves to rectify that, leaping over their fire and cutting one down with his short blade. He doesn't notice, but his cloak is trailing in the flames and is soon ablaze (another critical failure). Several more Creepers emerge from the shadows and start slinging rocks at the two fighters, most of which bounce harmlessly off their armour. Fellian hears a noise behind him and turns in time to see a sixth Creeper trying to get the drop on him. Abandoning stealth, the Creeper rushes the wizard, trips over his own feet and falls arse over tit. Fellian tries to stab him with his sword, but only makes a hash of it. He has another go at the prone Creeper and accidentally drops his sword, then makes a run for it. The Creeper picks itself up and goes after him.
Meanwhile, Fario realises that he is on fire and spends an action untangling himself from his burning cape. Ruphus slips over in the blood leaking from the one dead Creeper - just as a rock goes sailing over his head. Another Creeper leaps on top of him while his down, but cannot find a gap in his ringmail armour. Fario kills another Creeper then charges at the bastard who has been throwing rocks at him for the last few rounds. Meanwhile, Fellian starts hurling icy blasts at the evil little gnome pursuing him, but it just keeps on coming! Ruphus clubs a Creeper over the head and it doesn't get back up, he then does the same to the other one with a sling. Fellian FINALLY manages to kill the one that has been chasing him round and round and round the room, then snipes the final Creeper as it attempts to flee.

Ruphus does what he can to heal Fario's wounds, while Fellian pokes through the pockets of the six dead Creepers. The Cleric suggests that the Elven Warrior reconsider his current approach to combat (making two melee attacks, which makes it really hard to dodge anything later on). As Fario's wounds really are quite severe, the Farstriders look for somewhere to hole up for a few hours rest, before forging on through Jzadirune in search of the missing children. Stinky knows of a safe place where they can catch some shut-eye and leads them to what might once have been a nursery for gnomish children. On the way there, they pass a hall full of dancing lights, a derelict theatre and what looks like a huge factory for the construction of clockwork automatons. Fellian refreshes his magical dominance over their pet Creeper and Ruphus heals Fario up to almost full health before they set off again.

Some time later, Ruphus notices that Fellian's right hand has vanished/turned invisible. This comes as a nasty surprise to Fellian, who needed that hand for all sorts of things. They guess correctly that the Elven Spellcaster has caught the magical plague that Keygan warned them about, probably from the wand he found yesterday. Fellian throws the cursed item away, not that that is going to do him much good now he has started to disappear. How long does he have before he vanishes entirely?!

Stinky leads the party into a large, forgotten library - but the Farstriders are not alone...! Several giant centipedes have made their nest amidst the dusty old books and they resent the intrusion upon their territory.
---
Giant Centipede
STR. 40 BP. 20 RANK: 2
DEX. 55 DR. 3 (chitinous plates)
LOG. 10 IN. 1
WIL. 25 MV. 14
ATTACK. 45 (bite, 2D damage)
---
Fellian casts Offensive Strike at the centipedes as they come scuttling out of their lair, but fails to hit any of them. Instead, he pushes a bookshelf over on top of the one closest to him - which only irritates the giant insect and prompts it to bite him for massive damage. Fario hacks the second centipede apart and Ruphus finishes off the third before moving across to help Fellian finish off his own chitinous adversary.

Although the party have not made a great deal of progress, they stop to explore the library and give Fellian's wounds a chance to heal. Unfortunately, during this time, The Vanishing spreads up his right arm, disappearing to the shoulder. As much as the Farstriders would like to linger here until Ruphus has healed all their wounds, they cannot risk allowing the magical affliction to spread any further. Fario has put some points into the Scholar class, so he spends some time trawling through the gnomish library for information on the plague and hopefully a cure. He rolls well and discovers that the gnomes did engineer a remedy before abandoning Jzadirune and several vials of this potion may have been left in the potion store when the enclave was abandoned. The party decide to make a quick detour.

It takes some time to find the abandoned alchemy lab - during their search, the party are unsettled by several tremors in the earth which they fear herald a catastrophic collapse that will seal them in the dark tunnels of Jzadirune forever.
Suddenly, crashing through a wall - the Farstriders are confront by a hulking machine plated with armour and wielding a deadly, spinning drill. A Dark Creeper cackles manically from the cockpit, before hurling the construct into battle!
---
Pummeller Automaton
STR. 80 BP. 40 RANK: 3
DEX. 40 DR. 5
LOG. n/a (see pilot) IN. 1
WIL. n/a (see pilot) MV. 6
ATTACK. 60 (drill, damage 3D)
60 (fist, 2D+5)
(upon destruction, there is a 1/10 chance the construct will explode, causing 4D damage to all adjacent characters)
---
Fellian casts Entangle to encase the automaton in ice, but only succeeds in slowing it down as the clockwork engine driving it freezes up. Fario and Ruphus hack at the construct's armoured shell to little effect, whilst easily evading its clumsy blows. Fellian casts Offensive Strike, causing awesome damage and the two fighters finish the job. Fortunately, the automaton does NOT explode! Ruphus brains the dazed pilot as it clambers out of the smoking cockpit. Picking through the debris, the Farstriders find what they are looking for, a cure to The Vanishing, which Fellian gratefully pours down his gullet, hoping the potion did not have an expiration date (it's been 75 years since Jzadirune was abandoned).

Finally, Stinky leads the party to a deep shaft descending even deeper into the earth. A pretty unreliable looking lift platform hangs over the abyss, suspended by several lengths of rusty chain. The lift is guarded by several armed hobgoblins. Stinky advises the Farstriders that these hobgoblins directly serve the villain who has been kidnapping children, who has made his lair in the ruined dwarven citadel beneath Jzadirune. Fellian tries and fails to charm the sentinels, so it falls to Fario and Ruphus to conduct the negotiations at sword point. Fario tries to barge one of the hobgoblins into the left shaft and almost tumbles over the edge himself. Fellian kills one guard with an Offensive Strike and the other surrenders after Ruphus reduces him to 3 BP. The party tell the hobgoblin to take them down and - realising that Stinky has outlived his usefulness, Fario boots him over the edge of the pit, earning a disapproving stare from Ruphus.
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 7
Fario Ellegoth: 6
Ruphus Laro: 6

After reading this I had a thought. Is it possible to stagger out leveling up the characters. For instance, when they reach this point in the story the characters should average x-level skills.

Too cool - I like the centipede.

Would giving its bite a mild Toxin be out of line?

Too cool - I like the centipede.

Would giving its bite a mild Toxin be out of line?

I didn't even think of that, I can't remeber if the centipedes in the adventure had a venemous bite, but it would be easy enough to add that ability. :D

Quoted from RPG.net...

"After reading your AP, I went and bought BFF. It looks positively great! Can't wait to get together with some friends and take it for a test spin.

Thanks for the AP. Keep the post coming.

Gaveriss"

I'm doing your jobs for you, lol. I demand comission! :D

I've been thinking about this, too. I have a boatload of Paizo's APs, and was thinking about converting enough to carry a party through to the bitter end.

My thought was this, using the Character Experience Rank (I admit, I have only read the rules, haven't played them yet):

Rank 1 = PFRPG levels 1-2
Rank 2 = PFRPG levels 3-4
Rank 3 = PFRPG levels 5-7
Rank 4 = PFRPG levels 8-10
Rank 5 = PFRPG levels 11-13
Rank 6 = PFRPG levels 14-17
Rank 7 = PFRPG levels 18+

That would pretty much mean that by the time the last part of the AP is reached, the PCs should be rather tough.

Any other thoughts, or am I totally off base? It would make converting encounters a heck of a lot easier...

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

1/20: LIFE'S BAZAAR (Part Three)

The lift descends 200ft to the Malachite Hold, an ancient dwarven fortress now infested with hobgoblins and fouler denizens of the Underdark. Fario keeps a close eye on their hobgoblin prisoner who has proven remarkably resilient to Fellian's attempts to enforce magical compliance. The lift platform grinds to a stop at the bottom of the shaft and the Farstriders disembark. Peering around the door, Fellian sees that the next chamber appears to be some sort of grand foyer, dominated by the defaced statue of an enormous dwarf (Zenith Splintershield). The room is occupied by several bored-looking hobgoblin sentries.
---
Hobgoblins (as per BBF core rulebook)
GEAR: Spear (2D+3 - range 20) / Studded Leather (DR2) / 1D gold each
---
Fellian casts Illusion to make the party outwardly resemble hobgoblins (although all three of them look identical). Deciding the their iron-willed hostage is a liability, Fario cuts his throat and stuffs him in a broom cupboard (or the dwarven alternative to a broom cupboard). The party cross the foyer in silence, Fellian having warned them that the Illusion will only fool the guard's eyes, not their ears if the party start gabbling in the common tongue. The (real) hobgoblins give no indication that they are wise to the deception and just grunt as the disguised Farstriders hurry past them. The party pass several other guards/patrols as they wander the halls of the Malachite Hold, until they eventually blunder into a large, open area, where the four children they have been sent to rescue are being auctioned off to the highest bidder by a hideous, heavily armoured dwarf. The party realise that the people being kidnapped from Cauldron are being bought down here to be sold on as slaves. A sinister looking dark elf (Pyllrak Shyraat) is haggling with the auctioneer (Kazmojen, the ugly half dwarf/half troll) over the price of the children.

Fellian's illusion may have been sufficient to fool a few stupid hobgoblin guards, but Kazmojen sees through it almost immediately and demands to know who the party really are and what they are doing creeping around the Malachite Hold in disguise. They tell him they are here for the children. Kazmojen advises them they are welcome to try and outbid the other customers, but the party have a paltry 60 gold pieces between them - enough to buy only one of the four children.
Realising that the trespassers are wasting his time, Kazmojen orders his guards to seize them and put them in shackles, to be sold as slaves themselves. Weapons are drawn on both sides and combat follows!
---
Kazmojen
STR. 75 BP. 40 RANK: 3
DEX. 55 DR. 8 (armoured modified to hit his hunchbacked body)
LOG. 40 IN. 2
WIL. 45 MV. 10
ATTACK. 80% (Battle Axe, 2D+6)
55% (Throwing Axes, 1D+7, range 15)
Regeneration: Kazmojen's half-troll heritage allows him to recover 1D/2 BP at the start of every round.
Infravision
Gear: Weapons//Armour, Keys to the Malachite Hold, 5Dx10 gold pieces.
---
Prickles (Giant Porcupine)
STR. 40 BP. 20 RANK: 2
DEX. 55 DR. 0
LOG. 20 IN. 1
WIL. 20 MV. 10
ATTACK. 60% (Shoot Prickles, 2D, range 20)
60% (Spiny Steamroller, targets anyone in straight line, 2D)
---
+2x Hobgoblin guards (see above)
---
Kazmojen's two hobgoblin lackeys advance on the heroes. Fellian spears one with an Offensive Strike, Fario cuts the other one down in a flurry of blows. The dark elf makes himself invisible and retreats out of harms way. Kazmojen hurls a throwing axe at the spellcaster (Fellian), then charges Fario. The half dwarf/half troll hybrid hits the warrior like a runaway wagon - the Farstrider is knocked off his feet and struggles to rise. Ruphus casts Heal to get Fario back on his feet, he tries again to heal some of Fellian's lost BP and rolls a Critical Failure. Ruphus feels he has somehow earned his deities disapproval and is denied St Cuthbert's support for the rest of the day. Prickles, Kazmojen's pet dire-porcupine fires a cone of spines at the heroes - both Farstriders (already heavily wounded) go down to 0 BP. Kazmojen encourages the human cleric to surrended - he would much rather capture the trespassers alive and sell them as slaves than kill them outright. Stricken by his crisis of faith, Ruphus tosses down his mace and allows the surviving hobgoblins to drag him (and his two unconscious companions) away. (Both Fellian/Fario made their Strength rolls to not die and later wake up with 1 BP each).

When the Farstriders regain consciousness, they are being detained in separate cells, along with many of the other slaves abducted from Cauldron over the last few weeks. Speaking with the other prisoners, they learn that the four Lantern Street orphans have not been returned to their cells and have likely been sold (to Pyllrak Shyraat). Keygan Ghelve's elderly mother is in an adjacent cell, and while some of the prisoners recall an elf matching Elethor Ashstaff's description, nobody has seen her for several days. That final mystery resolves itself soon after the Farstriders awaken, a rat crawls through a crack in the wall of Fellian's cell and tries to get his attention - before transforming into Elethor Ashstaff! Fellian tells her that he and Fario are here to rescue her - she doesn't seem to impressed, as they are not really in a position to be rescuing anyone. In fact, if SHE doesn't rescue THEM, they will likely be sold off to the highest bidder and dragged off to some distant corner of the Underdark.

Their conversation is cut short by the arrival of the chief jailer (a one-armed hobgoblin called Zarkad), who is looking to relieve his boredom by torturing someone for fun. Elethor transforms back into a rat and vanishes back into the walls, promising to return later. It seems that Zarkad is about to pick Fellian for his playmate, when Fario begins hurling abuse at the crippled hobgoblin, earning the jailers ire and an invitation to the torture chamber.
He endures the (rather unimaginative) torments that Zarkad inflicts upon his person, as it gives him an opportunity to lift the keys from the jailer's belt. Unfortunately, Fario's Thief is skill is not very good (only 29%) and he fails. Several hours later, the hobgoblins return him to his cell, bruised and bloody but determined to try again tomorrow!

Meanwhile, Elethor (in rat form) tries to lift the keys from Zarkad's belt while the hobgoblin slumbers. She rolls a Critical Success (00 - the best possible result) and notices that the chief jailer has drunk an entire flask of strong liquor and is likely to be out of it until at least noon tomorrow (when he'll wake up with one god-awful hangover). She returns to Fellian's cell and hands over the key. The Farstriders have been watching the guards and know they are overconfident and only patrol the cell block every other hour. Exiting his cell, Fellian releases Fario, Ruphus (who is still a bit depressed after his god ignored his prayers) and all the other prisoners. Between them and their gear is a guard room, where the inattentive hobgoblin sentries are playing a game of dice. Fellian casts Illusion, creating an image of Zarkad who tells the guards to go to the kitchen and fetch him another bottle. He fumbles the roll and the hobgoblins immediately realise that something funny is going on. Fario bursts into the room, eager to repay the (un)kindness these two creatures visited upon him in the torture chamber.
---
Human Prisoner 45%
BP.10 / DR.0 / Improvised Weapons 1D/2
---
Elethor casts Transform against one of the hobgoblins, trying to take him out of the fight by turning him into a rat - but her target passes the Strength roll to resist the effect. Fellian casts Entangle and all four hobgoblins are encase in a block of ice that takes up most of the small room. Unfortunately, he can only sustain the effect for 4 rounds, but that should be long enough for them to nip into the room where Elethor believes their equipment has been stowed and gear up. Not bothering with their armour, the heroes just grab their weapons and return to deal with the hobgoblins as the ice around them melts. Seeing that the prisoners have escaped and armed themselves, the guards yield. The Farstriders lock them up in the now vacant cells.

Most of the prisoners want nothing more than to escape the Malachite Hold and return to their lives on the surface, but without the heroes to guide them through Jzadirune, it's unlikely that anyone of them will make it back to Cauldron alive. Additionally, before the Farstriders can think about leaving, they have to confront Kazmojen and learn the late of Terrem and the other three orphans.
It isn't long before the alarm is raised and the remaining hobgoblins rally to recapture the escaped slaves. The party leave the elderly Mrs. Ghelve (who has proven to be a formidable old lady) in charge of the other prisoner's, while they seek out Kazmojen. They find the half dwarf/half troll co-ordinating the hobgoblins from the room with the huge statue of Zenith Splintershield. The heroes clash with the slavemaster and his pet dire porcupine amidst the larger conflict.

While Fellian targets Prickles with an Offensive Strike (and misses), Fario engages Kazmojen in melee. Elethor hangs back, frantically scribbling a rune onto the floor (although it will take 9 rounds to finish, by which time the fight will probably be over). Prickles fires off another barrage of spines, but the party are expecting it and get into cover. Ruphus charges the dire porcupine and savagely beats it to death. The gristly murder of his pet drives Kazmojen into a fury and he attacks the cleric for MASSIVE damage!
Ruphus backs up, casting Protection on himself in anticipation of another devastating blow from Kazmojen. Fario strikes the slavemaster's flank with his longsword - but when he attacks again with the short blade, the half dwarf/half troll knocks the blade out of his hand! Fellian casts Offensive Strike and inflicts 16 damage, bypassing armour. Kazmojen will regenerate 1D/2 at the beginning of the next round, but his BP is steadily being chipped away.
Fellian rolls a Critical Success on his next spellcasting roll and inflicts 6D damage, enough to reduce Kazmojen to 0 BP. (I let the PC's express a little creativity with exactly how this panned out.) Tapping into some previously unknown reservoir of arcane power, Fellian hits the statue of Zenith Splintershield which freezes, Fario strikes the frozen legs, causing them to shatter and the huge statue to topple sideways off its plinth, crushing Kazmojen beneath it as it crashes into the ground.

Seeing that their master has fallen in battle, the surviving hobgoblins flee into the depths of the Underdark. The prisoners celebrate their hard won freedom! Noticing that Kazmojen yet lives, the Farstriders kneel beside their mortally wounded opponent and demand to know what happened to the four Lantern Street orphans that they came here to rescue. With hisa dying breath, Kazmojen tells them that he sold three of the children (Deakon, Lucinda and Evelyn) to the dark elf Pyllrak Shyraat - the fourth child (Terrem) was purchased by a creature known as a Beholder and its human companion, a mysterious human woman whose face was hidden behind a veil (the same woman that Revus Twindaggers spoke of during his interrogation). Kazmojen dies and the party make ready to return to the surface. Fortunately, Mrs. Ghelve knows the ways of Jzadirune like the back of her wrinkled hand and the group of escaped prisoners emerge in Keygan Ghelve's shop without any further trouble.

The Farstriders return to 'The Drowned Morkoth' Inn to report the success of their mission to Meerthan Elliothlorn. Ruphus Laro heads to the Temple of St Cuthbert to report his failure to rescue the orphans to the (acting) High Priestess. He is surprised to learn that the boy Terrem has been returned to the Lantern Street Orphange and that he retains no memories of his abduction. However, the other three children are lost, carried off into the Underdark by a wicked drow. Ruphus swears he will not rest until each of the three missing orphans has been found and rescued. Though it pains her to abandon them, Jenya Urikas tells the young cleric that their are more immediate concerns that require the temples attention. The annual Flood Festival draws near and Sarcem Delasharn (the actual High Priest) is late returning from the Capital City with the much needed Wands of Water Control....
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 7
Fario Ellegoth: 7
Ruphus Laro: 6
Elethor Ashstaff: 5

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

2/20: FLOOD SEASON (PART ONE)

As Ruphus Laro is leaving his audience with Jenya Urikas, a grievously wounded acolyte appears out of mid air (high level Transport spell), collapsing across the steps leading up to the temple. After the cleric has cast Heal on the injured initiate, he recovers his wits long enough to whisper an urgent message from the missing High Priest, Sarcem Delasharn. He and his entourage were resting in the 'Lucky Monkey' when they were attacked by bandits - led by a barbaric apeman, they are holed up in the basement of the roadhouse and need immediate reinforcements! Jenya Urikas is summoned and Ruphus relays the man's grave words. She asks the cleric to gather the Farstriders and make all haste to the 'Lucky Monkey' before the High Priest and the 8 Wands of Water Control are lost.

Fellian Shard, Fario Ellegoth and Elethor Ashstaff grimly agree to aid the temple and prepoare for a swift departure. The 'Lucky Monkey' lies a day's travel from the gates of Cauldron and the heroes will have to spur their mounts mercilessly to get their in time. Riding through the night, the party reach the roadhouse sometime after dawn the following day. They had to abandon two of the horses on route, after the poor animals collapsed from exhaustion.
Approaching cautiously, the party see signs of recent violence and can hear raised voices from within the building. Elethor Ashstaff casts Transform and turns herself into a bird and flies over the roadhouse to get a better idea of its layout. She sees that the four wings of the building surround a central garden and that behind the roadhouse, a large dinosaur feasts upon a mound of what appear to be corpses piled carelessly on the edge of the jungle. She cannot see any of the bandits outside. Landing on the roof, Elethor returns to her natural form and secures a rope around a chimney pot, enabling the rest of the party to join her.

Ruphus is concerned that the body of Sarcem Delasharm may be among those currently being devoured by the glutinous lizard behind the roadhouse. The others convince him to at least check the basement (where the High Priest was last known to be) before he goes bothering any dinosaurs.

The party drop down onto a wooden bridge that crosses over the courtyard below. The southern door leads down to the ground floor and they can hear raised voices and breaking furniture from beyond the northern door. The party decide that the sooner they have a chat with some of the bandits (re: their numbers, purpose, etc) the better. Forewarned is forearmed and so on.
---
Human Bandits 60%
BP. 10 / DR. 2 / Shortsword. 1D+3 / Shortbow. 2D+1 / 2Dx10 gold
---
Four bandits (two male, two female) are busy tearing apart the room. Elethor hits one of the women over the head with her staff and she falls senseless to the floor. Fario bursts into the room after her, wounding two of the bandits before tripping over his own feet and crashing to the floor in a dishevelled heap. Ruphus takes a swing at one of the male bandits, who ducks beneath the attack and sneers at the cleric, revealing a mouthful of crooked, brown teeth. Thus distracted, Elethor bonks him over the head and he joins his fellow brigand on the floor. Fellian casts Offensive Strike and blasts another bandit out through the window. He cringes as the glass shatters loudly, uncomfortably aware that their incursion was supposed to be stealthy. Fario runs the final ruffian through as he rises, trying to look as though he had totally planned to do that all along and hadn't fallen over like some clumsy fool. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like any of the other bandits heard anything over their own racket.

Gagging one of the two surviving brigands, Fellian casts Charm on the other one and the party question the suddenly helpful fellow. He is able to tell them that the bandits are led by a werebaboon called Tongue-Eater, although he answers to someone else, a scarred woman with flame red hair. They ask after the High Priest, but the thug does not recognise the man's description, although he knows there are several guests still holed up in the roadhouse basement. Once they have exhausted their curiosity, Fario suggests killing the prisoners. The others are growing uncomfortable with their companion's bloodthirsty behaviour and encourage him to mellow out. Ruphus suggests some breathing exercises to help deal with his rage.

The rest of this floor is occupied by guest bedrooms, most of which have been wrecked by gangs of marauding bandits. The party decide to keep a low profile until they find either Tongue-Eater or Delasharm. Descending to the ground floor, the heroes find themselves in a large common room, already occupied by 6 bandits, helping themselves to the ale behind the bar.
Fellian puts as many of them to sleep (via Charm) as possible before joining the battle. Ruphus drops one bandit with a single blow of his mace, the dead man collapses with blood pouring out of his ears. Two of the bandits gang up on Fario and stick him with their blades (one of them rolls a critical hit / double damage and the fighter loses 20 BP in one attack), while another takes a swing at Ruphus. Fellian blasts one of the thugs harassing Fario, then turns in surprise as another bandit bursts out of a private booth with his britches around his ankles, followed by a half-dressed woman who seems displeased with the interruption. Ruphus casts Heal on Fario to keep the Farstrider in the fight. Moments later, Fellian rolls a Critical Failure on his spellcasting roll and shoots the elaborate light fixture hanging over Fario. The other Farstrider fails to dive out of the way as the chandelier plummets, trapping him underneath! The final three bandits disengage and retreat to gather more men (another 5 bandits and Tongue-Eater) before returning to finish of the intruders. Fellian and Ruphus pull Fario out from beneath the wreckage of the chandelier and the cleric uses his last healing die (which comes up a 1, bloody typical) on the wounded Farstrider.
---
Tongue-Eater (Werebaboon)
STR. 65 BP. 30 RANK: 3
DEX. 70 DR. 2 GEAR: Bite/Claws (2D+2)
LOG. 50 IN. 2 Leather Armour (DR2)
WIL. 65 MV. 10 2Dx10 gold
ATTACK. 65
---
[x8] Human Bandits 60%
BP. 10 / DR. 2 / Shortsword. 1D+3 / Shortbow. 2D+1 / 2Dx10 gold
---
Faced with overwhelming odds, the party are driven down into the basement of the roadhouse, where several of the surviving guests (led by half drow Shensen Tesseril - another member of the Striders of Farlanghan) have barricaded themselves in the well room. The headless body of Sarcem Delasharn lies slumped against one wall. Shensen tells the party that Tongue-Eater took the head as a trophy of the hard won victory over the High Priest. The apeman then reported to a scarred redhead whose armour bore the symbol of Hexor (a mailed fist clutching 6 barbed arrows). After uttering several prayers, Ruphus claims Delasharn's holy mace (extra 1D damage, counts as a magic weapon) and swears to return the great man's body to Cauldron to be interred beneath the Temple of St. Cuthbert with his worthy predecessors. There is no sign of the 8 Wands of Water Control that Delasharm was supposed to be carrying.
Meanwhile, Shesen advises the other Farstriders that while the well provides clean drinking water, they will soon exhaust their rations and starve, unless they can fight their way past Tongue-Eater's goons. The party rest up overnight, planning to act in the morning (once Fario has got some BP back).

Before they can take any further action, they notice that the temperature in the basement is rising drastically and their dubious sanctuary is filling with smoke. Suspecting that the bandits intend to burn the roadhouse down around them, the party look to the their only other means of escape: the well. Climbing down the shaft, the party find a narrow ledge leading to a narrow crevasse in the rock. Ruphus carries the headless body of Sarcem Delasharn over his shoulder, while the Farstrider's help the other guests make the descent.

It takes the better part of a day, but the heroes finally found a route out of the caves and emerge some ways away from the 'Lucky Monkey'. Leaving the non-combatants make camp, the heroes head back to the roadhouse and find it has been burnt to the ground and the bandits are long gone. They search for their horses, but they are also missing. Wearily, the party return to the others and make ready for the arduous trek back to Cauldron.
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 7
Fario Ellegoth: 7
Ruphus Laro: 6
Elethor Ashstaff: 5

I am a therapist in real life so the breathing exercise thing made me laugh loudly. Thank you VERY much for all the posts. They are very cool. I have enjoyed reading them immensely. Please keep posting!

Enjoying the read as well.
I did some checking on Adventure Path's, might be cool to have your conversion notes. It'd cause me to pick up AP's. Also, I started a google sheet to convert various game systems to BBF, and I'm curious how others are doing it.

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

2/20: FLOOD SEASON (PART TWO)

Storm clouds gather over head during the long walk back to Cauldron and once the rain starts it does not stop. The flood season is underway and unless the heroes can recover the missing wands, the water level of Crater Lake will steadily rise, drowning the lower tiers of the city. Ruphus has some difficult with the gate guards, which is no great surprise - considering he is carrying a headless corpse. Elethor gets a message to the Temple of St. Cuthbert and the acting High Priestess sends a covered wagon to the gate to collect the body. The citizens of Cauldron have become their preparations for the annual Flood Festival, decorations are being strung from street to street and despite the foul weather, the atmosphere is merry.

With the death of Sarcem Delasharn, Jenya Urikas is now the High Priestess. She arranges for the body of her predecessor to be buried and allows the party to keep his gear, providing that they use it to recover the eight missing Wands of Water Control (this includes the Holy Mace that Ruphus now carries, the High Priest's suit of banded mail [DR8] and his Ring of Protection [+20% resistance against magical attacks]).
The party know that the wands were taken by a scarred woman with red hair, whose armour bore the mark of Hextor, god of war, discord and tyranny. Their is no central temple to Hextor in Cauldron, those misguided souls drawn to him generally operate from the shadows.

While they conduct their own investigation, Ruphus asks Shensen to use her connections in the Underdark to track down Pyllrak Shyraat (the dark elf they encountered in the Malachite Hold) and the three human children that he has recently purchased as slaves. The half-drow promises to try, but encourages the young cleric not to cling to hope - by now, the orphans are likely beyond his reach.

Not long after they begin making enquiries, an anonymous note is delivered asking the heroes to meet with the mystery informant behind the 'Tipped Tankard' tavern at midnight. The Striders are wary of an ambush, as that particular establishment is the territory of the Last Laugh - and the last time they visited, they left carrying an angry halfling (Revus Twindaggers) in a sack.
As a precaution, Elethor uses her alchemy kit to cook up two potions of Transform, which Fellian and Fario drink, making them look like two human cut throats who will be right at home amongst the crowd in the 'Tipped Tankard'. Meanwhile, she and Ruphus Laro (wearing a hood to hide his face) will meet the informant out back.

The two Striders take up position in the taproom, but there is no sign of Jil, Revus Twindaggers or anyone else who might be nursing a grudge. They do notice that as midnight encroaches, the bartender glances around surreptitiously before sneaking out the back door - where Elethor and Ruphus are waiting for him. The barman tells them he has information regarding the whereabouts of the red haired woman they seek, but that information is going to cost them 500 gold pieces! At this point, the party have a grand total of 793 between them. Elethor flutters her eyelashes at him until he lowers the asking price to 400 gold. Ruphus tries to get him to go lower by asking how the people he's been eavesdropping on would react to the knowledge he has been selling on their secrets, but this heavy handed approach puts the fellow's back up and the price rises to 450 gold. The heroes grudgingly pay out (before Ruphus can further aggravate their source) and are told that the woman they seek is a former member of the city guard called Triel Eldurast, who disappeared a decade ago after murdering several of her fellow watchmen. She has recently resurfaced and is working in collaboration with several other nefarious factions to ransom the stolen Wands of Water Control back to city - but only after the flooding has caused enough panic and property damage to drive the price astronomically high! Eldurast and her cronies are hiding out in some old ruins beneath the city ('just how many ancient ruins are there beneath this city?', the players wonder), accessible via a hidden lava tube - the entrance to which the barman marks on Elethor's map.

As Fellian and Fario are leaving the 'Tipped Tankard', they bump into a familiar face - Revus Twindaggers, whose hands are still heavily bandaged after the party cut off half of his fingers. The ill tempered halfling glares at the two Striders as their paths cross, but altered as they are by Elethor's potion, he does not recognise them and their is no confrontation (although Fario comes close to igniting a fresh conflict, when he asks the halfling if he "needs a hand?").

The hidden entrance to the lava tunnel marked on Elethor's map is on the north-eastern slope of the volcano. The air soon grows warm and unpleasant-smelling as the party cautiously descend the winding passage, which is dimly illuminated by a sporadic patches of phosphorescent fungus. They emerge on a ledge overlooking an underground lake, which glows a sickly greenish hue. They can see the Kopru ruins sprawled along the opposite shore. The only obvious means to cross (other than swimming) is a wooden cage suspended from a rope that traverses the cavern. It does not look particularly safe, so the heroes decide to cross in pairs, so as to reduce the risk of overloading the cage. Fellain and Fario go first. Halfway across, they notice several figures have appeared on the opposite beach and are observing their approach - the Striders have moments to act before the guards realise that their base is under attack.
---
Human Bandits 60%
BP. 10 / DR. 2 / Shortsword. 1D+3 / Shortbow. 2D+1 / 2Dx10 gold
---
The range is too great for Offensive Strike to be effective, so Fellian falls back on his (rather meagre) Warrior [Ranged] skill - and misses. Fario is a melee character, so there's nothing he can do until the cage reaches the beach. Fellian's next shot finds its mark and one of the two sentries collapses with an arrow in his breast. His comrade dives for control console and locks the winch mechanism, preventing the cage from getting any closer. This irritates Fario, who clambers out of the cage and tries to slide down the rope like a zip line. It was a good idea and might have worked really well had he not rolled a Critical Failure on his Dex. The rope is much more slippery than Fario anticipated and he finds himself plummeting towards the sickly, algae-choked surface of the lake.
Fellian's next arrow only wounds the second guard, who begins limping towards the ruins to raise the alarm. Fario hits the water and immediately begins to sink (house rule: trying to swim in armour imposes a STR penalty of 10xDR, so because Fario was wearing banded mail [DR8], he was at -80% to stay afloat). He unbuckles the armour (that previously belonged to Sarcem Delasharn) and begins to swim towards the beach. He swims quickly - because he has just noticed several large, albino crocodiles converging on his position...! On the opposite side of the cavern, all Ruphus and Elethor can do is watch in horror - at least until Elethor remembers she has the Transform power and can fly across the support her fellow Striders.
Fellian shoots the retreating sentry before he can summon any more men to the beach. As soon as she reaches the other side of the lake, Elethor resumes her natural form and releases the winch mechanism. Only be abandoning his gear does Fario reach the beach before the hungry lizards catch up with him, they seem reluctant to leave the (foul) water and lurk half-submerged in the shallows. Fario replaces his weapons with two short blades looted off the dead bandits - he also picks up a bow/some arrows so that he is not completely useless at ranged combat. The Striders send the empty cage back across for Ruphus - but are not looking forward to telling the young cleric that the banded mail the temple entrusted to Fario is now lost at the bottom of a lake.

Entering the Kopru ruins, the party find themselves in a large hall with three exits, one pair of double doors and two single doors. The party take the single door to the south (marching order: Ruphus Laro > Fellian Shard > Elethor Ashstaff > Fario Ellegoth).
Fellain does not mind where he's walking and triggers a trap, a net falls from the ceiling and entangles both him and the cleric. Little bells strung to the net jingle, attracting the attention of the guards in the next room.
Fellian fights his way free of the net and casts Entangle to create an impassable wall of ice, blocking the doorway to the next room. The guards bash against the other side (BP 40 > 31, halved damage as cutting/slashing weapons won't do much damage to a sheet of ice), but won't be able to get through until it melts (in 4 rounds) or they reduce it to O BP. Cutting Ruphus free, the party retreat into the previous chamber, where they will have more room to engage the bandits - little do they know, one of their number has run off to alert the other occupants of the ruins to the presence of intruders.

Elethor shoots the first brigand through the doors, Fellian follows up with Offensive Strike and Fario/Ruphus mop up what's left. The party are still patting one another on the back when the second wave of (seven!) bandits appear. Fellian utterly decimates the first four enemies, targeting the group with a blast of blue fire cold enough to burn (and inflict 4D/2 damage, bypassing armour). Fario deals a deep wound to his own opponent, but he is used to wielding a longer blade and the blow isn't enough to kill the man facing him. Annoyed, the elf lashes out with his boot, breaking the man's ankle and incapacitating him.
Elethor shoots another bandit dead and Fellian casts Charm on the last one to make him surrender. The party have slain 8 bandits and captured 2 alive. Fario finds a body about his size and strips the leather armour. Interrogating the prisoners, they learn that the ruins are occupied by three groups, led by the three villainous masterminds behind the plan to steal the Wands of Water Control; Triel Eldurast, Skaven Umbermead and the undead gnoll Tarkilar. Unable to trust any one person with all 8 wands, they have been distributed amongst them. This area of the ruins is the territory of Skaven Umbermead, who has retreated to the lair of his (giant) spider minions once he learned of the parties presence.

Exploring the rest of the area, Fario is overjoyed to find a well-stocked armoury and replaces one of his short blades with a brand new longsword. Anyone still wearing leather armour [DR2] upgrades to studded leather [DR3] and both Ruphus and Fario suit up in chainmail [DR5].

The party find Skaven's study/bedchambers, which look to have been left in rather a hurry. Unfortunately, the area is not completely unguarded, the halfling wizard has bound an air elemental to protect his library from thieves and this entity makes its presence known soon after the heroes begin poking around.
The heroes are thrown off their feet as the elemental guardian materialises in the centre of the room and begins hurling books at them. A particularly hefty tome hits Elethor in the face and she reels out of the room, blood streaming from her nose. Fortunately, now that Fellian's spellcasting has advanced to level 3, he is able to cast Offensive Strike twice per combat round (another house rule to make wizards less unbalanced/overpowered: level 1/2: cast OF once per turn, level 3/4: cast OF twice per turn, level 5/6: cast OF three times per turn) and he reduces the elemental's BP sufficiently for Ruphus to finish it off with his blessed mace. Going through the halfling's belongings, the party are pleased to discover one of the eight missing wands - only seven left to go! Huzzah!

Following the trail of the halfling wizard and collaborator, the Striders soon catch up with Skaven and his eight-legged allies.
---
Skaven Umbermead (Halfling Wizard)
STR. 55 BP. 25 RANK: 3
DEX. 65 DR. 0 GEAR: Bracers of Armour (+10% resist physical)
LOG. 75 IN. 3 Slippers of Spider Climbing (+20% climbing)
WIL. 65 MV. 7 2x Wands of Water Control
ATTACK. 55 (Dagger, 1D)
MAGIC: 75 (Offensive Strike / Illusion (as Invisibility) / Dispel
---
3x Giant Spiders (as per the BBF core book)
---
One of the three giant spiders hangs back to protect the halfling wizard, the other two scuttle towards the party, poisonous fangs glistening in the torchlight. Skaven casts Illusion to turn invisible and everyone except Elethor loses track of exactly where the bastard is. She sends an arrow his way, but misses. Ruphus engages one of the spiders, and Fellian casts Offensive Strike against the other, injuring it enough for Fario to finish it off.
Skaven casts Offensive Strike at Elethor and reduces her to 0 BP. She collapases, her bow falling from her hand. Unable to pinpoint the other wizard's position, Fellain centres his next Offensive Strike on the general area he believes the halfling to be. He fails to hit anyone, but his next bolt injures the final spider. Fario and Ruphus team up to kill another spider.
The last spider charges at Fellian, hoping to sink its venomous fangs into his succulent, elven flesh - but the nimble Strider dives out of harms way! Ruphus hits the surprised creature over the head and it falls over, leaking brain slime across the cavern floor. This leaves only Skaven, who none of the three standing heroes can see (and his Invisibility is due to last for another 12 rounds!). While Fario staggers this way and that, swinging his sword around optimistically, Fellian keeps his eyes peeled for their quarry - and catches a glimpse of him! He immediately casts Entangle and encases the invisible wizard in ice. They watch with satisfaction as he becomes visible and pile on top of him the moment the ice melts.

While Fellian/Fario detain Skaven, Ruphus checks on Elethor. She is not breathing. Ruphus offers a prayer to St Cuthbert (house rule: if a character fails their STR roll to survive being reduced to 0 BP, a Cleric can roll their skill die to resurrect them), but nothing happens. Elethor Ashstaff is dead. This puts the party in a foul temper and any lenience they might have extended to the halfling wizard disappears altogether. Fellian holds Skaven down and Fario chops of his head. They recover another two Wands of Water Control of his body, as well as his Bracers of Armour [DR2] and Slippers of Spider Climbing (+20% to any climbing roll).

Fellian and Fario bundle Elethor's body up in her cloak and leave it one of the rooms they'd previously cleared. Once they have dealt with the other two villains and recovered the final five wands, they will see her body returned to Cauldron for the proper funeral rites.
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 5
Fario Ellegoth: 5
Ruphus Laro: 5
Elethor Ashstaff: DEAD (replacement character begins with 24 DP)

I am most definitely NOT being critical and please take this as no more than a friendly suggestion it's intended to be. I am really enjoying your story. Everyone has a different style of play, but as a general rule, I use a screen and don't kill players over bad die rolls. If they do something dumb, sure, I'll smoke 'em like a Christmas ham, but not because of a roll. You seem to run a somewhat more lethal game. Maybe some kind of drama points or luck points might help mitigate that some? It's really my tender hearted nature, I just can't bear to see a player lose a character they've enjoyed playing. They might not say a word, but I can see it in their eyes and I just feel ghastly.

I think about it like a movie. I don't mind if one of the main characters is killed towards the end heroically, but not at the beginning, and not because of dumb luck.

It is a fine line every GM must walk. Make it too lethal, players get tired of creating pc's all the time. The other extreme, players may get bored defeating everything the GM throws at them.

Like I said before, I cheat in the interest of good fun. When the monsters (and players) are sufficiently beat up enough to appreciate the victory, they (the monsters) expire in a glorious spray of blood, guts, iccor, or whatever bodily fluid or flying body part or parts are most appropriate. :)

I'll be honest, I only have 3 players and they are running the three core roles (Fellian, Fario and Ruphus), they were running Elethor Ashstaff as a sort of sidekick, to boost their numbers and broaden their spectrum of abilities. As a result, the character death did not hit them too hard - and they have already decided they want to recruit Patch the Half-Orc janitor from the first module as their new 'sidekick'.

It's a lot less likely that Fellian, Fario or Ruphus will die.

LOL Well as I said, my intention was not to be critical, so I'm glad you didn't take it that way. Patches would be awesome, especially if they get a chance to go back after the kids. I had a character once, one of my favorites of all time, named Garthin, a big strong half-ogre paladin. He was quite smart, but I played him dumb, I even spoke slow and with a thick accent. The other players thought he was just a big dumb fighter for... oh God, like 12 or 15 sessions. I finally had to show his true color to lay on hands on another player to save them from death and my secret was out. Good times.

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

2/20: FLOOD SEASON (PART THREE)

As the party has been sorely mauled by bandits/elementals/spiders/halfling wizards, they decide to return to the surface for reinforcements before venturing any further into the Korpu ruins. As well as Elethor's lifeless body, they take several of Skaven's journals (detailing the scheme to steal the Wands of Water Control and hold the city to ransom) as evidence of what's going down in the Korpu ruins. After crossing the lake, the Strider's dismantle part of the winch mechanism, making it impossible for any of the bandits to operate the cage from the other side of the lake.

First, they take the body of their fallen comrade to 'The Drowned Morkoth Inn', where Meerthan Elliothlorn will make the arrangements for her funeral. Unfortunately, there are no other Striders in the area to support a raid on the ruins. Showing the journals (and the three wands they have already found) to Jenya Urikas, the High Priestess arranges an immediate audience with Severen Navalant, the Lord Mayor of Cauldron. Representatives from the other temples are also present at the meeting, which addresses the risk to the city if the remaining five wands are not recovered. The Lord Mayor authorises a raid on the ruins. The current commander of the city watch Terseon Skellerang still bears the scars borne of Triel Eldurast's treachery and is keen to see the red haired bitch answer for her crimes.

Leading a column of armed watchmen to the edge of the Korpu ruins, the Strider's repair the winch mechanism and begin ferrying their forces across the lake in groups of six. The cage groans ominously, but the ropes hold.
---
Human Bandits 60%
BP. 10 / DR. 2 / Shortsword. 1D+3 / Shortbow. 2D+1 / 2Dx10 gold
---
Triel Eldurast
STR. 70 BP. 35 RANK: 3
DEX. 65 DR. 8 GEAR: Holy Symbol of Hextor
LOG. 60 IN. 2 3x Wands of Water Control
WIL. 75 MV. 8
ATTACK. 70 (heavy flail, 2D+4)
CLERIC POWERS 75 (heal, repel, protection)
---
Tongue-Eater (Werebaboon)
STR. 65 BP. 30 RANK: 3
DEX. 70 DR. 2 GEAR: Bite/Claws (2D+2)
LOG. 50 IN. 2 Leather Armour (DR2)
WIL. 65 MV. 10 2Dx10 gold
ATTACK. 65
---
Human Watchman 60%
BP. 10 / DR. 4 / Shortsword. 1D+3 / Shortbow. 2D+1 / 2Dx10 gold
---
Terseon Skellerang (Human Watch Commander) 80%
BP. 20 / DR. 5 / Longsword. 2D+1 / Shield (+20% physical resistance) / 2Dx10 gold
---
In short order, the Korpu ruins become a battleground. The Striders spot a flash of red hair and see the armoured form of Triel Eldurast stalking towards them, laying waste to any watchmen that stray within reach of her flail. The werebaboon Tongue-Eater lopes along at her side. Commander Skellerang challenges the cleric of Hextor to finish what she started ten years ago!
Triel swings her spiked flail wildly at the Watch Commander's head. Skellerang deflects her attacks with his shield. Ruphus Laro tries to Repel the low level mooks backing up Triel and Tongue-Eater, but when that fails, the young cleric falls back on his trusty mace (realised later than he can not try and repel humans, because they are a character race). Fario engages Tongue-Eater, but cannot strike the agile werebaboon. Fellian casts Summon and several of the hungry albino crocodiles lurking in the lake drag themselves onto the beach, their pink, heavy lidded eyes fixed on the bandits. Then, for good measure, he casts Illusion to make them invisible. :D
---
Albino Crocodile 60% (rank 2)
BP. 15 / DR. 3 / Bite. 2D
---
Another bandit moves to help Tongue-Eater fight Fario and Ruphus Laro finds himself facing two more. The final bandit shoots Fellian in the arm, but the elven wizard only laughs as he watches his invisible crocodile minions flanking the bastard. Commander Skellerang strikes Triel, but his attack doesn't get passed her armour [DR8].
The invisible, albino crocodiles come up behind the guy with the bow and drag him down, kicking and screaming as they start tearing him apart. This is quite a disturbing image, as the other bandits cannot see what is biting huge chunks out of their mate. Again, Skellerang's shield saves him from having his head crushed by Triel's flail. Fellian decides what he is getting Fario for his next birthday. One of the bandits knocks Ruphus' shield out of his hand, the young cleric responds by cracking his opponent around the chops, scattering loose teeth across the ground.
Fario endures an onslaught of claw attacks from Tongue-Eater, hoping that the werebaboon will not be able to avoid his follow up attack. The plan works, Tongue-Eater is reduced to 13 BP - and then to 1 BP as one of Fellian's invisible crocodiles practically tears his leg off. Fellian can see that Commander Skellerang is having difficulty bypassing Triel's armour - which is not such a problem for him, so he casts Offensive Strike - decimating the red haired cleric's BP! She immediately casts Heal to implore Hextor for aid - and after rolling 3x fails, she manages to roll 00 and is restored to full health. Ignoring the screaming werebaboon as the invisible crocodiles drag him towards the edge of the lake, Fario bulls into Triel from the side - rolls a critical failure - and his longsword shatters against her armour!
Incoherent with fury, Triel makes three consecutive attacks against Commander Skellerang - all of which he blocks. The final attack is a critical failure and Skellerang manages to yank the spiky flail out of her grasp, leaving his opponent defenceless. She throws herself at him, trying to claw at his eyes with her fingernails - but several watchmen pile on top of her so that Skellerang can knock her out with the hilt of his sword. Seeing that Ruphus is still exchanging blows with the final bandit, Fellian casually blasts the man out of existence.

Searching Triel's unconscious body, the party recover another 3 Wands of Water Control and a holy symbol of Hextor - which Ruphus casts into the lake. Having secured the leader of the bandits, Commander Skellerang orders his men to clear out the rest of the ruins. Any survivors will join Triel Eldurast in the cells, where she will soon be executed for her crimes, both past and present.

However, the Strider's work is far from done, there are still 2 Wands of Water Control unaccounted for, likely in possession of the final ringleader, Tarkilar. Commander Skellerang loans Fario his longsword, but makes the elf promise to return it after they have dealt with the final villain.

After some superficial healing, the heroes begin scouring the ruins/caves for the elusive necromancer. Venturing into Tarkilar's territory, the party enter a large cave in which a jumble of huge bones have been haphazardly piled up. The Strider's skirt the edge of the cavern warily, having been forewarned (by Skaven) that Tarkilar employs all manner of undead horrors to guard his lair. Nobody (player of PC) is particularly surprised when the bones begin to reassemble themselves - into the form of a giant, skeletal Tyrannosaurus!
---
Skeletal Tyrannosaurs
STR. 90 BP. 55 RANK: 4
DEX. 40 DR. 5 GEAR: n/a
LOG. 0 IN. 1
WIL. 0 MV. 14
ATTACK. 60 (Bite, 4D) / 60 (Tail Swipe, 3D and STR-40 to avoid being
knocked prone)
---
Fellian does not piss about with any clever tricks, he opens up with Offensive Strike (4D), yet barely puts the (skeletal) tyrant lizard off its stride. The beast lunges for the elven spellcaster, but Fario pushes his fellow Strider out of harms way. Ruphus Laro tries to Repel the undead creature, but finds it is too powerful a foe to be bothered by his dinky little holy symbol.
Fario grabs onto the edge of the tyrannosaur's empty eye socket and bashes the side of its skull with the blade he borrowed of Commander Skellerang. Unable to dislodge the tenacious Strider, the undead dinosaur swings its tail and knocks both Ruphus and Fellian into the air. Ruphus rolls and comes up fighting, but Fellian collides with the wall of the cavern and is slower to rise. Ruphus casts Heal on Fellian to bring him back up to full health. Fario continues bashing the creature's skull, which is beginning to fracture under his determined onslaught. The tyrannosaurs tries to dislodge its unwelcome passenger but rolls a critical failure on its Dex (which was never brilliant to begin with). It smashes its skull against the wall of the cave, hoping to crush its tormentor against the rock face - but in doing so, causes part of the cavern's roof to collapse! Fario dives away just in time to avoid being being buried alongside the skeletal dinosaur. Well, if Tarkliar did not already know they were coming, he does now!
---
Tarkilar
STR. 65 BP. 30 RANK: 3
DEX. 60 DR. 5 GEAR: Holy Symbol of Erythnul
LOG. 60 IN. 2 2x Wands of Water Control
WIL. 65 MV. 9
ATTACK. 65 (spiked chain, 2D+2, extra +1D against elves)
CLERIC POWERS 60 (entangle, charm [as fear], protection)
---
Horde of Zombies (as per the BBF core book)
---
When the Strider's enter the necromancer's den, the gnoll wizard has already raised a not inconsiderable number of zombies to back him up. Chainmail has been wired into his flesh and a long, spiked chain wrapped around his arm, preventing him from being disarmed.
Fellian casts Offensive Strike against the horde of ravenous undead as they shuffle into range, several look a little frostbitten but none keel over. Somewhat disappointed, the elven wizard also casts Illusion to create the image of a really fat man lying on the ground with his entrails hanging out of his stomach - several zombies peel away from the group to gorge themselves on this unexpected feast. Ruphus casts Repel (undead), driving the remaining zombies back. Tarkilar is not effected by the cleric's heavenly aura and swings his spiked chain at his head, hoping for a gory decapitation. Ruphus ducks out of harms way. Fario rolls a Critical Success on his attack and rather than deal double damage or bypass armour, he opts to hack off one of Tarkilar's arms, leaving him with just the one spiky chain wired to the other limb.
Repulsed by Ruphus' display of faith, the zombies are unable to support their master as he tangles alone with the party. Fario rolls a second Critical Success and chops off Tarkilar's other arm as well. He turns to tell Fellian that their opponent is (h)armless and is surprised when Tarkilar sinks his fangs into his neck, trying to rip out his jugular! Ruphus hits the wretched creature over the head until it releases its grip on the elven warrior. Letting the corpse sink to the ground, Ruphus begins picking patches of blood-matted fur of his weapon. When Tarkilar dies, the zombies under his control turn to dust. The party recover the last two Wands of Water Control form the body, then return to Commander Skellerang. When Fario tries to return his sword, the Commander tells him to keep it and to use it always in service of the city.

Returning to the surface, the party deliver the eight Wands of Water Control to Jenya Urikas at the Temple of St. Cuthbert. She and the priests of the other temples (Pelor, Kord - but not Wee Jas) immediately set to getting the rising water levels under control. It is no secret that the party played a pivotal role in recovering the lost wands and they find themselves enjoying almost celebrity status during this years Flood Festival. Both the Temple of St. Cuthbert and the office of Mayor Navalant financially reward the heroes. On a less cheerful note, on the day before she was scheduled to hang, a group of unknown scoundrels infiltrated the city prison and released Triel Eldurast from captivity. Where she is now and who her allies are is unclear, though one witness reports seeing a red haired woman matching Triel's description in the company of a halfling with heavily bandaged hands....
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 7
Fario Ellegoth: 6
Ruphus Laro: 7

MAJOR CHARACTERS
Fellian Shard (PC - Elven Strider / Wizard & Thief)
Fario Ellegoth (PC - Elven Strider / Warrior & Scholar)
Ruphus Laro (PC - Human Cleric of St. Cuthbert)
Elethor Ashstaff [DEAD] - (PC - Elven Strider / Enchanter)
Meerthan Elliothlorn (NPC Friendly - Elven Strider, cell commander Cauldron)
Jil (NPC Hostile - Human Rogue, Last Laugh)
Revus Twindaggers (NPC Hostile - Halfing Rogue, Last Laugh, missing fingers)
Sarcem Delasahrn [DEAD] (NPC Friendly - Human [former] High Priest of St. Cuthbert)
Jenya Urikas (NPC Friendly - Human High Priestess of St. Cuthbert)
Alek Tercival (NPC Friendly - Human Paladin of St Cuthbert)
Terrem (NPC Neutral - Human Orphan, missing from Lantern Street Orphanage)
Deakon, Evelyn & Lucinda (Human Orphans, missing from Lantern Street Orphanage)
Patch (NPC Friendly - Half Orc Janitor at Lantern Street Orphanage)
Keygan Ghelve (NPC Friendly - Gnome Artificer/Locksmith)
Kazmojen [DEAD] (NPC Hostile - Half Dwarf/Half Troll Slavemaster)
Pyllrak Shyraat (NPC Hostile - Dark Elf Merchant, Underdark)
Triel Eldurast (NPC Hostile - Cleric of Hextor, still at large)
Tongue-Eater [DEAD] (NPC Hostile - Werebaboon bandit)
Skaven Umbermead [DEAD] (NPC Hostile - Cleric of Vecna)
Tarkilar [DEAD] (NPC Hostile - Undead Gnoll, Cleric of Erythnul)
Severen Navalant (NPC Friendly - Human Lord Mayor of Cauldron)
Terseon Skellerang (NPC Friendly - Human Commander of the Cauldron City Watch)

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

3/12: ZENITH TRAJECTORY (PART ONE)

Several weeks after the Flood Festival and life in Cauldron has returned to normal. The Striders of Fharlanghan have buried a friend and Ruphus Laro has grown closer to High Priestess Jenya Urikas, assuming some of Alek Tercival's duties in the paladin's extended absence from the city. Jenya seems concerned by his delayed return, but is not prepared to divulge the details of his mission to Ruphus. A message is delivered to the temple, it is from the headmistress of the Lantern Street Orphanage. She advises that Patch (the half orc janitor) has not come to work for several day and had been acting strangely for several weeks, since the children four children were abducted (even though Terrem was subsequently returned). Ruphus thinks he knows what is troubling the guilt-ridden half-orc and decides to visit the janitor at his home on Magma Avenue. Fellian Shard and Fario Ellegoth join him along the way.

They find Patch pissed out of his face at a tavern near his home. The half orc blames himself for the children's fate, if only he had not taken money off Revus Twindaggers, maybe they would never have been taken! The party know this would not have been the case - the Last Laugh had nothing to do with the abductions, the children were taken by agents of Kazmojen. They are still trying to convince Patch that he bears no responsibility for what happened, when they notice the entire building is being shaken by a series of violent tremors!
Moving into the street, the party are somewhat surprised when a huge, humanoid insect (Umber Hulk) bursts out of the ground, showering the terrified bystanders in loose cobblestones.
---
Umber Hulk
STR. 90 BP. 50 RANK: 4
DEX. 50 DR. 10 GEAR: n/a
LOG. 35 IN. 1
WIL. 60 MV. 6 (burrow 8)
ATTACK. 80 (Claws, 3D+7)
---
Despite being absolutely rat-faced, Patch plucks up a heavy length of timber and throws himself into battle with the Umber Hulk. Not about to upstaged by some drunken janitor, Fario and Ruphus wade in after him. The creature's heavy chitin deflects most of their attacks, but they do manage to make it really angry. Ruphus Laro dives out of the way of a wild charge attack which demolishes several buildings on that side of Magma Avenue.
Fellian targets the rampaging beast with Offensive Strike, rolls a Critical Failure and inadvertently causes a building (already weakened by the Umber Hulk) to collapse on top of his companions. Fario and Ruphus get out of the way as the house comes down around them, but Patch is buried beneath a pile of fallen debris. Fario pauses to help dig the half-orc out from beneath the rubble, while Ruphus presses the attack. The Umber Hilk hits hit from 22 damage!
Ruphus hangs back and casts Heal, while Fario and Patch harass the raging Umber Hulk. After whittling away at its BP for the last few rounds, Patch finishes the creature off, swinging his immense timber like a baseball bat and hitting the Umber Hulk with enough force to knock it straight through a wall!!

There is some ragged cheering from the crowds of onlookers - less so for Fellian, as he did just knock down some poor bugger's home. Members of the city watch begin to arrive at the scene and start taking eye witness statements. They immediately recognise the heroes from the battle for the Korpu ruins and thank them for dealing with the monstrous threat to the city and its populous. Sometime later, a note is delivered to the Temple of Saint Cuthbert, inviting the party to dinner at an exclusive club called 'The Cusp of Sunrise' on Obsidian Avenue. The note is signed 'Celeste' and suggests that the heroes should "scrub up" if they want to get inside. Fellian, Fario and Ruphus glance at Patch, who has collapsed in a drunken stupor, still covered in blood and rubble. Impressed by his display of strength and courage against the Umber Hulk, Ruphus convinces Jenya Urikas to give the troubled half-orc a job, keeping the temple tidy. The young cleric hopes that the half-drow Shensen will return soon with news of the three missing children, so that he and the guilt-ridden janitor can embark on a mission to rescue the orphans and redeem themselves.

Fellian drags Fario off to a tasteful clothier and gets them both sized up for some noble attire. Fellian is in his element here, but Fario would much rather fight another Umber Hulk than try on another pair of hideous trousers. Fellian enjoys his fellow Strider's discomfort. Meanwhile, Ruphus Laro is more comfortable in the clean, simple robes worn by the monks in service of St. Cuthbert. It is all the young cleric can do to convince the half-orc to change his pants. Concerned that the half-orc is going to embarrass them in front of the city's social elite, Fellian prepares a potion (Charm) that will make Patch behave like a perfect gentleman for the course of the evening, which they pour into his hip flash when he isn't looking.

Entering 'The Cusp of Sunrise', the party present their invitation at the desk and wait to be admitted by the rather snotty attendant, who eyes Patch critically and makes several barbed comments about his garb. The others wince as Patch punches the smarmy bastard in the face, knocking him over his desk backwards, where he lies groaning with a bloodied nose. Fellian makes a mental note to double the dosage the next time he tries to drug the half-orc. He successfully casts Charm on the man, to make him believe the party are all impeccably attired. Unopposed, the party wander inside and look for Celeste.

Patch immediately gravitates towards the bar and Ruphus trails after him, hoping to keep the half orc out of mischief. Patch's voice is soon raised in outrage as he discovers that the bar does not stock ale and the cheapest house wine is 10 gold pieces per bottle! Noticing that the club has an extensive library of rare/valuable books, Fario begins perusing the shelves, leaving Fellian to mingle with the disdainful nobles. He is pointed in the direction of an attractive woman with platinum blonde hair, a shimmering white dress and an hour glass figure. Introducing herself as Celeste, she asks Fellian to gather his companions and join her in a private room, where they can discuss their business privately.
She introduces the heroes to her employer, an ancient dwarf called Davked Splintershield. Davked has been cursed with a wasting disease after disowning his three sons, the only way to lift the curse is to make peace with each of them in turn, but he is unable to do this as the third son (Zenith Splintershield, who previously ruled the Malachite Hold and whose statue the party toppled on top of Kazmojen) vanished into the Underdark on some fool crusade and has never been seen since. Davked's other agents report that Zenith lives, but is being held prisoner by a tribe of savage kua-toan (frog men) in their loathsome city of Bhal-Hamatugn. Unfortunately, the party will be unable to access the Underdark via the ruins of the Jzadirune as another group of adventures (The Stormblades, troubleshooters working directly for Mayor Navalant) have caved in that route, which the authorities viewed as a serious threat to the security of the city. Fortunately, Davked can direct the party to another entrance to the Underdark, although reaching it will require the heroes to leave the city and seek out a deranged old hermit called Crazy Jared. Celeste hands Fellian a compass which has been enchanted to always point towards Zenith's position, which should make navigating the labyrinthine Underdark less of a chore.

Leaving 'The Cusp of Sunrise', the party soon realise that their steps home are being dogged and find themselves accosted by a large group of thugs, their faces painted in the manner of the Last Laugh. These guys are bigger, meaner and more heavily armed that the goons that were sent to rough up Ruphus Laro right at the beginning of the campaign. Their spokesman tells the party that he is here to deliver a message from Revus Twindaggers, then levels his crossbow. Normally, the party would wipe the floor with opposition such as this, but they visited the dinner club wearing foppish clothes instead of armour and carrying only the most indiscreet weaponry. On the plus side, it's obvious the assassins were only expecting three targets, the presence of Patch means the odds are not so overwhelming as they might have liked.
---
Last Laugh Armed Ruffian 80% (in retrospect, this was probably too high)
BP. 15 / DR. 3 / Shortsword. 1D+3 / Crossbow. 2D+2 (range 80) / 2Dx10 gold
---
Ruphus Laro whips off his robe to reveal he is fully geared up for battle! He throws the robe over the nearest assassin head, then takes a swing with his mace. The thug doesn't see it coming as is unable to dodge. CRUNCH - someone will need to see a dentist ASAP.... Fellian casts Illusion to create a group of imaginary watchmen charging into the alley to break up the fight, but the ruffians are not fooled and do not disengage. Two thugs attack Fario and another two gang up on Patch. The final thug fires his crossbow at Fellian, but misses by a whisker. Patch is fighting bare-knuckle against two men armed with swords.
Fellian sends an Offensive Strike back at the guy with the crossbow, there is little left to remember him by. Ruphus clubs the fellow with the mouthful of broken teeth and he goes down also. Patch grabs two goons and bangs their heads together, leaving them both reeling.
Two of the assassins get lucky and roll critical successes to bypass armour and injure both Ruphus and the enraged half-orc.
Fellian draws his sword and backs up Fario, although his skill with a sword is laughable, his clumsy feints to give his friend the opportunity to deliver a devastating blow of his own. Patch continues to pummel the two men facing him and Ruphus actually knocks an assassin's head off his shoulders with a max damage roll with his blessed mace. The other three (heavily wounded) ruffians flee. Fellian boots the severed head after them, telling them to deliver THAT as their response to Twindaggers' 'message'.

Heading back to the temple, the party receive healing from some of Ruphus' buddies then prepare to leave Cauldron in search of Crazy Jared.
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 7
Fario Ellegoth: 6
Ruphus Laro: 6
Patch: 6
---
New Characters
Celeste (NPC Friendly - Human, Attractive Socialite)
Davked Splintershield (NPC Friendly - Dwarf, Dying Father)

How did the Umber Hulk work in combat? Did the DR 10 really string out the length of combat, or was it a good challenge as a single creature against a group?

As with most fights thus far, the guy playing Fellian keeps looking for reasons NOT to cast Offensive Strike, as it pretty much decimates any enemy before the close combat guys can get stuck in. We've now made that less of a concern by house-ruling it that OF does not bypass DR. And as someone pointed out on the Paizo forum, I completely forgot that the Umber Hulk has an ability called confusing gaze, which could have extended the fight.

EDIT: In the following session (which I'm still writing up), they go toe-to-toe with a (junior) red dragon, that was much more challenging - as even massively nerfed, BBF dragons are massively dangerous! :o

I added gaze. :-)

I guess you could also rule that Umber Hulk DR applies to magical attacks as well. Or something like this DR 10 (5 magical).

Just a thought.

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

3/12: ZENITH TRAJECTORY (PART TWO)

Borrowing a horse-drawn cart from the temple, the heroes ride out of the city gates and into the tropical wilderness beyond the fertile, volcanic slopes of Cauldron. The journey takes several days, but the party are untroubled by the local fauna.
As the heroes finally reach the hovel inhabited by Crazy Jared, an enormous shadow passes over them - a shadow cast by a bloody red dragon!!! As the winged lizard circles back around, an elderly man brandishing a silver rod emerges from the hut and hops over to the party. He casts Charm to drag them into his own lunatic beliefs that he is the monarch of an utterly fictional kingdom called Anduria and they are his loyal vassals.
---
Crazy Jared
STR. 55 BP. 25 RANK: 3
DEX. 60 DR. 0 GEAR: Silver Staff (1D+3)
LOG. 65 IN. 2 Ragged Clothes
WIL. 65 MV. 8
ATTACK. 55
MAGIC. 65 (Charm, Aid)
---
Gotrrod (Juvenile Red Dragon)
STR. 110 BP. 100 RANK: 5
DEX. 80 DR. 10 GEAR: n/a
LOG. 80 IN. 3
WIL. 70 MV. 20 (60 flying)
ATTACK. Bite: 90 (5D)
Claw 80 (5D and knocked prone)
Tail 80 (4D and knocked prone)
Dragon Breath (DEX to resist, 1Dx10/2 fire damage
---
Fario, Fellian and Ruphus all manage to resist Jared's attempt to Charm them, but Patch's perception of events is immediately altered. He and his companions are the valiant Knights of Anduria and instead of a crazy old hermit, he sees a mighty king in splendid robes. Instead of a dirty hovel, he sees a majestic castle.
The dragon is still a dragon though, and the party are going to have to drive it off if they want Crazy Jared's help finding the route to Bhal-Hamatugn!

Fario rolls a Critical Success on his Warrior [Ranged] roll and manages to strike the red dragon's soft underbelly where he is vulnerable to missile fire. Enraged, the beast spews flame across the terrain, Fario pushes Fellian out of harms way (via the Leader skill) and endures the fire damage himself! Patch is also engulfed in flame. Rolling to his feet, Fellian casts Entangle to bind the dragon's wings and force him to the ground. As soon as he lands, Patch and Ruphus charge over and lay into him with their melee weapons. "For Anduria!!" bellows Patch.
Fellian hits the grounded dragon with Offensive Strike, searing its blood red scales in a gout of sapphire flame. Th dragon howls in anger and pain and tries to take flight, ice crystal shattering as it beats its massive wings. Fario, Ruphus and Patch all struggle to hold on as the dragon rises off the scorched grass, but one by one they fall back to earth. Quickly, Patch pulls the rope from his survival pack and lassos the airborne reptile. The half-orc is yanked up into the sky, dangling below/behind the dragon as it circles around for another breath attack.
Patch reaches the end of the rope and begins running along the dragon's back until he reaches its head. He strikes the top of the dragon's skull with all his might, causing it to roll in the air, dislodging Patch who plummets 50ft and lands in a tree. Fario takes a shot at the dragon as it approaches, then runs for cover as it belches flame across the turf. Both Fellian and Ruphus dive out of harms way. Realising he can't attack the dragon while it's in the air, Ruphus focusses on healing Fario's wounds. Fellian notices that now he's at spellcaster level 4, he can fly! The elven wizard immediately takes to the air, casting Offensive Strike at the dragon's backside as he chases it into the clouds.
The dragon swipes its tail at Fellian, but fails to swat the annoying elf out of the sky. Having been reduced to 10 BP (it had 100 to start with), it tries to retreat, but cannot shake Fellian of its tail! It flies into a patch of low cloud and makes a sharp turn, hoping to catch the elven wizard from behind as he flounders in the murk. Its jaws close around Fellian with a snap - but at the last possible second, the elven wizard casts Offensive Strike - straight down the dragon's gullet! Back on the ground, Fario, Ruphus, Patch (and Crazy Jared) watch the dragon plunging into the mountainside. Trekking across the foothill to recover the body, they are overjoyed to find Fellian survived the crash - the dragon's scaly hide absorbed most of the impact and he walked away with some superficial bruising.

Crazy Jared (or King Jared IV of Andruria, as he styles himself) congratulates his 'knights' on vanquishing the draconic scourge of his kingdom. Patch seems completely absorbed in the old man's fantasy world and the rest of the party wonder if/when the effect is going to end. They are invited to spend the night in the castle/shack, before continuing their crusade on the morrow. Jared agrees to lead them to the entrance to the Underdark, known locally as The Pit of the Seven Jaws. 'Wonderful' thinks Fellian, 'that doesn't bode ill in the slightest'.

After a meagre breakfast around the hermit's small, lopsided table (both Jared and Patch believe themselves to be enjoying a great feast in the castle's grand banquet chamber), they set off for the Pit. This turns out to be a great, dark hole in the ground, with steps built into the otherwise sheer sides of the shaft, descending 60ft. Crazy Jared/King Jared wishes them luck and returns to governing his imaginary kingdom.
It is not long before the party discover why The Pit of the Seven Jaws is called The Pit of the Seven Jaws. Out of a fissure in the rock face emerges a hydra sporting (you guessed it) 7 heads, each one more hungry and ill-tempered looking than the last.
---
Seven Headed Cryohydra: 80%
BP: 105 (split between 7 heads) / DR: 10
Each of the Cryohydra's heads has 15 BP. The Cryohydra recovers 2 BP and grows back a head (one action) at the start of every turn. When targeting a head, any additional damage over 15 is lost/has no further effect.
ATTACKS: BITE 75% (4D)
BREATH CORROSION 75% (dex to take half damage, 3D bypass armour and sickened, -10% to all actions)
---
As one of the Cryohydra's seven heads extends in his direction, Fellian casts Offensive Strike (critical success, bypass armour) and obliterates the snarling face, leaving a ragged stump writhing in the air. Fario notches an arrow and shoots the next head in the eyes, blinding it on that side (another critical). Two heads snaps at Ruphus and Patch, the half-orc gets out of the way but the young cleric is snatched up in the cryohydra's jaws and thoroughly munched on, his armoured legs sticking out of it toothy maw. Another spews its corrosive breath over the whole group, effecting the two elven Striders. Patch manages to hold his breath and stumble out of the noxious cloud without inhaling. One of the heads bashes the steps where Fario is standing and the warrior (still disorientated from the breath attack) falls from the ledge. It's a 60ft drop to the floor of the pit - fortunately/unfortunately, another of the heads darts out and swallows the falling hero whole! (Fario had been reduced to 0 BP)
Fellian is horrified by the apparent doom of his fellow Strider and doesn't notice that the head he destroyed in the first round is quickly growing back. He becomes aware of the threat as the 'newborn' head lunges for him and also wolfs him down (another PC reduced to 0 BP).
Patch brutally beats another of the heads - only to be eaten by another coming at him from his blind side (again, 0 BP). The last standing PC, faced with 6 remaining heads - Ruphus Laro flees back to the surface, narrowly outrunning another cloud of poisonous gas that the Cryohydra exhales after him.

(Very narrowly avoided a TPK! They did reduced the Cryohydra from 105 > 61 BP, but with up to 7x attacks with an initial 75% chance of success, the heroes were decimated. That was probably my fault for tinkering with the monster/hydra as it appears in the BBF core rulebook - which I did because I wanted the heads to act separately without sharing a common multi-action penalty, ie: why would head 1 be at -20% because of something head3 has done? Anyway, we called it a night there, as I needed time to think about how to continue the campaign with three of the main characters now being digested in the belly of a hydra.)
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 4
Fario Ellegoth: 4
Ruphus Laro: 5
Patch: 5
---
New Characters
Crazy Jared (Friendly NPC - Human, Mad Hermit)

OK, this is absolutely going to so make one of my players cry in the future!

Very nice job, all.

Wow, brutal encounter. I wish you the best of luck figuring out how you want to handle it and deepest condolences to the guys who lost characters.

A learning exp for all of us.

ShadowStalker I was going to add 'confused' as a condition but decided to use the ones in the core book. Thoughts?

Two schools of thought here.

1. It's always good to attempt to stay within the bounds of the core game to promote ease of play (i.e., no having to look up condition meanings at the table); or

2. Adding confused as a condition for a monster (such as in a creature expansion) is a great way to expand rules and add value to purchasing a new product.

Looking at the condition descriptions, I would say that Confused is best emulated by Stunned. Dazed allows a character to keep going with just penalties, while a Stunned (confused) person is limited in actions. I think the second is more of what you are after, though that makes the Umber Hulk an even more difficult challenge.

My final take - I would use Dazed or Stunned rather than creating a new condition to avoid rules bloat. Similar to SW, I would strive to find different ways to use the core rules rather than creating new ones for each situation. Improves the playability of the game at the table, and that is what really matters.

I agree, the only reason I considered the addition is because a 'confused' condition allows a PC to attack an ally.

This same question came up on the Paizo forum and I suggested giving the Umber Hulk the Charm spell as a creature ability, then if the PC fails the Will roll to resist, the GM can declare the character confused and have it act oddly/attack comrades until the effect wears off / is broken.

EDIT: Yeah, apparently running an Umber Hulk without the confusing gaze ability is a MASSIVE scandal for the old school crowd. :o

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

3/12: ZENITH TRAJECTORY (PART THREE)

(After the somewhat inglorious end to the previous session, the players decided they did want to keep on running the same characters, and we engineered an utterly implausible solution the the problem of their deaths)

Staggering away from The Pit of the Seven Jaws, Ruphus Laro eventually reaches Crazy Jared's (still smouldering) hut and collapses on the porch. He awakens several days later to find the deranged old man has been nursing him back to health and spooning some loathsome broth down his throat. Realising that his honour binds him to return to the hydra's lair to make sure none of his friends managed to escape the creature's jaws, the young cleric suits up and sets out.
Cautiously descending the steps (leaping over the collapsed section where Fario had been standing before the beast swallowed him), Ruphus is overjoyed to find his friends (reasonably) alive, sprawled in a shallow puddle of stinking hydra vomit. Evidently, the wounded heroes disagreed with the monster's stomach and it chucked them back up again. Huzzah! :D
(Unfortunately, the corrosive stomach acids in which they were temporarily submerged has had an effect on the heroes' weapons and armour. Any fur/leather armour has been completely disintegrated and anything metal has had its DR halved. All weapon damage has been reduced by 1D (weapons that only do 1D damage are down to 1D/2). Any perishable items carried have also been destroyed. Any gold being carried on their person has melted.)

The party consider returning to Cauldron to rearm/restock, before making the long, dark trek to Bhal-Hamatugn, but soon decide to press on immediately instead. At the moment, there is no sign of the cryohydra that wrought such ruin upon them and they would rather traverse its lair without having to fight it again (they hope that after rescuing Zenith Splintershield, the dwarf can lead them to an alternative exit from the Underdark).

It is difficult to accurately track time in the endless dark beneath the earth, but after several days following the magical compass that Celeste gave to Fellian (which was thankfully undamaged by being submerged in the cryohydra's stomach acids), the party emerge in the vast, partially flooded cavern where the kuo toas have built their city. Reaching the edge of the water, the party realise they will have to cross to reach Bhal-Hamatugn. The water looks deep and dark and is likely inhabited by all manner of horrible creatures. A canoe drifts ut of the mist enveloping the surface of the sunken lake, paddled by a slimy, frog-man. He stares a the party and they stare back. Finally, as the long silence becomes uncomfortable, the creature asks; "Seek ye the Eye of Darkness?"

"Er... yes?" ventures Fellian.

"Climb aboard, I'll guide you through the Maw."

The party confer. None of them are particularly enthusiastic about trusting this slippery fellow to ferry them safely to the other side, especially as half of them are wearing armour that will surely see them drowned if they end up over the side of the little boat. Fellian tries casting Charm, but the frog-thing resists, croaks loudly and throws its spear at the elven mage (miss), before diving into the dark water.

(For the Kuo Toas, I used the Lizard Man stats from the BBF book, added DR 2. They are armed with rapiers (1D+1), adhesive shields (if the shield bonus blocks an attack, attacker must roll Str or have weapon stuck to shield) and hand crossbows.)

Patch splashes into the shallows and drags the boat close enough for everyone else to pile in without getting their feet wet. The muscular half-orc begins propelling them out across the lake, to the broad stairs leading out of the water, towards the ancient shrine-city. Fario notches an arrow and keeps watch, Fellian prepares his magic and Ruphus is ready with his mace. There is bump against the underside of the boat, then another much stronger bump. Too late, the heroes realise that something is swimming along beneath them, trying to capsize their vessel. They all beat the Dex score and avoid falling out of the little boat. Unable to target the troublesome kuo toa with Offensive Strike, Fellian casts Summon to magic up a couple of sharks, which circle the boat protectively until it reaches the other side. Their is some frantic splashing, then a red stain across the surface of the dark water and the meddlesome ferry/frog man troubles them no more.

Unfortunately, the noise they made crossing the water has alerted the guards overlooking the entrance to the Maw and they begin raining arrows down upon the little boat.
R1: Ruphus casts Protection on everyone (Cleric level 4 = 98%, he made four consecutive low rolls), boosting their DR by 5 for the duration of the encounter. Fario spots the frogmen are shooting down from the gaping windows/eyes above the vast staircase and returns fire. Patch just keeps his head down and keeps rowing, still muttering about the things he has to do for his king/kingdom. Realising that the party are sitting ducks in the open, Fellian first casts Offensive Strike to create a geyser of dark water that jets diagonally towards the high windows (from which the Kuo Toas are shooting), then Entangle to freeze the water, creating a handy (albeit slippery) ramp from the water to the second floor of the Maw. The frogmen keep shooting, most of the arrows hit the water, but one lucky shot strikes Patch (damage reduced to 5 by his naturally leathery skin and Ruphus' protective aura).
R2: Fario lays down some covering fire to keep the Kuo Toas' heads down, then scrambles up the slippery slope Fellian created (before it melts). He gets a Critical Success (CS from this point on) on his Dex roll and makes it to the top effortlessly, then rolls a Critical Failure (likewise, CF) moments later to attack the cowering frogmen. The elven warrior-scholar is knocked back and ends his turn hanging from the edge of the window by his fingertips, his (acid damaged) sword clattering down the stairs far below. Patch abandons the oars and scrambles up the slippery slope to help Fario. One of the frogmen shooting from the other eye rolls a CS, hitting Ruphus' shoulder and knocking the young cleric out of the boat. He splashes around for a few moments before realising that the water here only rises to his waist. Ruphus begins splashing towards the stairs. Fellian casts Offensive Strike up at the froggy archers and their is wet, bursting sound as the icy blast finds a target (the wizard then hops out of the boat to follow Ruphus towards the main entrance to the Maw).
R3: Fario bodily hauls himself through the window he is dangling from and shoots one of the wounded Kuo Toas at point blank range (dead). Ruphus races up the stairs and bursts into the (empty) entry chamber, with Fellian at his heels. Patch grabs the other wounded frogman and throws him out of the window. The final Kuo Toa hops it (lol), retreating to the Soldier Living Quarters (Area 3) to summon aid.
R4: Having dropped his own swords, Fario grabs two rapiers from the fallen frogmen, then follows Patch down the steps after the survivor. They burst into a guard room containing another four Kuo Toa and Fario drags the half-orc back onto the stairs, which will be easier to defend. Only two of the frogmen can attack the heroes on the stairs - another two stand at the bottom firing up with their hand crossbows (the final Kuo Toa lingers at the back, shouting orders). Hearing combat/croaking from an antechamber, Ruphus and Fellian barge in and attack the frogmen's flank. The one at the back gets his shield up in time to block Ruphus' attack and the blessed mace gets stuck to the adhesive surface.
R5: Fellian flash-freezes a frogman and Fario successfully strikes another, knocking the flopping corpse into the marksman frantically reloading at the bottom of the steps. Seeing the elven swordsman bearing down on him, the frogman shoots from the hip and misses. Fario barrels into the creature (CS), his momentum driving both slender blades through its scaly flesh. Deprived of his blessed weapon, Ruphus is forced to fall back on his (crap) Warrior [Melee] score and fails to achieve much of anything (his player made the mental note to always carry a spare mace, in case this happens again).
R6: Patch finishes off the final frogmen on the stairs, leaving a green smear along the floors as his massive maul crunches into its side. Seeing that Ruphus is having trouble with the final Kuo Toa, Fellian casts Transform (CS) to turn the stone beneath the creature's feet into sucking mud. The frogman struggles to escape, but is trapped within the floor a moment later when Fellian transforms it back into unyielding stone. (Everyone else around the table wonders why they are not all playing wizards)

Having defeated the frogmen, the party return to the main entrance and hear voices shouting for help from beyond the portcullis in the eastern face of the room. Investigating, they find two prisoners locked up in individual cells. The first is a human thief called Whiteye, the second a halfling wizard called Cherrit. Neither of them look particularly savoury. Both prisoners plead to be released, but warn the party that the other is an agent of the frogmen and not to be trusted. The heroes decide they'd rather not have either of them running around and alerting the Kuo Toa until they've extracted Zenith Splintershield. They do ask the prisoners if they know where the frogmen are keeping the dwarf, as he is obviously not being held here. Both simultaneously offer to lead the group to where Splintershield is being held in exchange for their freedom and proclaim the other to be lying. Fellian casts Charm on each of them and establishes that the neither actually know where the dwarf is being held. He also learns that while Whiteye only came to Bhal-Hamatugn to steal from its slimy denizens, Cherit came looking for Zenith Splintershield too, after hearing that the missing dwarf has a magical birthmark. Aware that the two prisoners might try to sell them out to the frogmen in the slim hope of being released, Fellian tells them to sit silently in their cells (the effect of Charm will last for nine hours) until they come back to get them. (At this point, they plan to let Whiteye go free, but are unsure how to deal with Cherin, as his goals obviously conflict with their own).
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 6
Fario Ellegoth: 5
Ruphus Laro: 6
Patch: 5
---
New Characters
Whiteye (NPC Neutral/Hostile - Human Rogue, prisoner of the Kuo Toa)
Cherit (NPC Neutral/Hostile - Halfling Wizard, prisoner of the Koa Toa)

Glad to see the duo back from the stomach. Though I did think maybe we might get some new pc's.

They Live! HUZZAH!!

Gah! When I kill them, I'm told I'm being too harsh - when I let them survive, I'm told I'm being too soft! I cannot win! :D

As someone suggested above, I'll let the players know when they are approaching a pivotal fight and character death is ON. Otherwise, even though they may be reduced to 0 BP by unlucky rolls or poor strategy, it's unlucky that they'll actually die (although there will still be some consequences - such as losing all their gear, getting captured, being horribly scarred, etc).

Well, I don't think you were too harsh, it's just a bad situation and in the end, everyone wants to just have fun. I mean, I don't mind losing a character if I do something stupid or if he is in a situation where he can't back down. Like one time I was playing a knight's son back in AD&D 2e. I was like lvl 2 or 3 and this thug was threatening a lady. I knew he was like lvl 5 or 6, but I braced up to him anyway, because I just couldn't let it slide. It was an honor thing. The GM was like "Okay Matt, really, do you believe this crap?" I laughed and said something to the effect that it would depend on the situation. For this girl, no, she got herself into this mess, but my character was chivalrous, so he had to. If he died there, then so be it. He laughed, and had guards get there just in time or something else to save me from my role-playing. So no, I think you did the right thing, you learned, and you can judge the encounter better next time.

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

3/12: ZENITH TRAJECTORY (PART FOUR)

Leaving the prison, the party approach the large doors in the northern face of the main entrance chamber. The surface of this portal is covered with curious markings. With Wizard Eye, Fellian establishes that the doors have been warded with some manner of enchantment. With no obvious alternative, Ruphus Laro casts Protection on himself (three times, once for the +10 resistance to physical harm, again for the bonus against magical effects and the final time for a +5 boost to his DR). The moment the young cleric lays his hand upon the door, he is thrown backwards by an invisible wall of force. Fortunately, his preparations save him from any lasting damage, though he is Dazed for the next 3 hours (-10% all actions).

Forging on through the double doors, the heroes emerge an a balcony overlooking an enormous chamber, dominated by a massive obsidian statue of some manner of horrible monster/lobster thing. The chamber is bathed in blood red light originating from the statues glowing eyes. The floor below them is partially flooded and crammed with kuo toas, some of which appear to be part of some sort of religious order and are busy worshipping the vile statue. (The statue is evil and imposes 1 -20% on anything the party try to do, it has 80 BP).
---
Mangh-Michtho (Kuo Toa High Priest)
STR. 80 BP. 40 RANK: 4
DEX. 90 DR. 6 GEAR: Pincer Staff (2D+3)
LOG. 90 IN. 3
WIL. 90 MV. 7
ATTACK. 80% Pincer Staff (2D+3+5)
MAGIC: 90% (Offensive Strike / Entangle / Heal / Aid / Protection - resistance checks made at -40%)
---
R1: Having heard the party fighting their way into the Maw, the High Priest Mangh-Michtho is ready for their appearance and casts Protection on himself (+5 DR = 10), then orders his fanatical followers to attack! Fellian tries to focus on spellcasting and ignore the waves of evil energy pulsing off the obsidian statue. He casts Offensive Strike against the first group of frogmen to reach the balcony and kills one, the other two avoid the icy blast. Patch staggers towards the remaining two zealots, but is unable to strike true under the statues baleful glare. The half-orc is suddenly thrown backwards by a bolt of green lightning! The two kuo toa acolytes are able to use magic! Having seen first hand how devastating Offensive Strike can be, the party focus their offence on anyone wearing a robe. Fario ducks instinctively as a crossbolt whistles past his head, another group of three frogmen are coming up the other staircase! He risks a shot down at the priests (still clustered around the foot of their unholy idol), discards the hand crossbow and turns to face this new threat. Ruphus tries to heal Patch's injuries, but cannot seem to invoke his god in such close proximity to such a source of great evil. He shouts at Fellian to focus his next attacks on the idol! 31 Fellian fires off another few bolts and reduces the statues BP from 80 to 40. Cracks start to spread along the surface of the idol, fiery red light spilling from these rough fissures.
R2: Having depleted the statues BP, the negative effect of its aura is reduced from -20% to -10%. Ruphus is (finally) able to cast Heal and Patch recovers 16 BP. Fellian continues throwing icy blasts against the statue and reduces it to 10 BP. An ominous rumble begins to shake the whole area.... The High Priest does not look very happy with how things are going and casts Offensive Strike against the whole group (who are still penned in on the balcony). The two elves and Patch are caught in the attack, miraculously Ruphus alone emerges unscathed (thanks to a very lucky Dex roll). Patch hits a kuo toa for a home run, even if the froggy fellow survived being smacked by the half-orc's enormous club, he certainly didn't walk away from the subsequent 60ft drop from the edge of the balcony.
R3: Fellian finally does enough damage to destroy the loathsome statue, which implodes violently, causing the entire complex to shake alarmingly! Fario kills the frogmen between him and the priests and rushes for the reeling figures, who cannot quite believe that their idol has been destroyed. Patch moves down the opposite staircase while Ruphus focusses on healing the wounded.
R4: Seeing Fario coming, Mangh-Michtho casts Entangle and the elven warrior-sage finds himself trapped in a gelatinous bubble of slime (for up to 4D [rolled 17] rounds!). Fellian casts Transform on the two acolytes, turning one into a toad, the second kuo toa resists the effect then casts Offensive Strike against Patch (CS), inflicting 18 damage and throwing the half-orc backwards until he collides with a column with a bone-jarring impact. Picking up a lump of obsidian (the floor is littered with fragments of the shattered idol), Patch bounces it off the acolytes head. Now that the evil statue has been destroyed and the presence lurking within banished, Ruphus is able to casts Repel against the two lesser priests.
R5: Fellian hits the High Priest with an icy blast, freezing him on the spot - then Ruphus knocks him over the head with his blessed mace, shattering his frozen body into a million glittering splinters. With the death of the High Priest, the bubble in which Fario was trapped pops and the warrior-sage falls to the ground, covered in goo. Patch throws another rock at the retreating acolyte and he falls over with a massive bump on the back of his scaly head. The final acolyte (stuck in the form of a toad) hops away, only for Patch to pick it up and eating it. Eww!

The destruction of the unholy statue reveals a staircase, checking the compass, Fellian can confirm that this new route will lead them to Zenith Splintershield. After Ruphus heals the wounded, the party press on. They emerge into a long room lined with crumbling columns. Suspended upside down are many twitching bodies - somehow these poor wretches yet live, despite the tops of their heads having been removed, exposing the brain. The only source of light (other than what the party bought with them) is a glowing sphere clutched in the calloused palm of a weary looking dwarven warrior slumped in a throne that seems to have been stitched together from skin.

"I prophesy your doom!" whispers Zenith Splintershield, brandishing an axe.
---
Zenith Splintershield
STR. 90 BP. 50 RANK: 4
DEX. 70 DR. 8 GEAR: Battle Axe 90% (2D+9)
LOG. 60 IN. 2 Orb of Unseen (makes caster invisible, creates
WIL. 80 MV. 6 several other identical lights, making it hard to
track the real one.
---
With a blinding flash, Zenith Splintershield vanishes from sight. When their vision clears, the party can see 8 spheres of light moving around the room, with no way of telling which one is held by the seemingly insane dwarf! Fellian reminds the others that they need to take him alive!

R1: Initially, everyone seems content to wait for Splintershield to do something that reveals his location. Suddenly, all 8 spheres begin to glow brighter, the they all emit a beam of energy, focussed on Fario! The elven warrior-sage dives out of harms way. Fellian earns a DP by immediately consulting the enchanted compass, which reveals the dwarf's location - and throwing an offensive Strike in that direction. Fario hurtles after the same target but fails to strike the invisible dwarf. Patch tries to grapple Splintershield, but his arms close around nothing but empty air. Ruphus hangs back, ready to heal if necessary.
R2: Fario lands a lucky blow on the invisible dwarf, inflicting 12 damage and bloodying his blade. Splintershield drops the effect and deals a massive counter-blow, reducing Fario to 6 BP. Ruphus jumps in to heal him back up to 24 BP. Now that he can see the stunty little bastard, Patch leaps on top of him and pins him to the ground. Splintershield struggles tenaciously, until Ruphus bops him over the head and he falls limp.

Having rescued Zenith Splintershield - who seemingly did not want to be rescued, the party leave Bhal-Hamatugn the same way they entered, stopping on route to release Whiteye from his cell. Remembering what Cherit told them about a magical birthmark, Fellian activates his Wizard's Eye and sure enough, the snoozing dwarf's face is covered by some manner of invisible runes (which the elven wizard quickly sketches). Ruphus (who wants to let the halfling go) is outvoted by the other three members of the group and Cherit is left to rot in his cell. While Fario leads the cleric towards the exit, Fellian lingers in the prison then Summons an angry bear into the halfling's cell and casts Illusion to muffle the sound of it rending him limb from limb.

Once away from the shrine-city, Zenith Splintershield falls into a catatonic state and neither says or does anything other than silently stumble after the heroes as they try to find their way back to the surface. Too late they realise that they should have left some sort of trail or mapped their route, rather than just rely on the magical compass, which only points to the drooling dwarf staggering along in their midst. They are hopelessly lost in the dark warren of tunnels beneath the earth, until salvation arrives in the form of Shensen Tesseril, the half-drow Strider whom they previously rescued from the Lucky Monkey roadhouse and subsequently tasked with finding Pyllrak Shyraat and the three lost orphans that he bought from Kazmojen's slave bazaar while the heroes were locked up in the hybrid's dungeons. She has been sent by Meerthan Elliothlorn to find the missing heroes and lead them back to Cauldron, where further trouble is brewing....
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 7
Fario Ellegoth: 6
Ruphus Laro: 7
Patch: 6
---
New Characters
Zenith Splintershield (NPC Hostile/Neutral - missing Dwarven warrior, adopted leader of the Kuo Toas)
---
Obituaries
RIP Mangh-Michtho (frozen solid then shattered by a blunt instrument)
RIP Cherit (eaten by an angry bear, that Fellian summoned into his prison cell)

Man I love these!
Looks like Mangh-Michtho is has a level 4 in spellcasting, correct. Can you update the stat block? GM's will need to know for the penalty.

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

4/12: DEMONSKAR LEGACY (PART ONE)

The heroes return to Cauldron to find the city in a state of near open rebellion. They have been absent for almost a month (after getting hopelessly lost in the Underdark) and are barely recognisable under all the grime and tangled hair. They send a message to The Cusp of Sunrise, arranging to reunite Zenith Splintershield with his ailing father, then return to the Temple of St. Cuthbert to bathe and change before their meeting with Celeste. The socialite does not seem overly concerned with Zenith's senseless state and rewards the heroes with the promised sum. When Celeste asks for the enchanted compass (that they used to find the wayward son) back, Fellian smoothly tells her that it was destroyed when he was eaten by the cryohydra. Outside, he explains to the others that since finding out about the magical birthmark on Zenith's face, he wonders if Celeste/Davked were entirely truthful about their interest in the missing dwarf - and he would like to be able to find Zenith again in future, should it become necessary to discuss his curious aberration in more detail.

Before beginning the next adventure, the party hit the high street to replace the gear/goods that were weakened/destroyed by the cryohydra's corrosive stomach acid. Fellian buys an Alchemist Kit (since he now has levels in Enchanter), new thieves tools, a longsword and a new shortbow and finally, some more studded leather (DR3). Fario replaces the rapiers he picked up in Bhal-Hamatugn with his usual longsword/shortsword combo and some splintmail (DR7). Patch buys an enormous greataxe (3D damage), a suit of banded mail (DR8) and a crossbow.

While they are gearing up, the heroes learn a little about the current unrest in the city. The common folk and merchant classes are up in arms after a series of ever-more demanding tax hikes and are staging a protest outside the Mayor's office. High Priestess Jenya Urikas asks Ruphus Laro to attend, as she has heard rumours that Alek Tercival (the current paladin of St. Cuthbert, who has been missing for even longer than the party) will be there. Meanwhile, Meerthan Elliothlorn tells Fellian/Fario that during their extended jaunt through the Underdark, he has exposed evidence indicating the existence of a sinister organisation acting from the shadows to bring about the doom of Cauldron. He can sense their hand in the recent political troubles and wants the Striders to be present at the demonstration to interfere with their plans, whatever these may be.

Outside the city hall, a vast crowd of jeering protesters has gathered. They are addressed by one Maavu Arlintal (a charismatic merchant), who informs them that in response to the current government's corruption and incompetence, Alek Tercival (acting as the people's champion) has challenged Commander Terseon Skellerang (of the City Watch) to a duel. (One of the most controversial uses for the money raised by the new taxes is that it is being used to pay for a large band of half-orc mercenaries, to supplement the existing constabulary.) When Sergeant Krewis, an officer of the city watch steps forward to arrest Maavu Arlintal, the protest quickly turns into a full fledged riot!
---
Human Rioters 40% (x loads)
BP. 10 / DR. 0 / Attack: 40% (improvised weapons, 1D/2)
---
Human Watchmen 55% (x 8)
BP. 15 / DR. 4 (ringmail) / Shield (+20% resistance) / Attack: 55% (shortsword, 1D+3)
---
Sergeant Krewis 65% (initiative. 2)
BP: 20 / DR. 4 (ringmail) / Shield (+20% resistance) / Attack 65% (longsword, 2D+1)
---
Breathdrinker (summoned creature)
STR. 45 BP. 50
DEX. 70 DR. 5
LOG. 65 IN. 3
WIL. 65 MV. 30 (fly)
ATTACK: as per Air Elemental in BBF core rules, also...
Fear Gaze: 65% (resist WIL -30%) or be paralysed
with fear.
Steal Breath: 65% (resist STR -30%), victim loses 3D BP, Breathdrinker gains same amount of BP.
Breathdrinker can use Illusion (Invisibility) on itself as a free action.
---
R1: Krewis continues trying to force a path through the mob so that he may arrest Maavu Arlintal for inciting disorder. Fario (who became friends with Commander Skellerang after they fought side by side in the battle of the Kopru ruins) moves to aid the idealistic young sergeant, who does not seem to realise the danger he is in. Fellian is about to follow when he detects a surge of magical energy from within the city hall. Having heard Maavu mention Alek Tercival (the temple's wayward paladin), Ruphus makes his way through the crowd towards the merchant's podium. Patch is roughly shoved by a rioter and instinctively lashes out, driving his armoured elbow into the man's face.
R2: The watchmen continue to push forward, using their shields to force their way through the hostile crowd. Reaching Maavu, Sergeant Krewis grapples with the merchant. As the protest grows bloodier, a howling wind begins to blow, forming a Breathdrinker demon that immediately begins to reap indiscriminate destruction upon the crowd! Fellian spots the summoner watching from a window high in the city hall, but cannot make out the villain's identity at this distance. The elven wizard casts Offensive Strike at the demon and it howls in rage as it is engulfed by the icy blast. Wounded, the Breathdrinker uses its Steal Breath power to leech the life out of some random protester's lungs, killing the unfortunate man and topping up the monster's dwindling BP. It then starts making its way towards Maavu. Meanwhile, Ruphus rolls his WIL to convince Sergeant Krewis that the merchant should be taken into the temple's custody. He rolls a CF and the young officer accuses Ruphus of being a collaborator and orders his men to seize him also! Fario successfully convinces Krewis that Ruphus is not the enemy.
R3: Trapped in the press of panicked protesters, Fellian cannot keep up with the purposeful Breathdrinker, so he casts Transport, enabling him to hover over the crowd and target the murderous creature. Fario raises both hand crossbows and fires them simultaneously at the elemental menace (both miss). Ruphus tries to Repel the Breathdrinker, but the casting fails (as the creature is too high a level to be effected), instead he grabs Maavu and drags him away from the fighting. The Breathdrinker picks up the struggling body of a guardsman and hurls it after the fleeing merchant.
R4: Ruphus casts Protection on Maavu in case the others are not able to hold the Breathdrinker back. Meanwhile, the creature snatches up Sergeant Krewis and literally sucks the life out of him, discarding the body as carelessly as a drunkard would an empty flagon. It then uses it Whirlwind attack to toss the characters surrounding it into the air, clearing a path to its target. Fellian uses Illusion to create several fake Maavu's running in different directions. The Breathdrinker falls for the ruse and flies after one of the illusory dopplegangers. Fario crawls over to the corpse of Sergeant Krewis, but there is nothing he can do to save the young officer. Patch reloads his crossbow and goes after the Breathdrinker.
R5: The Breathdrinker reaches one of Fellian's fake Maavu's and rends the image apart. Realising it has been fooled, the creature howls in fury and heads for the next image. Before it gets there, Patch puts another few crossbows through it and the elemental assassin is defeated.

Realising that the heroes actions likely saved his life, Maavu invites them to meet him later in the town of Redgorge, as he wants to get out of Cauldron before his enemies send any more assassins after him. He promises Ruphus that Alek Tercival will also be there to answer any questions that he may have about his long absence.
The rioting/looting continues for several hours. The party withdraw to the Temple of Saint Cuthbert to prepare for their trip to Redgorge. Some time later, scorched civilians arrive at the temple gates, begging for the heroes aid extinguishing a raging fire that threatens to destroy the city. Arriving at the scene, Fellian immediately realises that the fire is not natural. Moments later, two enormous fire elementals explode out of the burning building!

R1: Fellian summons 1D (10) Water Elementals and directs half of them to attack the Fire Elementals and the other 5 to douse the burning buildings. Fellian braves the heat to attack the closest elemental with his blades, he inflicts damage - but merely being close to the creature is enough to sear and blister his own flesh! Ruphus heals his comrade's burns and casts Protection to help safeguard Fario from further harm. While the second elemental busies itself with wanton destruction, the one in combat with the party hurls a fireball at Fario for 18 points of damage! As the elf reels away, beating out his burning clothes, Patch takes his place on the front line, laying into the huge elemental with his mighty great axe. Fellian then casts Offensive Strike to spray a jet of water over both the orc and the elemental, completely dousing the monster and soaking Patch to the bone. The dripping half orc gives the wizard a very wet thumbs up before loping after the second elemental.
R2: Rolling a CS, Fellian targets the second elemental with another stream of high pressure h2O, inflicting massive damage! Charging through the cloud of scalding steam, Fario and Patch barrel into the injured creature and hack it apart!

As the smoke clears, the heroes realise that the buildings targeted by the fire elementals were in the areas where most of the cities half-orc mercenaries were being quartered and a good many of them were killed in the attack. The party agree that the sooner they meet with Maavu and Alek, the sooner they will be able to piece together what is going on in Cauldron.
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 5
Fario Ellegoth: 4
Ruphus Laro: 4
Patch: 4
---
New Characters
Maavu Arlintal (NPC Friendly - Human Merchant, targeted for assassination)
Sergeat Krewis (NPC Friendly/Neutral - Human Watch Sergeant)
---
Obituaries
RIP Sergeant Krewis (drained of his life-force by a thirsty demon)

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

4/12: DEMONSKAR LEGACY (PART TWO)

The town of Redgorge sits on a narrow strip of land between a quarry of red pebble-gravel and a sheer cliff-face. Having agreed to meet Maavu Arlintal in 'The Redhead Miner' tavern, the party head inside, where a bard poses them a riddle; "What can bind with water, sand and lime?"

"Mortar." replies Ruphus Laro, who had already been told the password by Maavu.

The bard introduces himself as Honest Minstrel and leads them to a room beneath the taproom, where they are to meet The Foreman, leader of the Chisel (a secret organisation of merchants and artisans opposed to the corruption rife within the current government of Cauldron). Maavu Arlintal is also present, but Alek Tercival is not. His absence troubles Ruphus, as he travelled to Redgorge specifically to speak with the missing paladin. Beginning without him, The Foreman echoes Meerthan Elliothlorn's fears that some sinister puppeteer is pulling Mayor Navalant's strings and disaster looms large on Cauldron's horizon. Honest Minstrel suggests that whoever this mysterious mastermind may be, he seems to have the Last Laugh in his pocket, as well as the Mayor. The Chisel's informants within the city have learnt that Commander Skellerang is planning an attack on Redgorge to wipe out The Chisel, who will serve as scapegoats for all of the recent political troubles. If the invasion is to be prevented, Alek Tercival must be found so that he may challenge Commander Skellerang's authority. Last the Chisel saw the missing paladin, he was heading into the jungle, muttering to himself about a headless demon. The locals know there is a landmark nearby matching this description and is the best place to start their search for Alek Tercival.

To reach the statue of the headless demon, the party must traverse a turgid jungle river. Along the way, they are ambushed by a group of gnoll hunters, who open fire on their little boat from the vine-choked banks!

Surprise Round: The three gnolls on the northern bank open fire, most of their arrows splash into the water or hit the boat itself, but one lucky shot strikes Ruphus Laro, penetrating his chainmail shirt. A moment later, another arrow hits the young cleric in the back - as the gnolls on the opposite bank open fire. Another two arrows bounce off Patch's sturdy armour. Unable to clearly see their attackers, Fellian casts Offensive Strike against a likely looking stretch of foliage, creating a huge, smoking hole in the jungle. One of the gnolls was caught on the edge of the blast and is wounded. Fario finishes the job with his hand crossbow then grabs a conventie4nt creeper and swings across to the bank. Ruphus casts Heal on himself and breaks off the arrows sticking out of his torso.
R1: Fellian casts Transport on the boat itself, causing it to rise from the river and float above the trees, where the gnolls will have a harder time hitting them. Patch leans over the edge and fires down into the jungle. There is a satisfying screech as his bolt finds a target amidst the leaves. The half-orc ducks out of the way as the gnolls return fire, several arrows hit the hull of the floating boat. Ruphus - who is not good with heights - tries not to be sick. Meanwhile, on ground level, Fario engages two gnolls in melee.
R2: The boat rocks alarmingly as Patch moves around to find a firing line and Ruphus leans out briefly to be violently ill. One of the gnolls wails in disgust as he is covered in sick. Oblivious to the cleric's discomfort, Patch cheers as he hits another of the sneaky creatures. Fellian rains fiery meteors down on the southern bank, hitting the final two gnolls lurking there. Fario cuts down one of the two creatures on the northern bank and the other begins to back away. The surviving gnolls flee into the jungle and Ruphus begs Fellian to take the boat back down onto the river.

Soon after their encounter with the gnolls, the party reach the statue they were told about in Redgorge and disembark, they soon locate a well-travelled trail through the lush foliage and follow it deeper into the jungle. On route, they encounter a tribe of were-baboon barbarians and a hungry dire tiger. Camping out in a convenient cage, the party find the skeleton of the previous occupant (possibly an ogre) propped up in one corner. It's not as blatant as writing 'Alek Tercival was here' across the wall in ogre-blood, but Ruphus gets the distinct impression that they are still on the paladin's trail. The party soon reach the Demonskar, the air is thick with sulphuric pollutants. They reach a heavy iron portcullis obstructing the entrance to a series of caves, once a spell weaver laboratory called Vaprak's Voice, now a filthy ogre hold. Looks like Alek Tercival has been hanging out with the wrong crowd....

Two vast iron pipes protrude from the ground near the entrance to the dungeon. Every 10 minutes or so, they issue a deafening roar and a gout of sulphuric steam. The route down to the cave is treacherous underfoot. Fario slips (failed Dex roll), but Fellian (who rolled a CS) catches his fellow Strider before he tumbles into the acidic pool at the foot of the cliff. As they descend, the air grows ever fouler until it is nigh unbreathable. Ruphus is nauseated/fatigued (-20%) by the unwholesome atmosphere, the others quickly grow accustomed to the vile stench (they have experienced worse any time Patch eats too much fibre).
Fario and Patch work together to lift the portcullis (it does make a loud screeching noise, but the sound is masked by the roaring pipes outside) and the party enter the dungeon. Following the chains, the heroes find the winch mechanism in an adjacent chamber. The area is (un)guarded by a snoozing hill giant. They can hear more hill giants arguing along the northern passage, so the party take the only other exit from the room. This leads them into what may have once been a throne room, but is now a den for a coven of three loathsome hags! They are discussing the fate of Alek Tercival as the party file into the chamber. Ruphus demands that they reveal what they know about the paladin's whereabouts, but the hideous crones are in no mood to be cooperative.
---
Green Hags
STR. 45 BP. 30
DEX. 60 DR. 5 (each hag wears a Ring of Protection [DR5] )
LOG. 80 IN. 2
WIL. 60 MV. 6
ATTACKS: Claw-like Fingernails (60%, 1D)
Draining Touch (60%, STR-30% to resist losing 3D Strength,
which is recovered 20% per night's rest)
Between them, the hags know pretty much every spell (80%)
---
Hill Giants
STR. 120 BP. 80
DEX. 60 DR. 6
LOG. 20 IN. 1
WIL. 60 MV. 16
ATTACKS: Greatclub (80%, 2D+12)
Throw Rock (60%, 3D)
---
R1: The first hag (Tribata) turns herself invisible, while the second (Sminelpa) casts Charm against Patch, hoping to turn the brawny half-orc against his allies. Poor weak-willed Patch has no chance (duration 4D = 24 rounds?!?) and turns apologetically on his friends. Fellian casts Entangle to summon magical chains that bind Patch to the spot (duration 28 rounds). He then targets the hags with a barrage of Offensive Strikes and utterly fails to hit any of them. Fario raises his two hand crossbows and shoots the two visible hags, discards the spent weapons and draws his swords. The elven sage charges across the room and slashes Sminelpa with the long blade. Ruphus follows suit, raining blows upon the third hag (Olomasta) and caving in her ugly face before she cast a single spell. The other two sisters do not respond well to the violent death of their witchy sibling. Sminelpa tries to cast Offensive Strike and catch the heroes in a cone of emerald flames, but rolls a CF and spontaneously combusts (2D damage per round, bypass armour). Tribata inflicts her draining touch upon the young cleric of St. Cuthbert, reducing his Strength skill from 65% > 45% (no damage bonus, HP down to 26). The sound of combat has drawn the attention of the hill giants that the party bypassed to reach this area, the party have mere moments before the two remaining hags receive some serious reinforcements!
R2: Sminelpa takes fire damage, the flesh melts from her bones leaving Fario facing off against a screaming skeleton enveloped in smoke and flaming rags. The elven warrior-sage plants his boot in the hag's chest and propels her backwards into the steaming cauldron in the centre of the chamber. She emerges a moment later, shrieking and clawing at the air, only for Ruphus to bop her on the head as though playing some sort of horrible Whack-A-Witch arcade game. Fellian uses Wizard Eye to locate the last (invisible) hag and sends a shower of razor sharp icicles in her general direction. This attack inflicts 35+ damage and the last crone is killed, her corpse much resembling an arctic hedgehog, covered in hundreds of icy needles. Ruphus laments that had they taken a hostage, they might have been persuades to share their knowledge of Alek Tercival. The party have no time to argue, as several furious Hill Giants barrel into the party's flank.
R3: With the death of the hags, Patch is restored to his own, cheerfully homicidal self and Fellian spends an action to release him from the arcane chains. One of the newly arrived giants swings an enormous club at Ruphus' head, the young clric rolls out of the way of what would likely have been a gruesome decapitation. Patch charges another giant and begins hacking away at his ankles with his mighty great-axe, inflicting a surprising amount of damage.
R4: Ruphus rolls a CF to attack, slips and falls prone. One of the giants raises an enormous foot and prepares to squash the little cleric.... Fario ALSO rolls a CF, as he runs to help Ruphus, one of the giants snatches him up in its meaty paw! Fellian casts Charm on one of the giants and commands it to help fight the other giants! It hits the fellow holding Fario, causing the giant to drop the elven warrior-sage to the ground and rub his bruised noggin. Fellian hits the giants about to stomp on Ruphus with an icy bolt, giving the cleric enough time to regain his feet. Patch continues to attack a giant's knees, but rolls a CF and the shaft of his great axe snaps in twain!
R5: Casting aside the two broken halves of his useless weapon, Patch clambers up the inside of the giant's trousers and begins using his enormous testicles as a punching bag! Yeah, Patch's player is the man! The giant tries to hit the half-orc with his massive club and ends up smacking himself in a very delicate area. The giant goes cross eyed and falls over, cradling his groin. Patch emerges and rushes towards the next giant, eager to repeat the process. Together, Fario and Ruphus reduce another giant to 3 BP and it surrenders, casting down its greatclub and falling to its knees with a crash that shakes the whole complex. The other two giants continue to batter away at each other until one of them falls. The victor looks around, sees the other two giants have been incapacitated and throws down its own weapon.
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 5
Fario Ellegoth: 4
Ruphus Laro: 4
Patch: 6
---
New Characters
The Foreman (NPC Friendly - Human, Leader of the Chisel)
Honest Minstrel (NPC Friendly - Human, Member of the Chisel)
Tribata (NPC Hostile - Humanoid, One of three Green Hags dwelling in Vaprak's Voice)
Sminelpa (NPC Hostile - Humanoid, One of three Green Hags dwelling in Vaprak's Voice)
Olomasta (NPC Hostile - Humanoid, One of three Green Hags dwelling in Vaprak's Voice)
---
Obituaries
RIP Tribata (perforated with thousands of icy splinters, courtesy of Fellian)
RIP Sminelpa (Accidentally set herself on fire, then drowned in her own bubbling cauldron)
RIP Olomasta (Skull smashed in by righteous Ruphus)

I love this creature!

Wow, thanks for cleaning up those monster stats, Larry! :D
I tend to just eyeball it as I go, lol. :D

In retrospect, I would probably drop Lightning Chaos and Effect Weather, as the Breathdrinker is more of a aummoned assassin than a random elemental menace.

mikeawmids thanks! I updated the creature, how's it look now? Is the image fitting?

Absolutely! :D

BAREBONES SHACKLED CITY

4/12: DEMONSKAR LEGACY (PART THREE)

While the two surviving Hill Giants flee the dungeon, the one that surrendered tells the party that it's name is Muggo and pleads with them to spare his life. The heroes decide that having a pet giant around to carry their gear and knock down walls would be a great convenience. Muggo joins the party!

Forging on, the party finally catch up with Alek Tercival, who is seated on a chair fashioned from white stone, staring into the fogged surface of a dark mirror dominating one wall of the chamber. Ruphus immediately moves up to the comatose paladin and tries to shake him out of his stupor. Meanwhile, Fellian and Fario examine the large looking glass, while Patch and Muggo lurk at the back of the room, comparing the colour of the bogies plucked from their respective nostrils.
Peering into the mirror, the two Strider's establish that the glass is actually a gate into the Plane of Mirrors, through which they see a ragged, unshaven (yet vaguely familiar) figure locked up in a cell. A moment later, the elves recognise this man is Alek Tercival, the missing paladin of St. Cuthbert. But if Alek is on the other side of the mirror, who is it on this side, wearing his face?
Realising the game is up, the fake Alek Tercival allows the illusion to drop, revealing a humanoid figure with reflective skin that ripples like mercury with the movement of his body. This is Gaflon the Nerra (Mirror Man) and he will not allow the party to intrude any further in his master Nabthatoron's plans!
--
Nerra/Mirror Men
STR. 60 BP. 25
DEX. 75 DR. 4
LOG. 65 IN. 2
WIL. 65 MV. 9
ATTACKS: Long Mirror Shard (60%, 2D+2)
Mirror Shards (75%, 4D/2, targets cone)
Mirror Walk (move through mirrors)
Mirror Image (as Illusion, assume form of person reflected)
---
R1: Fellian and Fario attack the Mirror Man and the Nerra shatters into a thousand slivers of mirror bright glass. Ruphus notices three more of the creatures creeping out of the huge mirror! They are all wielding shards of glass the length of a longsword! Both Fellian and Fario take minor damage. Patch hurls himself at the mirror, hoping to shatter the glass before any more Nerra come skulking through it. To the half-orc's surprise, his axe meets no resistance and he falls through the surface of the mirror into the realm beyond. Muggo cries out as his new friend disappears, the Hill Giant takes a clumsy swing at one of the Mirror Men, but misses.
R2: One of the Nerra casts Offensive Strike and targets the party with a barrage of deadly mirror shards that penetrate even the thickest armour! Fellian tries (and fails) to use magic to push one of the Mirror Men back through the looking glass. Meanwhile, Patch finds himself lost in a seemingly endless maze of pentagonal rooms.
R3: Fellian sends a second Nerra to its doom, knocking it back through the mirror portal, where it shatters upon impact with the floor. Fario destroys the third Mirror Man and the fourth Nerra flees back through the mirror, abandoning the fight.

Leaving Muggo behind (the Hill Giant is too large to fit through the mirror), the party pursue the final Nerra into the Spectrum/Mirror Maze. Despite entering at the same time, each of the heroes finds them-self alone in the labyrinth, yet they can still distantly hear one another. Following a series of Logic rolls, Fario is the first to escape the maze after what seemed like a whole day of aimless wandering. An instant later, Fellian comes staggering out - although he swears he was in the maze for over 48 hours. Patch comes within an inch of the exit, then blunders right past it and disappears back into the hear of the maze. Ruphus is the next to emerge, looking hungry and haggard. When Patch eventually tumbles through the exit, he looks as though he has been deprived of food/water for several weeks - although it barely seems like a moment has passed since Ruphus emerged. The party get the distinct impression that time does not run normally in the mirror maze and hope there is an alternative way out. (Both Ruphus and Patch are suffering from dehydration/starvation and are Fatigued [-20% all actions] until they rest/recover)

Checking their surroundings, the party realise they are not alone. A frail, pitiful figure is huddled in one corner of the room, gibbering nonsense to himself in a raspy voice. Ruphus finds the man hauntingly familiar, before realising it is actually Alek Tercival, the missing paladin of St. Cuthbert whom everyone has been looking for! Ruphus tries to engage him in conversation, but the haggard, sallow-faced man seems mad as a spoon. Ruphus casts Cleanse to cure his insanity and Alek is soon able to communicate sensibly. Before Tercival can shed any light on his ill fated quest, a terrifying demon appears from nowhere, booming: "You shall not save your friend, mortals! The time of peace is at an end!"
---
ALEK TERCIVAL (weakened state)
STR. 55 BP. 35 GEAR: Banded Mail (DR8) / Shield (+20% physical
DEX. 60 DR. 8 resistance) / Longbow (2D+3, range 100) /
LOG. 30 IN. 1 Cloak of Resistance (DR5) / Ring of...
WIL. 45 MV. 8 ... Sustenance (+5 BP)
ATTACKS: Holy Longsword - 60% (2D+1 / glows in the dark)
Longbow - 60% (2D+3)
---
NATHATORN (GLABREZU DEMON)
STR. 85 BP. 60
DEX. 75 DR. 8
LOG. 75 IN. 3
WIL. 75 MV. 8
ATTACKS: Pincers - 85% (3D+6)
Bite - 85% (4D+4)
MAGIC: 75% - Transport (as teleport) / Veil (as invisibility & mirror image) / Charm (as confusion) / Dispel / Entangle (as reverse gravity)
---
R1: Ruphus casts Protection on both himself and Fario, boosting their physical resistance by 10% for the duration of the battle, they are both surrounded by a protective holy aura. The Glabrezu barges past the other heroes, determined to reach Alek and slay the paladin before he manages to escape. Fellian casts Offensive Strike, the demon avoids the attack - but he doesn't avoid the follow up blast, which catches him in the chest and throws him across the chamber! Alek Tercival drives his holy sword through the demon's armour for further injury!
R2: Nabthatoron casts Reverse Gravity (as Entangle), both Fario and Alek Tercival are immediately thrown against the ceiling and held their by great pressure, the demon then goes after Fario with its terrible pincers, reducing the elven wizard to 4 BP! Trapped between the demon's vice-like claws, Fellian throws several bolts of sorcerous fire into the creatures face from point blank range, with no noticeable effect.... Ruphus casts Heal on Fellian (back up to 20 BP), then smacks Nabthatoron around the head with the holy mace he inherited/looted of the former High Priest. Patch strikes the demon a mighty blow but inflicts zero damage, as his greataxe is not blessed or magical or in any way remarkable.
R3: Patch is dealt a Joker during initiative (we've started using playing cards for initiative (like in Savage Worlds) as I hate tracking initiative any other way), so he can automatically succeed on any one roll this turn as though he had rolled a critical success [house rule]. Patch delivered a powerful blow to the Glabrezu demon (even after reducing the damage by 50% [non-magical/blessed attack] it was still enough to finish him off) banishing his from this plane of existence for the foreseeable future! Hurrah! :D

As soon as the demon has been defeated, both Fario and Alek Tercival fall back to the ground, as the reverse gravity effect disappears with its caster. His eyes are wild and blood foams from his mouth - it looks like the paladin suffered MAJOR internal damage when he collided with the roof of the chamber. Alek grabs Ruphus' arm and pulls the cleric close enough to hear his dying words: "There is naught left for you in Cauldron, heroes. To return is to enter your own graves and to bring doom upon all you love! Seek the Sign of the Smoking Eye if you wish to save them all...." and with that Alek Tercival passes from this mortal coil.
---
End of Session
Development Points awarded;
Fellian Shard: 5
Fario Ellegoth: 5
Ruphus Laro: 6
Patch: 5
---
New Characters
Nabthatoron (NPC Hostile - Glazrezu Demon - responsible for the madness of Alek Tercival)
---
Obituaries
RIP Nabthatoron (defeated by Patch, proving you don't need a fancy-pants magic weapon to get the job done!)
RIP Alek Tercival (killed during final confrontation with his demonic tormentor)

I know nothing about "SHACKLED CITY", these are brilliant!

1. What mechanic did you use for, "Ruphus soon becomes winded and falls out of the chase."
2. What is the spellcaster level of Nerra/Mirror Men in order to resist the illusion. I assume it only effects sight?
3. "we've started using playing cards for initiative" - does the Leader grant +1 cards for Tactics?

Observation:

• Mirror Shards (75%, 4D/2, targets cone)

I believe 4D/2 is the same as 2D.

These are really great to read! Please keep 'em coming!

1: I was running that chase using the principals of the chase system from Savage Worlds, Ruphus failed to roll under his strength and stayed where he was, while the others rolled well enough to move forward (and even catch up with Twindaggers).

2: I imagined they would be level 3? I admit, I am just copying the powers across from the Shackled World PDF and fleshing them out if/when they actually get used in combat.

3: That hasn't come up yet, but yes, that would probably be how I'd rule.

4: I think I said 4D because I was treating it as a third level OF spell targeting multiple opponents. But yeah, same difference.

Another house rule I've implemented is that while players can take as many actions as they like (subject to the multi-action penalty), they cannot keep doing the same thing over and over.

For example, the mage cannot keep casting OF and the fighter cannot keep attacking with his axe. He would have to attack with his axe, bash with his shield, kick sand in the enemies eyes, etc. Just to keep things dynamic. :D

That's neat.

Force those unimaginative players! :-)
(It is neat idea)

It's also one of many ways I've tried to stop spellcasters spamming Offensive Strike in combat.

Makes sense, if a warrior can't swing a sword more than once, I guess a caster can call forth magical ice.

You'd tend to roll more average damage and have a higher minimum damage. The equivalent of 4d5 rather than 2d10 (To use old school dice shorthand) One of the GM's here prefers d5 rolls to rolling damage and halving it or rolling half as many dice. It's a relatively minor difference, but one he likes. Since I flattened OS damage I don't have that issue. hehehe