Pontic Problems

The Twelve Foes of Rome Campaign

The next chapter of the campaign.

Another sire of the famed Bellicosus family has a chance to win renown. This time, the Senate sends him east to deal with King Mithridates of Pontus.

Battle of Bithynia

Mithridates invades Bithynia. Bellicosus defends this Roman ally.

The forces involved:

• Bellicosus: 2 legions (elite, armored), cavalry, and allied spears
• Mithridates: Cavalry, pikes (armored), spears, slingers, and scythed chariots (elite)

Note: Camera was charging so I scribbled down a battle map then transcribed it.

1. Roman cavalry advances but gets cut down by slingers.
2. The Pontic cavalry takes out a Roman legion but is spent.
3. The scythed chariots flank and rout the other legion.

Battle of Chalcedon

Bellicosus retreats to Chalcedon and sets up defenses on and around a hill outside the city.

Same forces as above but one legion is downgraded from elite to normal and the Romans get a hill.

Note: I probably should have downgraded the armor instead of elite. Or better, I should have put the spears on the hill so it could take advantage of the defensive bonus.

1. The scythed chariots and Roman cavalry take each other out.
2. Roman spears defeat the slingers but Mithridates rallies them. A legion defeats the pikes.
3. This time, the slingers defeat the spears.
4. Pontic cavalry rout a legion.

Aftermath

A disaster for Bellicosus, who earns the sobriquet "the Least." It will take a better general to defeat Mithridates.

Explorations

The Keep on the Borderlands Campaign

I'm changing the way I document the campaign. No more narrative, just some notes. I'll explain why below.

I just use the characters' first initials. For reference, the party consists of Aldric the fighter, Corvin the mystic, Lothariel the elf, and Rook the rogue.

The Second Foray

March N through woods. No event.

Turn W. Enter fens. Camp for the night.

R is on guard. Hears something and quietly warns the others. Lizardmen attack.

Hard fight against lizardmen. Kept hitting but had trouble penetrating the lizardmen’s tough skin (DR prevented damage). Ultimately, they cut down the enemy. All but C wounded. Used heals and bandages.

Return to Keep – no encounters.

The Third Foray

Head S, past the area where they fought the bandits. No encounter.

Turn E, into grasslands. Meet some human farmers. Get supplies. Spend the night safely.

Turn N. Meet a hermit. Encounter a mountain lion. Just then, hermit backstabs C, who goes down. A and L drive off the lion. R struck down by hermit. A wounds hermit, who runs away.

Revive and bandage C and R. Return to Keep.

The Fourth Foray

Travel N through woods then W into grassy plain. No encounters.

Travel E through woods. No encounters,

Turn S into hills. Run into a goblin band. C runs amok. Then A and L finish them off.

Turn W into wooded hills. Discover a ravine and the Caves!

My campaign map

Next time, they begin to explore the Caves of Chaos!

GAME NOTES

I decided to get a little lazy, primarily due to the way I am playing and recording results. Previously, I played on the tabletop and recorded notes in a journal. Then I transformed the notes into a narrative that I posted.

However, I also used the computer for some recording - specifically the game map. Then I thought, why not just put the characters on the computer. I can just play at my desk (using dice - I'm not going totally digital), I started a Word journal with my game notes. I figure it will just be easier to copy my notes to this blog.

The Dark Wood

Keep on the Borderlands Campaign

In the tavern at the Keep, our heroes learn that bands of monsters have been raiding in the area. It is said that they have a lair somewhere nearby. Reputedly, there is also plenty of treasure. This piques the interest of our heroes. They decide to find the lair, end the monster threat, and pocket the treasure.

The party begins exploring the region around the Keep

First Foray

The party begins its exploration. They head west into some woods. They find an area where thick spider webs run from tree to tree.

"Be careful," Lothariel warns. "There are tales of spiders the size of a large dog. Their poison can even incapacitate a human."

Not long afterwards, they hear clicking from the trees. There is one of the giant spiders!

It leaps at Aldric. Lothariel looses an arrow; it strikes the creature right in the eye. It bounces off Aldric's shield. The fighter rushes forward and stabs the monstrosity. It dies.

Suddenly, another spider lands on Aldric's shoulder. It bites him, but he shakes it loose before it injects its poison.

Rook rushes to help. The spider turns and bites him. Aldric tries stabbing it but also gets bitten. Finally, he slashes the monster, chopping deep into its vitals. It also dies.

The party finds the spider's lair. There are skeletons strewn about. One was a human fighter. He has a battered shield, but Aldric takes a liking to it.

"With a little love, this will be a fine shield," he declares.

With Aldric and Rook badly wounded, the party heads back to the keep. Corvin stocks up on medical supplies for a longer journey.

Dungeon Crawl Rules Notes

Notes about the rules I'm using for my Keep on the Borderlands campaign.

Characters

I started building the characters using the rules from Swords and Six-Siders. Then I started making some tweaks.

• I don't record all their attributes. I only make note of any exceptional ones that give bonuses or penalties.
• I don't roll for hit points. Instead, I give fighter types 3 hp and the others 2 hp.
• I record the attack and damage bonuses direct from the rules
• I don't bother with buying equipment; I just assume that they can get most of what they want. I do roll for armor. For example, Aldric the fighter could start with medium armor on a roll of 4-6. (He failed).
• I record armor and weapons but I don't bother with all the doo dads. If something is needed, I'll assume they have it. If it is unusual, I might require a roll.
• One thing I do record are bandages. They can be used to heal wounds after a fight. The Party started with 3 bandages and can add D3 when visiting the Keep.
• Damage resistance comes direct from the rules.
• I've added LUCK as a party resource. The party can trade it to negate a wound. They start with 1 per character and can add 1 at the end of a successful mission.

Game Play

• I use the monster stats from S&SS, specifically AC, damage resistance, and damage bonus.
• I don't track individual hit points for swarms of minions. Instead, I have a total HP pool. When it is 0, the enemy is defeated. I usually give them 4-6 hp. For individual monsters, I use hp = monster level. I may add hp for particularly tough monsters.
• Characters attack as per S&SS - roll >= AC to hit.
• I do a damage roll - 2 or less = glancing blow (no hp loss), 3-5 = 1 hp damage, 6+ = 2 hp damage. Damage bonuses and damage resistance modify the roll.
• Monsters do not roll to hit. Instead, characters make a defense roll. They need to roll the enemy's AC or better, modified by any defense bonuses.
• Characters gain defense bonuses from shields or dexterity. As I think about it, I will need to give a bonus based on level as well.
• Against swarms, each character must make a defense roll. They only roll once, even if outnumbered.
• Big monsters can make 2 attacks per turn.

Bandit Attack

Keep on the Borderlands Campaign

After the encounter with the giant crab, the caravan sets out for the Keep. Later in the day, they find themselves traversing hilly ground. Lothariel notices a glint of metal on a distant hill.

"We're being watched," she tells Scar, the guard captain.

Shortly after, the caravan is winding through a ravine, As it nears the end, they see a roadblock.

One man calls from the barrier. "Stop! Throw down your weapons and abandon your wagons. Or else!"

"Bandits!" calls Scar. "We need to fight"

Then they hear battle cries from behind them. More bandits!

Scar commands our heroes to take the ones in the rear. He, Mutt, and Geoff will deal with the barrier.

⚔ 

The hiss of crossbow bolts pierces the air. Corvin tries but fails to cast a shield spell. Lothariel pulls out her bow and shoots down a bandit. Aldric and Rook charge forward. A bolt buries itself in Aldric's shield. Rook manages to knock one aside with his twin blades.

Corvin casts another spell, this time freezing a bandit in place. Then there is a clash as the two sides come together. With his dazzling swordplay, Rook slays an enemy. But he and Aldric take wounds. Then Rook strikes down the last bandit.

⚔

Then they hear a cry. Turning, they see that Mutt and Geoff are down. Scar is battling 3 bandits near the roadblock. Our heroes rush to his aid.

Corvin casts his last spell - a magical bolt that slays his foe. The party then joins the melee, They hack down the last bandit.

⚔

They tend to Mutt and Geoff (both thankfully still alive), tie up the frozen bandit, and proceed on their way. Night draws near but the caravan continues on, driven by fear of bandits. Near midnight, they arrive at the Keep. Safety!

Caravan to the Keep

Keep on the Borderlands Campaign

It had been a long, boring journey from the civilized lands to the Keep on the Borderland. Over that time, four plucky individuals, hired as guards to protect a small caravan, have grown close.

Aldric, a fighting man, Corvin, a mystic, Rook, a rogue, and Lothariel, an elven pathfinder. formed the core of the guard. They were led by a drunken veteran named Scar and two inept fighters, Mutt and Geoff.

⚔

It is morning. The caravan is camped by a small lake, about a day and a half from the Keep.

Our heroes hear a cry from a servant girl drawing water from the lake. A giant grab emerged from the waters and tried to nab her with its massive claws. She ran, screaming for help.

Lothariel unleashes an arrow, but it ricochets off the hard carapace. Aldric and Rook rush past, interposing themselves between the crab and the girl. The crab strikes them, wounding them with its claws.

Lothariel drops her bow, draw her blade, and rushes into the fray. While Aldric keeps it busy, she ducks underneath it, striking upwards into its vitals. Again and again it plunges deep, until the crab shudder and collapses. Lotahriel barely escapes being crushed.

The Campaign Begins

As I mentioned previously, I'm beginning a new dungeon crawl campaign using the classic D&D module, Keep on the Borderlands.

Reading through it, I noticed that the player characters must first find the Caves of Chaos before delving into the dungeon. So I decided to create a "hex crawl" (although I'm using squares). Along the way, they might encounter wandering monsters and other denizens of the region.

Here is my hex crawl map.

The party begins in square A4. I rolled randomly for terrain and it came up as fens. I also rolled for a wandering monster. I used the table in the module and got a giant shrew. That seemed silly so I changed it to something more water-related - a crab. I also changed the terrain to a lake to fit the story of someone going for water.

The Characters

The characters may seem similar - I initially created them for my experiment with Order of Eventide. I just converted them to Swords & Six-Siders stats.

I decided to create the caravan backstory to give a reason why they end up in this isolated outpost. I thought that a guard of 4 seemed a bit light, so I added some NPCs. I made them somewhat useless so that the party needs to do the heavy lifting.

And with that, they're off!

A New Campaign

Get ready - I will be journeying to

I decided to start a new dungeon crawl campaign, and I'll be using this classic D&D module. I chose it based on commentary from Professor Dungeon Master. Here he recounts a campaign he ran.

I am heavily revising my Micro Dungeon rules. I am using Swords & Six-Siders as the basis for my design. This way, I can just use the S&SS monster stats (and it is easy to convert from D&D to S&SS)

Stay tuned!