PreambleA September of Short Adventuresis an OSR Challenge initiated by Matt over at the Asshat Paladinsblog. You can click on the Moustache Dragon over on the right-handside-bar (just above Features) to learn more about all of this stufffrom Matt directly. All of our 25 (possibly more...) entries areformatted along the lines of what Matt calls the Get Ready, GetSet, Go! format. In a nut-shell, this approach breaks eachadventure into a Title, Three escalating sections of adventuredetails (the Ready section is limited to an elevator pitch only 2sentences...), and a final catch-all section for any NPC notes/stats.The idea is to keep it short, simple, easy to read without any maps,drawings, diagrams or 8X10 glossies. Keep description to a minimum,avoid lengthy exposition, and no casts of thousands -- unless it's aninvading horde of three-eyed orcs or goblins riding purple wombats.We're also going to aim to keep thingsgeneric, setting agnostic and thus portable or adaptable to anycampaign/setting using the particular rules-set we'll be using in anygiven September Short Adventure such as Mutant Future,Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry (White Box), etc.FreeRulesLabyrinth Lord:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.htmlMutant Future:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.htmlSwords and Wizardry (White Box):http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/whitebox.htm
SeptemberShort Adventure Number 18
Title: Sitting Pretty
Rules: Labyrinth Lord
Ready
The passage ahead opens out onto aprecipitous ledge with one side being a sheer wall going upwards intothe gloom for more feet than you have rope, poles or light. The otherside is a rough, ragged slope that stops abruptly as it tumbles downto what you think might be a subterranean river far, far below.Across the ledge is another opening flanked by a pillar on each sidethat support a shelf-like lintel atop of which there appears to besome sort of grotesquely leering statue.
Set
A quick examination will reveal thatthe opening on the party's end is pretty much the same as the one allthe way across the ledge. They match, more or less.
The ledge is wide enough for only oneperson to walk along at a time.
It is precisely level and nicely pavedwith cobblestones recovered from an ancient villa that was toppledunderground by volcanic eruptions ages ago.
The air is fresh and even a bit chillyno doubt due to the underground river down below.
Go!
The statues arejust that; statues. The nest of gargoyles is located about40-50' down the sheer face of the vertical drop overlooking the riverbelow. They will wait until half the party is across the ledge orstrung-out along the ledge and are just simply too good a target toignore before making themselves known.
The gargoyle youngwill take up positions near the larger statues atop either lintel andlob rocks at the party from the piles they have already preparedahead of time. The sporadic hail of rocks will do 1d4 damage/turnrandomly assigned to a different party member, unless you care toroll to hit each one in succession. Your choice.
The adults willseek to grab hold of anyone they can catch and dive backwards off ofthe ledge so that even if their victim breaks free, they'll fall intothe river. Or provide a target for attempted mid-air capture byanother gargoyle.
Notes / NPCs
Gargoyles(2d4) [AL C, MV 90' (30')/Fly 150' (50'), AC 5, HD 4, #ATK 4 (2claws, 1 bite, 1 horn), DG 1d3/1d3/1d6/1d4, SV F8, ML 11] (LLp. 75) In the event that the gargoyles areout-matched by the PCs, they will withdraw to their cave-nest belowand wait for 2d4 hours and then consider either tracking them downfor an ambush in order to avenge the deaths of their fellows (60%),or go on with their lives, put the player's attack behind them, andtry to forget that the whole sorry thing ever happened.
Gargoylettes(1) [AL C, MV 60' (20') Fly 120' (40'), AC 6, HD 1, #ATK 4 (2 claws,1 bite), DG 1d2/1d2/1d3/1d2, SV F2, ML 8] Special: The kids won'tnormally engage in melee except as a last resort. They generally hurlsmall rocks at intruders as specified above.
Cool. As an aside, I may have to steal "the Gargoylettes" as the name of a female vocal group in the City. ;)
ReplyDelete@Trey: That'd be great good fun! Go for it!
ReplyDeleteVery nice work (throughout the month). I'm sure to steal a few of these from time to time as vignettes. I think this one in particular has drag and drop potential.
ReplyDelete@Peter Robbins: Thanks! We'd love to hear how it went if/when you -- or any of our other readers -- use any/adapt any of our Short Adventures. We're always curious what people do with this stuff and would love to hear form folks who are using it in their games!
ReplyDeleteWhat I think this challenge has proven (to me at least), is to at stop as a GM/designer and "think in vignettes". These smaller hooks can be massaged easier into the cracks and crags of a sandbox as needed. Or even within a plot line, if rails are involved in your campaign. Basically, thinking in terms of dragging and dropping within your own work, by asking yourself if this is something someone ELSE could plop into their own. Anyhow, I digress... I'll let you know how I salt and pepper this one :) to add campaign seasoning before cooking.
ReplyDelete