State of Play: Week of 7-24-22
B12: "Queen's Harvest" is back; peril in Brighthaven!; and the "house campaign" begins...
Last week gave us a new session of B12: Queen’s Harvest, as well as private game reports from Conquering the Barbarian Altanis and Brighthaven (I play Völundr the elf).
In addition, I’m starting a solo-play house-campaign, exploring a procedurally-generated expansion of the Haunted Keep, from the Moldvay version of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook (pp. B55-60)
Please note: The following analysis is my opinion. The Basic rules themselves give DMs (and groups of players) permission to change any rules they want to change (p. B3). To have some basis for comparison, however, I’m using the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook, edited by Tom Moldvay, and the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Rulebook, edited by Zeb Cook and Stephen Marsh, as a common frame of reference. Your opinions may, of course, differ.
Week of 7-24-22
Public Game(s)
Of Steam, Steel, & Murder | “BX Dungeons & Dragons B12 Queen's Harvest session 4”
System: B/X
Format: Livestream
Style: Multiplayer
Platform(s): Twitch, YouTube
Date: 7-29-22
Summary: This session was heavy on role-play and exposition, as the party digs into rumors about what might be going on at the old keep in the mountains. Mostly, this takes place in a tavern, where the new lord (the magic-user Schtolteheim, played by Dion), hobnobs with the common folk. He gets the most useful information from Zeke, an itinerant trapper, who has very definite opinions about nobles, drinking, and goblin hordes.
Hits
What I liked most about this session:
Zeke and his crew are fun NPCs, and Dion does a great job playing Schtolteheim’s interaction with a social class far beneath those with whom he likely spent time as an aristocrat in Averoigne.
DM Bert turns what could be a run-of-mill encounter into something more, by treating insults-leading-to-bar-fights as a choreographed social ritual, native to the region.
Not everyone in the area is going to roll over and accept the new lord without question. The player characters will have to prove they have the public’s general welfare at heart, or they may have a tough time collecting taxes for Duke Stefan!
Misses
What I thought could have been improved:
Bert really leans into ability checks. Generally, I don’t mind. They can be an underused aspect of the system, and it’s good to see a DM embrace them. They’re meant as a backstop, however, for occasions when other systems aren’t in play. Charisma checks, when used in place of reaction rolls, undercut a key aspect of B/X, replacing a 2d6 bell-curve with a 1d20 linear distribution. In my opinion, this makes monster and NPC reactions significantly less interesting.
Could go either way
DM calls I might have made differently:
I feel the conversation in the tavern goes on too long, and I think Bert agrees. He tries to cut it short a couple of times, but Dion’s obviously into it. Rather than saying the equivalent of “OK, let’s wrap this up,” Bert could just have Zeke and his companions start a bar fight (one that doesn’t involve the PCs.) The trappers are leaning in that direction anyway, and it would be a more definitive way to end the chit-chat.
Zeke uses the derogative term “greenskins” so often, I lost track of who he’s insulting. At first it seems he just means goblins, but by the end, I found myself wondering if he intends to include orcs and ogres as well. They all seem to come up in the same conversation. I would have tracked better with this part of the conversation if it had been more clear who Zeke is talking about. This seems like important information for the party to know…
Assessment: 8/10; I enjoy a pure-roleplay session every now and then, especially when the party’s next move depends on what they are able to learn about both their objective and their possible antagonists. Also, Bert didn’t kill a cute, cuddly monster this time, so I’m going with an eight! ;)
Private Games
Brighthaven | “The Black Blade” and “Goblin Hall”
System: B/X
Style: Multiplayer
Date: 7-26-22; 7-30-22
Summary: Three adventurers—Nori the dwarf, Longo the halfling, and Völundr the elf, accompany another dwarf named Aldin into Hurn’s Hall. They are seeking several bags of gold Nori, Longo and Aldin left behind during a previous excursion. Passing through the Black Hills on the way to the hall, they encounter a force of goblins and wolves. Before the sun sets, they will learn some things are more precious than wealth.
Some time later, Nori and Longo return to the hall, this time looking for Nori’s missing friends (and the missing gold!) Quickly realizing they’re outnumbered, they begin to wonder if the local ogres would like some beer in exchange for a bit of goblin enforcement action…
Conquering the Barbarian Altanis | Session 18: “When best laid plans go south”
System: B/X
Style: Multiplayer
Date: 7-26-22
Summary: The party of six adventurers and five retainers, with two draft horses and a single wagon, decide to head to the bandit keep where Winslow was left for dead. Why they decide to pursue a revenge fantasy on behalf of a total stranger is a mystery for all of us.
Once there, the party devises a brilliant plan—spike all exits but one, and eliminate whatever threats they find inside. Alas, their plan is disturbed by a patrol of monsters which seem to be returning to the keep.
Most of the party falls back to the agreed-upon safe place, except the mighty warrior Taaaz, who decides the best course of action is to burst in alone. Violence ensues...
Read the full session report.
The Haunted Keep | “Into the Ruins”
System: B/X
Style: Solo
Date: 7-28-22
Summary: “In the distant past, the Haunted Keep was the castle of the Rodemus family. It was abandoned many years ago when the family mysteriously disappeared. It is now rumored to be haunted. Strange lights and sounds are often seen and heard in the ruins by passing townspeople.
"Recently, a tribe of goblins has been raiding the countryside. On their last raid they captured a dozen prisoners. The prisoners are all relatives of the player characters, who have banded together to rescue their relatives. The party has tracked the goblins to the Keep or castle, right up to the only door to the east tower.”1
Standing before the door, weapons in-hand, five adventurers—Frederick the dwarf, the fighter Morgan Ironwolf, Silverleaf the elf, the cleric Sister Rebecca, and the thief Black Dougal—prepare to enter the crumbling edifice.
Please help!
If you know of currently active B/X actual-play streams or podcasts you would like to see me follow in “State of Play”, or if you want to submit short summaries of your private game sessions, please email me at:
bxbandits at substack dot com
If submitting streams or podcasts, please use the following format:
Stream or Podcast Name
Link
If submitting a private game summary, please use the following format:
Campaign Name (if any)
Session Name (if any)
System (B/X, Old School Essentials, Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord, or BX RPG; no BECMI, or non-B/X retro-clones, please)
Style Multiplayer or Solo
Date Date of the session described
Summary 75-150 words
Please note: Submissions may be edited for publication.
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook, edited by Tom Moldvay, p. B55
Corrected spelling of "Frederik" in photo caption, from "Frederick".