Three Princesses: First Dungeon
We’re over 2,500 words into this session report, that’s how much you can accomplish in a single session with old school D&D. Our three heroines were slated for the marriage duty, but fate had other plans. Their ship was blown a thousand miles off-course, to wash up on the shores of a mysterious island. The Captain and crew survived, determined to complete their mission, but the princesses had other ideas, and that’s how they wound up on the run in a strange land with only 99 loyal retainers and a magic owl to round out the hundred.
When we left them, they had just put together a raiding party of about ten to explore the mysteries of a cave set high into the cliffs. They brought along a wizard for his light spell, a few soldiers and a few henchmen for muscle and we rolled up an Appendix A dungeon right on the spot. It proved to be a short one, which was fortunate, as time was running short, and we had to wrap up with downtime orders.
The highlights of the dungeon were limited – they found a second entrance hidden in a cleft of the cliffs a hundred feet to the north, and a sloping, twisting passage hundred feet away from the cliff face. More importantly, they found a massive room-slash-hallway filled with stalactites and stalagmites that they want to use as a basecamp.
I’m telling you, these kids just get it. They think it terms that most experienced RPG players don’t. On seeing a cool hall like this, their first thought is to its defensiveness and how cool it would be to own it.
But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. Before we get to downtime, we need to explore the highlight of the dungeon. Behind a massive stone door, they discovered eight pig-faced men with whom they couldn’t speak. The pigmen were gathered about a still pool on the far side of the chamber, arguing about something. The girls had the surprise, but opted for parley, which their face fumbled a bit. A neutral reaction led to the girls raising empty hands in gestures of peace which the pigmen naturally interpreted as surrender. The pigmen drew their weapons and began to advance, at which point the princesses retreated behind the stone door, which they managed to push shut and wedge tight with nearby rocks. Having trapped the pigmen, they left only to return with fifty men to deal with the pigmen and plumb the mystery of what they were arguing about.
As a brief aside, you and me both know the pigmen are orcs, but I didn’t use that term. These kids, weaned on Minecraft had very different ideas about what these strange things might be and how they act, but they knew instinctively that a walking porcine thing with cruel cleavers was a threat.
Which might explain their decision to simply kill the pigmen out of hand. I offered capture, ransom, or any other fate, and the girls casually announced that they didn’t want these things coming back for them later. It warms the heart, it does.
On a campaign level, this means we need to provide a source for orcs somewhere on the island, and despite my ZeroPrep proclivities, the demands of a hoped-for Braunsteain or faction play on the island mean laying out a few specific locations and groups with their own motivations. We already have the Ki-Rin who lives on one of the twin peaks, and Captain Cardinal and his men, and now the pigmen make three. We’re off to a grand start!
Back to the mystery, the girls discovered that a tall and full-armored knight lay still at the bottom of the cavern pool. The first man they sent in fell asleep once the water touched bare skin, so they dragged him out and after a little experimenting found that the nepenthe-like qualities of the waters faded once removed from the chamber. Which left the puzzle of how to retrieve the knight from the waters. Once the surface calmed, they could see his chest rising and falling, though how he breathed could only be attributed to the magic of the pool.
This was the result of first rolling up a room with a pool that Table VIII.A indicated was a pool with a monster followed by a contents roll of monster with treasure. The two ‘monsters’ turned out to be a 3rd level character – the paladin – and a party of orcs. Putting the three variables together in a way that made sense was a simple matter for anyone well versed in Appendix N lore. Instead of a Lady of the Lake, the princesses will gain the trust of a Paladin of the Pool, if they can coax a solution out of how to get him out. It’s a shame none of the staff wizards have a levitate spell, but with enough time, you can bet the girls will find a way to fish him out of there.
The clock struck a figurative midnight at that point, and we wrapped up with a quick set of downtime orders. The men and girls will explore the remainder of the hex, establish patrols and lookouts to keep the Captain away, and hunt the local fauna, gather berries, and otherwise establish a home in this hex. With the cliffs for safety, and a whole wide island to explore, the future looks bright.
We do need to start getting better about tracking men – most of them will have to remain home as the girls and a few charges set out into the wilds to look for more allies and more treasure, and their lost mushroom buddy who washed ashore somewhere. Once the big encounters happen – two crabs and ki-rin are small potatoes – they’re going to need every warm body they can get.
We also need to start naming things, but since the girls discovered the island and the woods and the cliffs, that’s entirely up to them. I’m calling the cave complex the “Paladin in the Pool Dungeon” while waiting for them to come up with something a little more organic.
Not sure when the next session is, but I’m really looking forward to it!