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  giorgis 9:05 pm on April 12, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: DarkSun, ScarletHeroes ( 3 )   

  Into the deep caverns – Ep03 – Dark Sun Scarlet Heroes 

  [Likely] (2d10 => (6,7) => 7) l does the magma paraelemental beast return to its plane?
  Yes.

  Having no bonds to hold it down to the material plane, the magma beast jumps back into the lava pit and vanishes.
  Chansa bandages his wounds and takes a good look at the remains of the dwarf cultists. He understands why there are no shamans of the magma element among his people. There is nothing to be gained from such a savage element.

  Turn 5:
  Room 5: SW
  Garden
  Encounter: encounter found: 10 Hit Dice worth of minions and elites.
  Treasure: no treasure
  Hazards: no hazards
  Features: no feature

  Chansa moves deeper in the cavern system, and he comes upon a beautiful room. Rocks of various sizes and colors have been arranged to display a marvelous contrast between red, orange, yellow and black.
  Several dwarves are here, tending to the rocks and their formations. Some are sitting in front of them, their eyes close, in some sort of meditation.

  [Unlikely] (2d10 => (2,4) => 2) u can Chansa get to the otherside of the room undetected?
  No.
  The GM says no, but I still want to try.

  [Either Way] (1d10 => 8) is the difficulty extreme?
  Yes.

  Chansa: Stealth: 15/15: Success!

  Chansa counts 8 dwarves in total. He bides his time carefuly, as they see to have not noticed him. He sees a dwarf in red cloak, going from accolyte to accolyte, assisting them with meditation techniques.
  He moves silently, jumping swiftly from shadow to shadow, until he reaches the other end of the cave, in a feat of extreme skill. Were it not for his halfling size and dexterous abilities, he surely would have been made, and have to fight another group of bloodthirsty enemies.

  Forgot to make a wandering monster check in the previous room. There’s no point making one now, since Chansa is as stealthy as a cat.

  Turn 6:
  Room 6: NW
  Minor Shrine
  Encounter: encounter found: 5 Hit Dice worth of minions.
  Treasure: no treasure
  Hazards: no hazards
  Features: feature: A prisoner or victim of the dungeon inhabitants: creature motivation: Retrieve a stolen treasure- possibly taken by PC: A traitor from the nearest village

  [Extremely Unlikely] (1d10 => 6) xu is the treature something stolen by Chansa?
  No.

  “Let me go!” a strong armed dwarf with tatoos, is bound by half-giant hair rope. A handful of cultists are gathered around him.
  “We will let you go when Suthra says so.” A cultist replies.
  “We should sacrifice him to the pit” Says another one.
  “Suthra may want to spare him. After all, he’s the one who brought him the fire staff. Without it we wouldn’t be able to summon the beast” The first one says.
  “Yes but he tried to steal it back, otherwise why did you come back eh?” Another one asks the bound dwarf.
  “You tricked me. I thought you were fire clerics.” The bound dwarf replies with rage.
  “And so easily you betrayed your teacher. How proud he must be of you. Traitor.” The captor says and laughs out loud. “You can pay your respects here, to the shrine we have set for magma. Look at how it consumes everything and forms it anew…” He says and points to a geological shape made out of solid magma.

  ‘Curious’, Chansa thinks. Maybe this fire cleric knows the way to the city of Tyr. Chansa doesn’t think it over much. He draws his javelin, and with a war cry he charges at the dwarf cultists.

  Combat Round 1:
  Chansa attacks a minion = (10)+12 = 22: damage = (2)+2 = 4: 1 point of damage: 1 minion is dead
  Fray die damage = (5) = 5: 1 point of damage: 1 minion is dead
  minion attacks = (1)+4 = 5, (5)+4 = 9, (17)+4 = 21: minion damage = (1) = 1: 0 points of damage!

  Combat Round 2:
  Chansa attacks a minion = (18)+12 = 30: damage = (6)+2 = 8: 2 points of damage: 2 minions are dead
  Fray die damage = (7) = 7: 1 point of damage: 1 minion is dead

  Chansa quickly dispatches two cultists, while a third one tries to hit him from behind. The halfling quickly turns around and blocks the hit with his shield, dodging the blows of the other two. In a feat of prowess, he then proceeds to kill the three remaining dwarves.

  So I have no idea how the dwarf will react to Chansa, but instead of asking the GME, I will roll on the Scarlet Heroes relevant table
  Their attitude towards the hero is… = (2+3) = 5: Predacious, willing to take advantage of those weaker
  But Chansa doesn’t seem to be weaker. Nevertheless I get a pretty clear picture.

  There is a moment of uneasiness, as the fire cleric eyes Chansa carefully pondering if he is going to be attacked next. He slew those dwarves as if they were nothing, and he has heard several stories of the savagery of the cannibal halflings of the Forest Ridge. Still, the halfling hasn’t made a move against him.
  “Do you know the way to Tyr?” Chansa finally asks in a terrible pronunciation in the Trade Tongue.

  [Very Likely] (3d10 => (7,5,4) => 7) vl Does he know the way to Tyr?
  Yes.

  [Either Way] (1d10 => 2) is it from an exit on the last dungeon room?
  No.

  Dwarf name = (2) = 2

  Grunting, the dwarf nods. “I’m Boris.”

  Boris is a very significant name for the Athasian history, but heck, there can’t be only one Boris in the entirety of Athas. I’m sticking with it.

  Turn 7:
  Room 7: SW
  Library
  Encounter: encounter found: 4 Hit Dice worth of minions and possibly an elite.
  Treasure: no treasure
  Hazards: no hazards
  Features: feature found: An architectural feature of the original structure: Atrociously ugly or disturbing to look upon

  So… another encounter and a feature. Libraries aren’t available in Athas, so this need to be adapted accordingly.

  Chansa enters further deep in the cavern system. Boris has picked up a club from one of the dead cultists and is right behind him. The path opens up to a low ceiling, wide room. There are delicate paintings everywhere in all the walls. Intricate designs with yellow, red and black depict figures performing some sort of rituals. Magma beasts, volcanoes and lava rain catch Chansa’s eyes. But what disturbs him, is the depiction of forests being set ablaze in an inferno by lava rain. He can stomach a lot, but the preservation of the forest is his utmost duty.
  Lost as he is in his examination, he realizes he is not alone. Four dwarf cultists that were studying the pictures, are standing against him, weapons drawn.

  Combat Round 1:
  Chansa attacks a minion = (11)+12 = 23: damage = (2)+2 = 4:1 point of damage
  fray die = (6) = 6: 2 points of damage
  3 minions are dead
  minion attacks = (17)+4 = 21: damage = (1) = 1: 0 points of damage
  Boris attacks = (19)+8 = 27: damage = (4) = 4: 1 point of damage: 1 minion dead

  Chansa pulls out his javelins, and throws them out all one by one, with enormous speed, paying no heed to accuracy. All three strike true, killing an equal number of dwarves. The last one remaining, tries to jab at Chansa, who blocks the strike with his shield. Finding an opening, Boris, strikes the cultist from behind, splitting his skull open with his club.

  Chansa pulls out his javelins, and throws them out all one by one, with enormous speed, paying no heed to accuracy. All three strike true, killing an equal number of dwarves. The last one remaining, tries to jab at Chansa, who blocks the strike with his shield. Finding an opening, Boris, strikes the cultist from behind, splitting his skull open with his club.
  “I have enough, rations. No need to waste any time on them.” Chansa says to Boris, who is a little uneasy at how lightly, the halfling considered eating dwarfkind. “Curious images, but heresy! Destroying those forests!” Chansa exclaims. “Let’s get out of here.”
  “No! We must find the fire staff!” Boris stops him.
  “I think it was broken. While their leader was trying to control a beast made of magma” Chansa tells him.
  “NO! I am disgraced! How will I ever correct my mistake?” Boris cries out and drops to his knees.
  “Can’t you make a new one?” Chansa asks.

  [Either Way] (1d10 => 5) can he make a new one?
  No, but…

  “It’s not that easy. I would need to travel far and wide to get the components. It’s almost impossible.” Boris replies.
  “I have already a debt to you. I will, show you the path to Tyr.” He adds.

  ---

  So, the dungeon ends here. I have mixed feelings about it. Too many encounters and they were a little bit boring, baring the encounter with the magma beast, which was due to my interpretation and not the Scarlet Heroes mechanics. All the other encounters with minions and sometimes elites were too easy to be considered even a little bit dangerous.
  Even if I consider the simplification provided by Scarlet Heroes regarding combat, it can become cumbersome. In the fight with the magma beast, I did not even consider having the head cleric cast a spell.

  ---

  Back to the wilderness adventure now.
  From my hex map, I have calculated that Tyr is about 3 more hexes away, provided that Chansa doesn’t get lost again.
  Chansa will move as quickly as possible. He (and I) has had enough encounters on the way and is tired. He needs to find Tyr.

  Day 10

  Hex 6:
  Encounters Check = (3) = 3: No encounter
  Events Check = (8) = 8: No event
  Feature Check = (4) = 4: No Feature found

  Boris guides Chansa through a narrow path in the mountains which was hidden from plain sight.
  Soon, the mountains recede into desert hills. A terrain so much different than the forests, where Chansa spent his entire life. He doesn’t pause to search and look around this time.
  From the mountain sides he can see below, an endless desert spreads as far as the eye can see. He navigates himself, to where he believes Tyr to be and moves on quickly.

  Hex 7:
  Encounters Check = (1) = 1: Encounter found
  Mountains Encounter Table = (7+6) = 13: Encounter with Dwarf. Really?
  Events Check = (7) = 7: No Event
  Feature Check = (3) = 3: No Feature

  So let’s see what’s about this Dwarf.
  There are two ways I can go about it. I can either ask first questions if its a known/unknown dwarf, and then find out what they want.
  Alternatively I can roll on the Scarlet Heroes respective tables and conjecture if it’s relevant to my story so far.
  I’ve decided to run it using the Scarlet Heroes Encounters tables and twists
  1d20 Their Current Purpose, Given Their Location , Is To …. = (7) = 7: Search for help during some present crisis
  Their Attitude Towards The Hero Is… = (5+7) = 12: Disinclined to fight unless that seems necessary
  The Groups Size And Condition = (3+1) = 4: Roll encounter size twice and take the bigger total
  The Groups Size And Condition = (4+7) = 11
  The Groups Size And Condition = (7+3) = 10
  11: They’ve been hard-pressed lately; Morale lowered by 1

  [Either Way] (1d10 => 7) is the dwarf Boris?
  Yes.

  Chansa has left the mountains and started moving quickly in the desert. The grains of sand getting to his feet. The hot ground causing him some uneasiness but, his resilient nature and focus on the task at hand make him forget about it, and quickly it’s just a warm feeling.
  As he travels through the dunes, he notices that there is almost no life around. Nothing compared to what he’s accustomed to.
  He takes a look back, in a nostalgic feeling of his home, but something else catches his eye. A stout humanoid figure is following his trail. His sense of danger alerts him and he wonders if the creature is edible. He has enough rations to make it to Tyr without bothering about a dangerous encounter and would prefer to avoid it if possible.
  As the figure draws closer, he distinguishes the dwarf he rescued from the magma cavern temple. It’s Boris.
  “Why do you follow me? You’ll find that if you want to take a bite of me, I more than bite back!” Chansa growls at the possibility he’s the hunted instead of the hunter.
  “…what…? no I can’t go back. I’ve completely let down my people. I saw how you dispatched my enemies and I feel safer to travel with you to Tyr. If that’s alright with you…” Boris answers confused and worried
  “Fine. But I’ll have my eyes on you.” Chansa says, squinting his eyes.
  “Tyr is just a few miles further in this fertile valley, you’ll see… I want to see if I can find help, creating a new fire staff. Or die trying.” Boris says sternly.
  “You call this fertile?” Chansa asks, not realizing how more unforgiving the rest of the tablelands are.

  Hex 8:
  Tyr.

  The walled city of Tyr is visible in the distance, as Chansa and Boris get closer.

  Session Background

  Due to recent events, both personal and public this “session” lasted a lot longer than previous ones. I had trouble focusing and needed something less mind-taxing than solo play. I’ve done a lot of scenery and miniature painting, and will continue to do so in-between my solo sessions.
  My feelings about Scarlet Heroes are mixed so far. On one hand I really like the gaming style of the Wilderness and Dungeon modules. On the other hand, I find combat really bland. Could be my recent mood or the fact that it’s not that much suited to my style. I like to have some serious risk for my protagonist in my solo plays, and I couldn’t find it so far.
  I want to try out the Urban module for solo play as well, but I’m not quite sure that I will continue with it for my next session.
  I also want to play out the Mystery of the Ancients starter adventure, but I’m not quite sure I want to do it with Scarlet Heroes. I might take the time to convert it to a different system and run it with my MUNE homebrew mod for pre-written modules.
   

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  giorgis 12:57 am on March 8, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: DarkSun, ScarletHeroes ( 3 ), Solo ( 133 )   

  Over the Ringing Mountains – Ep02 – Dark Sun Scarlet Heroes 

  After some discussions regarding balance (thanks! u/Talmor), I decided to go ahead and upgrade my character at the Dark Sun standard starting Level of 3, increasing Chansa’s hit points, attack bonus and mental attack bonus. As extra traits, I decided to give a second point to Ranger and Halfling Stealth. Also the adventure’s Threat has risen to 3.

  After the experience of the first session, I see that I need to change a bit the narrative approach for this adventure. Scarlet Heroes is more metagaming oriented than my usual playstyle, therefore I will include what I call ‘narrative for the game master’. I will include text as if I was reading a pre-written module. Or to make a better analogy, like in comic magazines, where there is narration describing the setting, which also includes information the protagonist wouldn’t know about.

  Now to the adventure. Chansa has come upon a ruined settlement. Burned to the ground. His halfling curiosity gets the better of him and he will go inside to explore. I need to start interpreting some of the tags that I rolled up during the previous session.

  Q: Is the building’s size fit for halflings?
  A: No
  Q: Is the building’s size fit for larger than humans? (very unlikely)
  A: No

  Ages past, this used to be a bustling city of humanoids. But the Cleansing Wars came. The champions of Rajaat scorched the city to the ground. There were no survivors. The defenders perished, along with the civilians, women and children. Long lost souls still echo in the silent alleys. But maybe not all is as still as it should be.

  Chansa enters the ruins. Some remains of buildings are still standing, but most are reduced to rubble. He notices from the doorways, that the people who lived here must have been taller than him. As he enters one of the intact structures, he feels awe at the height of the ceiling. The light comes from the roof, there seem to be some openings that let it come through, but nothing at the ground level.
  In one corner he notices something that looks like a small, rough edged, altar.

  Q: Are there offerings?
  A: Yes
  Oracular Adjective: Imprisonment.
  I guess it’s a trapped animal. Let’s see if Chansa can identify it. I’ll roll a Wisdom check and add his Ranger trait to the roll.
  Chansa: Check: 9/9: Success

  Chansa comes closer and notices that there is a little golden furry mammal, snared up next to the altar, a Jankx. As it sees Chansa, it tries to escape using its little strength, but it can’t.

  So now I consider my options. There’s little chance Chansa would think twice before killing the Jankx for food. I know from a meta perspective that there may (let the Oracle decide) be repercussions.
  I’ll use the fray die, to see if he kills it right away.
  Chansa: Fray: 5: 1 point of damage. It’s dead.

  Chansa drips saliva from his mouth as he sees the tasty treat. He draws his bone dagger and with a quick and calculated thrust kills the little critter.

  Q: Is there an intervention?
  A: No, but (the failing of a piece of gear either for the hero or an NPC)
  Oracular Adjective: Mistake

  As Chansa kills the creature, it flails around, destroying the small altar, throwing some offerings to the ground, and knocking down a small statue.

  Somewhere further away, a spirit wanders, unbeknownst to it that the altar and its offerings have been disturbed. The soul still cannot accept that its patron deity did nothing to protect its people. Little does it know that the gods never arrived to Athas.

  Chansa will do some thorough searching in the ruins see if he can find anything of interest.
  Chansa: Check: 15/9: Success
  Q: Is there anything of interest?
  A: Yes
  Oracular Adjective: Courage, Treachery

  Chansa looks around. He can’t find anything of value. Most of the things he finds are either half burned to ashes or decayed from the relentless time.
  What strikes him as odd, though is a huge wall painting he comes across. It reminds him some cave paintings he saw among the most feral of his people. There is not much skill or color, but the image is clear. It depicts a massive army outside the walls of a city. Chansa can see that the city has two large statues very much similar to the ones he saw right oustide, so he realizes it’s the story of this city. The people who live inside don’t remind him of any race he might know of. They are muscular, hairy, with tusks on their pig like face. They seem really ugly, Chansa considers that they wouldn’t taste good either.
  Continuing to the right of the tapestry, he sees that a small side gate of the city walls was opened for the besiegers. ‘Treachery’ he thinks. That’s the only way the courageous defenders could have lost.
  He embraces the picture, trying to commit it to his memory. This cultural experience was of greater value to the little halfling than a bronze sword to a Tyrian gladiator. Chansa feels grateful and continues to his trip to Tyr.

  At night, Chansa will cook to eat the Jankx. But there are two associated risks.
  1. The position of the poison sacks.
  2. The chance of a nearby Jankx herd that will be enraged at the smell.
  Chansa: Prepare Jankx meat: Check: 10/10: Success
  Q: Are there any nearby Jankx?
  A: Yes, but, not too many of them. 2d6: 6 Jankx.

  As night falls in the mountains, Chansa, slowly removes the poison sacks from the underside of each limb near the paw. He skins it and takes the fur, and then proceeds to cook it for the night.
  As the smell of the cooked Jankx fills the air, and Chansa has started filling his belly, he hears a quick trek, and turning around he sees half a dozen of the little furry creatures charging at him.

  Distance: 120′.
  Combat Round 1:
  Chansa throws a Javelin: 31/20: Success: 7: 2 Points of damage. 1 Jankx dead.
  Jankx come 30′ closer.
  Combat Round 2:
  Chansa throws a second Javelin: 21/20: Success: 3: 1 Point of damage. 1 Jankx dead.
  Jankx come 30′ closer.
  Combat Round 3:
  Chansa readies his Javelin for melee combat.
  Jankx come 30′ closer.
  Combat Round 4:
  Chansa moves 30′ closer and attacks: 20/20: Success: 5: 1 Point of damage. Fray die: 5: 1 Point of damage. 2 Jankx dead.
  Jankx5 attacks Chansa: 10/20: Miss
  Jankx6 attacks Chansa: 23: Hit: Poison: 14/10: Success
  Combat Round 5:
  Chansa attacks: 14/20: Miss. Fray die: 5: 1 Point of damage. 1 Jankx dead.
  Jankx6 attacks Chansa: 19/20: Miss
  Combat Round 6:
  Chansa attacks: 24/20: Hit: 7: 2 Points of damage. 1 Jankx dead.

  He aims under the moonlight, and launches his javelin, hitting a Jankx straight to the head, killing it instantly. Quickly, he draws a second javelin and pierces another one through its belly. As he draws his third and last Javelin, he decides not to launch it and sets it up, holding his shield on the other hand as the creatures charge at him.
  Carefully timing his strike, he thrusts forward as the Jankx charge and with a single strike, he pierces through two of them. He opens up his flank more than he should though, and one of the furred mammals sticks a spur into his leg. He feels the rush of poison, but his strong constitution is enough to fend it off.
  He stabs the Jankx on the ribs, killing it, and blocking the last one with his shield, before returning quickly to finish it off.
  He has enough food to last him for more than a week now.

  Day 8

  Back to the wilderness adventure now. So Chansa is lost, so next move is random. I will roll 1d6 to find the hex direction he will follow. He heads SW instead of E.
  Encounters: No encounter.
  Events: No event. Event threshold increases by +1 to 2.
  Features: No feature. Feature threshold increases by +1 to 2.
  Since Chansa is no longer in the Forest. I will be rolling a check to see if he finds water. If he stops finding water, it will start dwindling. He has a waterskin for 3 days worth of water.
  Chansa: Check: 12/9: Success

  Lost in the mountains, Chansa spends the entire day trying to track his path to the east. Each route he takes is a dead end. In the end, as night has fallen he feels as if he has traveled further away from his goal. Maybe the next day he will be able to get back on track.

  Day 9

  Back on track. He heads E.
  Encounters: No encounter.
  Events: No event. Event threshold increases by +1 to 3.
  Features: Dungeon!
  Dungeon: Temple: Heretic Hideout: 7 Locations: Rebels: Threat 3
  What a great chance to try out the Dungeon Adventure feature of Scarlet Heroes! I love how the different adventure styles mix and match.
  So, Athas has no temples, priest worship or such. But since this is a heretic hideout this doesn’t mean there can’t be a cult that worships elementals. And since they’re heretics, I will have them worship paraelementals! I lean towards magma.

  Chansa goes into a chasm heading east, as this is the only passage heading to his intended direction. He avoids the unstable rocks and sliding mud and dirt and continues onward as the chasm slowly narrows down. Finally, he reaches a dead end. The only way forward seems to be a cave in front of him. Red and yellow symbols on each side of the cave, warn Chansa about the possible existence of inhabitants inside.

  Turn 1:
  Room 1:
  Meditation Room
  Encounter: No encounter
  Treasure: No treasure
  Hazard: No hazard
  Feature: No feature
  Wandering monster check: Encounter: 7 HD worth of minions (armed acolytes) and a 3HD elite (temple champion)
  Purpose: Cleaning their home from filth
  Attitude: Bloodthirsty, spoiling for a fight
  Condition: They’ve been hard-pressed lately, morale lowered by 1
  Allegiance: Neutral who may or may not cooperate with the rulers
  Combat style: Blood-crazed; Never checks morale against a wounded foe
  Their first round of combat: All-out attack, charging in heedlessly

  As he enters the cave, he notices huge stalagmites and stalactites and warmth emanating from the ground. This place feels hotter than the outside. With careful attention, Chansa makes out some stalagmites that have been smoothened up and cut off to resemble a place someone can sit on. They’re pretty much for halfling size.
  Heavy footsteps echo from down the corridor, and he listens closely, a bass voice speaking in the trade tongue. “Clean it up! Magma is our element not dirt!”
  Chansa hasn’t had time to hide, when he comes across 8 stout dwarves. As they see him their leader, wearing a long red cloak shouts. “We have an intruder! Kill him!”

  Combat Round 1:
  Chansa moves 30′ and attacks the leader: 13/20: Miss
  Fray die: 4: 1 point of damage, 1 minion dies
  Elite attacks: 22/20: Hits: 4: 1 point of damage.
  Minions: 1 Hit: 3: 1 point of damage.

  Combat Round 2:
  Chansa attacks the leader: 26/20: Hit: 5: 1 point of damage
  Fray die: 2: 1 point of damage, 1 minion dies
  Elite attacks: 25/20: Hits: 9: 2 points of damage.
  Minions: 3 Hits: 4,2,2: 3 points of damage

  Combat Round 3:
  Chansa attacks the leader: 13/20: Miss
  Fray die: 2: 1 point of damage, 1 minion dies
  Elite attacks: 14/20: Miss
  Minions: 2 Hits: 2,4: 2 points of damage

  Combat Round 4:
  Chansa attacks the leader: 19/20: Miss
  Fray die: 2: 1 point of damage, 1 minion dies
  Elite attacks: Nat 1: Miss
  Minions: 0 Hits

  Combat Round 5:
  Chansa attacks the leader: 25/20: Hit: 4: 1 point of damage
  Fray die: 2: 1 point of damage, 1 minion dies
  Elite attacks: 24/20: Hit: 4: 1 point of damage
  Minions: 0 Hits

  Combat Round 6:
  Chansa attacks the leader: 17/20: Miss
  Fray die: 2: 1 point of damage, 1 minion dies
  Elite attacks: Nat 1: Miss
  Minion: Miss

  Combat Round 7:
  Chansa attacks the leader: 25/20: Hit: 3: 1 point of damage. He dies.
  Fray die: 5: 1 point of damage, last minion dies

  Combat Round 8:
  Chansa attacks the leader: 24/20: Hit: 7: 2 points of damage: leader is dead

  Chansa recovers 2 hit points.

  In a savage outnumbered fight, Chansa singles out the leader as his target, but not letting his guard down against his minions. The stout dwarf leader yields a large two handed club made of obsidian, and crushes it down on Chansa, while on the side, the halfling exchanges blows with the other dwarves who flank him. One by one, the minions drop down dead, until only Chansa and the dwarf leader remain standing, wounded, bleeding.
  With a savage, furious strike, the halfling stabs the dwarf, right on his heart, and as he removes the impaled spear, the dwarf drops, blood spilling from his mouth, dead.

  A few things about the combat. I’ve been running it all in theater of the mind. With scarlet heroes, its manageable. I should have the dwarf elite’s weapon break down on this Nat 1 (and twice!), which would be more in line with Dark Sun. Also on my next fight with humanoids, I’m going to be using the hit locations table from Player’s Option: Combat and Tactics, using the initial damage roll as the location counter.

  Turn 2:
  Room 2: SE
  Vestry
  Encounter: encounter found: 7 Hit dice worth of foes in minions
  Treasure: no treasure
  Hazards: no hazards
  Features: no features
  Purpose: Seeking privacy for an assignation
  Attitude: Predacious, willing to take advantage of those weaker
  Condition: Half of them are wounded, losing half their hit dice

  Chansa continues down the corridor, and he comes across, seven more crazed dwarves. But three of them are wounded, laying on their side, the others tending to their wounds. They draw their obsidian clubs. “It’s only one. And he’s wounded. We can sacrifice him! Get him!”

  Combat Round 1:
  Chansa attacks a minion: 30/20: Hit: 6: 2 points of damage: 2 minions die
  Fray die: 4: 1 point of damage, 1 minion dies
  Minion: Miss

  Combat Round 2:
  Chansa attacks a minion: 28/20: Hit: 4: 1 point of damage: 1 minion dies
  Chansa kills the wounded dwarves

  In an effortless show of skill, Chansa, quickly dispatches all of the dwarf cultists. Their blood smeared around in the room. Finding nothing other of value, he continues further deep into the temple.

  Wandering monster check: no wandering monster

  Turn 3:
  Room 3: W
  Pilgrim quarters
  Encounter: no encounter
  Treasure: no treasure
  Hazards: no hazards
  Features: feature: unusual piece of movable furniture: hindering: snares the PC here for 1 turn: obscenely defaced furniture

  Wandering monster check (x2): no wandering monster

  Chansa comes across a large room, with several hard stone beds, sporting a soft mattress made of sand. As he heads to end of the room, there is a huge large cabinet. It used to have some markings, but they have been scratched off, and Chansa can’t make out what it used to have. The cabinet blocks his path further, and he has to use all his little halfling strength to push it aside and squeeze through the opening.

  Turn 4:
  Room 4: NW
  Ritual chamber
  Encounter: encounter found: 7 Hit Dice worth of minions and elites.
  Treasure: no treasure
  Hazards: no hazards
  Features: feature found: A dangerous intruder or beast who has entered the site: Negotiate with the leader of the dungeon

  Chansa creeps slowly further into the temple. The cave system going further into the mountain and the heat growing stronger and stronger.
  “It’s here! It has been summoned! Our prayers have been answered! Praise Magma that devours everything! Praise the true element of Athas!” From hiding, Chansa catches a glimpse of another dwarf in red cloak, accompanied by 4 more acolytes, in a five star circle around a pit.
  Down in the pit there is the source of the exhausting heat. The pit is filled with lava and magma. As he watches entranced, he notices that the magma moves and takes shape. A huge beastly shape slowly materializes in front of him.
  He recalls that there were clerics of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water among the shamans of his people, but he never knew about magma worship. What an amazing find.

  Now let’s see if Chansa remains hidden.
  Chansa: Stealth Check: 11/9: Success
  He can continue watching without risk of detection.
  Now, that’s a paraelemental beast. Will it attack the cultitsts (failed negotiation) or will it join them?
  Q: Does the paraelemental magma beast attack the cultists?
  A: No, but, Sublimely bad or good timing by a sudden event.
  Let’s see what the random event is.
  Oracular adjectives: Thoughtlessness, Aging
  Something happens that will help the cultists calm the paraelemental beast.
  An old cleric arrives at the scene. He could be the major boss.
  Q: Is the cleric the leader of the dungeon?
  A: Yes, but The failure of a piece of gear, either for the hero or an NPC.

  The magma beast thrashes around wildly. “Call Suthra! Quickly, if we can’t appease the beast it will kill us all!” The leader in the red cloak calls to one of the acolytes, and he rushes, out of the room, returning quickly, with an old dwarf, carrying a black ashen staff.
  He raises his hands to the air and falls on his knees, bowing to the beast. The heat in the room pulsates wildly, as the beast slowly stops thrashing around.
  As the cleric does so, his staff, breaks in two from the energies emanating in the room.
  Chansa knows that this is his chance. If he disrupts the cleric’s concentration, maybe the beast will attack them all.

  Surprise Round:
  Chansa throws javelin to Suthra: 28: Hit: Damage: 4: 1 point of damage. The cleric’s concentration is disrupted.

  Combat Round 1:
  Q: Does the paraelemental beast attack the nearest cultist? (likely)
  A: Yes, but The failure of a piece of gear, either for the hero or an NPC. Huh. That doesn’t make sense. The paralemental beast will be rolling a morale check each round to see if it decides to returns to its plane.
  Chansa throws another javelin to Suthra: 24/20: Hit: 8: 2 points of damage.
  Paraelemental beast, magma: Morale: 8/9: Success
  Paraelemental beast attacks minions: Miss, Miss
  Minions, Elite move 30′ towards Chansa.
  Suthra tries to concentrate again to gain control of the Beast.

  Combat Round 2:
  Chansa will throw his last javelin to Suthra and use his dagger in close combat: 19/20: Miss
  Fray die: 5: 1 point of damage. 1 Cultist dies.
  Elite: Miss
  Minions: Miss, Miss, Miss
  Paralemental beast, magma: Morale: 7/9: Success
  Q: Does the paraelemental beast attack the elite or the cleric?
  A: The cleric
  Paraelemental beast: attack cleric: Hit, Miss: Damage: 7: 2 points of damage
  Suthra: Check: 18/17: Success: He gains control of the paralemental beast

  Combat Round 3:
  Chansa attacks the minions: 30/20: Hit: 8: 2 points of damage. 2 minions die.
  Fray die: 6: 2 points of damage to elite
  Elite: Miss
  Paraelemental beast, magma: launches into the air and moves 30′ towards Chansa
  Suthra: maintain concentration

  Combat Round 4:
  Q: Can Chansa evade the magma beast and reach the cleric?
  A: No
  Chansa fray die and psionic attack at Suthra: 4: 1 point of damage to elite: elite dies.
  Psionic attack: failure
  Paraelemental beast, magma: shoots lava on Chansa: Damage: 15: 4 points of damage. Save vs Spell: 16/17: Failure.

  Combat Round 4:
  Chansa move towards cleric, even if it puts him in the path of the magma beast and psionic attack at Suthra: Hit: 2: 1 point of mental damage: the cleric loses concentration!
  Q: Does the paraelemental beast attack the cleric? (very likely, they attack whoever looks like their summoner)
  Paraelemental beast, magma: attacks Cleric: Hit, Hit: 15, 7: 6 points of damage. The cleric dies. The beast is free to return to its plane.
  Chansa bandages himself of 2 hit points damage.

  As the paraelemental cleric tries to dominate his presence over the beast of magma, an unexpected javelin, hits him right on the left arm. Then another, pierces his shoulder. The cleric loses concentration, and the cultists quickly identify Chansa as the perpetrator and charge after him. The magma beast furious and unshackled, thrashes wildly at two cultists, but fails to hit them as they have already moved away. Chansa throws a third javelin to Suthra, but it fails to meet its target.
  With his long bone bladed dagger on his right hand and his thick hide shield on the other, Chansa is locked in melee combat with the dwarves. Without much effort, he kills them, as the magma beast turns on its summoner. It burns down on the already wounded cleric, who in a last effort to maintain control, calls out with both his hands, in a gesture that seems to calm down the beast, which in turn, switches direction towards Chansa. It jumps out of the laval pit, as Chansa kills the red-cloaked leader of the cultists. Under the command of the cleric, it shoots a bolt of lava towards Chansa, which hits him, searing his flesh.
  The little halfling sees that it can’t get to the Cleric without going through the magma beast. Chansa then focuses on his inner thoughts, and with his mind he visualizes a whip with which he lashes at the priest. His first attempt fails blatantly, but during the second, he feels he has broken through Suthra’s defenses. His mind open, he loses concentration on the beast.
  The creature quickly turns around and bashes at his summoner, drowning him under two magma fists.

  Session Background

  This session lasted a lot longer than I expected, with the dungeon and all, so I had to cut it in the middle of the adventuring. I’ll continue with the last 3 locations in the next session.
  So I’m trying to stay true to the Scarlet Heroes mechanics as much as possible. Hence I’m missing some solo mechanics, like Interventions, False Presuppositions and the ‘And’ oracle results.
  As in the first session, I really enjoy the mechanics of Scarlet Heroes, though I must admit that at times it felt a tad bit *too boardgamey**. On the other hand, it’s spiritual ancestor, D&D is one of the most boardgamey RPGs, so that’s to be expected.
  I found some results to be too disconcerted. I mean, okay, I found a dungeon during wilderness exploration. Why, should my character go inside? I mean, it’s okay if a dungeon is the final goal, but when it’s just an obstacle, I’m missing the reason. I try to think of my protagonists as rational beings, and not MMORPG style adventures who go on quests that have no meaning.
  Inherent halfling curiosity saved the day.
  Regarding the last encounter with the paraelemental beast I find that the whole encounter was a tad bit too harsh. Therefore I did some on-the-fly rulings regarding the concentration aspect of the summoned creature, and I must say it worked quite well.
  I didn’t need a full-on psionic combat according to those rulings. Just one successful attack with at least 1 point of damage.
  Overall, I really liked the session and looking forward to finalizing the dungeon, reaching Tyr and running an Urban Adventure there, so that I have fulfilled the Scarlet Heroes adventure types.
   
• 

  giorgis 9:13 pm on March 2, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: DarkSun, ScarletHeroes ( 3 ), Solo ( 133 )   

  Savages of the Forest Ridge – Ep01 – Dark Sun Scarlet Heroes 

  I’m burning out on my A monster’s bounty campaign, so I am embracing a switch to something traditional yet unique.
  I’ve recently acquired Scarlet Heroes a solo GM & GM-less game system that is fully compatible with D&D. After a quick read I knew what I wanted to do. I headed back to my basement and recovered my Dark Sun 2ed revised boxed set
  I will create a Dark Sun character and run them with Scarlet Heroes.

  ---

  Name	Chansa
  Race	Halfling
  Class	Fighter
  Height	38”
  Weight	63 pounds
  Age	32 yo
  STR	10
  DEX	17
  CON	15
  INT	10
  WIS	14
  CHA	10
  Traits	ranger, ESP, E-whip, halfling stealth, halfling culture
  Goal	Explore halfling past
  Weapons	3 obsidian-tipped javelins
  Armor	scale armor, thick hide shield
  Supplies	5 days rations, waterskin
  Clothing	fur pants, sandals

  I haven’t detailed all the character stats on purpose. Nevertheless I would like to state a few things on converting Dark Sun to Scarlet Heroes.
  1. I will roll on the wild talents and use the power in place of a trait. I rolled ESP for Chansa.
  2. I will use the MTHAC0/MAC concept. Using Mental Attack Bonus instead of MTHAC0, with a +1 bonus per two levels for wild talents.
  3. I will not use different mental defenses for each mental attack. Too much work.
  4. Each mental attack will cost one trait.
  5. I will use the 3-18 stats range instead of 5-20. Scarlet Heroes is already balanced heavily for one character.
  6. Likewise I will start at level 1 instead of 3. Hope this doesn’t come to bite me later.

  ---

  I’m starting a Wildnerness Adventure in the Forest Ridge

  Day 1

  Hex 1:
  encounter roll: no encounter
  event roll: yes: terrain event: ambush by an encounter in the trees
  I’ll be rolling in the dark sun random encounter tables: Ettercap
  I take out the Monstrous Manual, and read the relative text on ettercaps. It’s going to be a tough encounter. Smart humanoids that create elaborate web traps and have a poisonous bite. They ambush and attack to feed. Such a perfect fit for a dark sun ambush encounter in the forest ridge. Thankfully they’re solitary and rarely travel in pairs.
  Since its an ambush encounter I decide that the ettercap will have created a web trap.
  Chansa must make a Saving Throw or be caught in it.
  Chansa: Saving Throw (wisdom, ranger): 11/10: Success!
  Now I made a mistake and hadn’t read the relative text about encounter distance in wilderness encounters, and I rolled on the ‘How Far Away’ table, and got ‘A Few Rooms Away.’ So I interpreted it as 60′ distance. Next time I’ll be more careful.

  Chansa, the moon-strider, has left his village. He still considers the words of the strangers. Tall humanoids that had entered their territory. They were looking for ancient halfling artifacts. They offered a relic, a stone to the shaman with ancient symbols, in an attempt to save their lives. Nevertheless they made a good tasty meal for the entire village.
  Chansa believes they were not lying, and set off to find their homelands, past the Ringing mountains. They came from a city to the east called Tyr.
  He heads eastwards, exploring the forest for any clues in the way.
  As he treks under the thick canopy of the forest something catches his attention. He almost fell right into a thick sticky vine. He takes a good close look at it and realizes its not a vine, but a webbing. If he even touched it, it would be really hard for him to set free. He draws one of his obsidian tipped javelins from his shoulder belt and readies his shield.
  He crouched down and stars walking silently with his soft leather sandals, but far in the distance the trapper has already been made aware of the halfling’s presence. A tall humanoid with thin limbs and ugly face is coming towards him. ‘Ettercaps’ Chansa thinks.

  Combat round 1:
  Chansa throw javelin, long range: 15: Miss
  Ettercap closes in 30′
  Combat round 2:
  Chansa throw javelin, short range: Nat 20: Hit: 8: 2 points of damage
  Ettercap (claw/claw/bite): 14/15/12: Miss/Miss/Miss
  Combat round 3:
  Chansa melee attack with javelin: 15: Miss
  Ettercap: (claw/claw/bite): 17/19/20: Miss/Miss/Hit: 6: 2 points of damage. Poison.
  Chansa Saving Throw (constitution): 9/14: Fail
  Chansa Defy Death: 4: 1 point of damage
  Combat round 4:
  Chansa melee attack with javelin: 25: Hit: 5: 1 point of damage
  Ettercap: (claw/claw/bite): 11/12/10: Miss/Miss/Miss
  Combat round 5:
  Chansa melee attack with javelin: 12: Miss
  I decide here to do a morale check for the Ettercap. I tried homebrewing it to use the Monstrous Manual, Elite (13) Morale value into Scarlet Heroes, but it doesn’t work. I’ll have to consider a different conversion rule.
  Ettercap: Morale: 9/13: Stays
  Ettercap (claw/claw/bite): 24/9/19: Hit/Miss/Miss: 3: 1 point of damage
  Combat round 6:
  Chansa melee attack with javelin: 26: Hit: 3: 1 point of damage
  Again I used a wrong morale rule.
  Ettercap: Morale: 10/13: Stays
  Ettercap (claw/claw/bite): 19/17/14: Miss/Miss/Miss
  Combat round 7:
  Chansa attack: 23: Hit: 5: 1 point of damage. The ettercap is dead.

  He aims and launches the first javelin. With a thump it misses and gets lodged into a nearby tree. The ettercap lunges towards him, and he sends another javelin flying, this time, striking true, hitting the creature right on the chest. It lets of a screech, and with fury it charges clawing and biting at Chansa, who ducks and evades all of the creature’s hits.
  Chansa now thrusts in melee with his last javelin, but the ettercap blocks it with its arms and bites the small halfling’s arm. Chansa feels poison running down his arm and with the persistence of his people, he shakes it off, a black necrotic spot a reminder around his wound.
  The two are locked in furious combat, with the halfling evading the bites, and sending two more thrusts into the ugly creature’s belly, but receiving a claw slash at his chest. He blocks the other slash at his side with his shield, sweeps down between the ettercap’s legs and sends a final thrust at the surprised monster’s groin. With a moan, it drops down, dead.

  Chansa will attempt to recover the ettercap’s poison glands: 15/9: Success

  Chansa wastes no time. He jumps at the creature’s head, and with his dagger, he removes the fangs along with the poison glands.

  Chansa also wants to know if he can use any of the meat to recover his rations.
  Chansa: Survival check (Wisdom, Ranger): 10/9: Success
  Q: Is the ettercap meat edible?
  A: Yes, but (a twist in the relationship) Chansa remembers that according to his village’s customs, ettercap meat is supposed to be tainted.

  He considers if he should make a good meal of the creature, but then he remembers his shaman’s teachings. These beasts have tainted meat that has a very ugly taste.
  Then, he takes some time to bandage his arm, and put some healing poultry to the venomous bite.

  Chansa will bandage his wounds recovering 2 hit points.
  Chansa will spend the entire day exploring the area.
  Feature roll: 5: No feature: Feature threshold increase by +1 to 2.
  Chansa gets a full night’s rest, recovering 1 more hit points.

  Chansa further explores the region hoping to find something of interest, but he fails, and ends his day, eating from his supplies and recovering from his wounds.

  Day 2

  Hex 2:
  encounter roll: encounter: behir, seriously?
  time of encounter: night
  encounter distance: 100′
  notice check: Chansa/Behir: 14/5: Chansa wins with over 4 points. I decide not to engage at all.
  event roll: no event. event threshold increases by +1 to 2.
  features roll: no feature. feature threshold increases by +1 to 3.
  Chansa gets a full night’s rest, recovering his last hit point.

  Chansa further continues exploring the area eastwards. By nightfall, something catches his attention. He hears the trample of a dozen legs. His danger sense kicks in, and quickly he climbs atop a tree. Under the light of the stars, his eyes adjust, and in the distance he makes out a gargantuan creature, 40′ long. It’s a reptile so big it could swallow Chansa whole. He knows discretion is the better action, and climbs among the vine trees to avoid engaging with the huge beast. It would have been a great hunt, but he’s not ready for such an engagement.
  He doesn’t find anything else of interest, and will continue his next day further eastward.

  Day 3

  Hex 3:
  encounter roll: no encounter
  event roll: no event. event threshold increases by +1 to 3.
  features roll: no feature. feature threshold increases by +1 to 4.

  Another day he continues eastward. The Ringing Mountains now are so much closer. He’s almost out of the forest and on their foothills. He knows that the next day he will have to spend hunting. He has no idea when he will manage to find abundant prey again.

  Day 4

  Hex 3:
  encounter roll: encounter: plant (dangerous): Choke Creeper
  time of encounter: day
  encounter distance: 250′
  notice check: Chansa: 6/9: Failure

  As Chansa walks stealthily, trying to find prey to hunt, he steps on a thick vine. But something doesn’t feel right. He feels the vine move quickly and rapidly begin to entangle around his leg.

  Combat Round 1:
  Chansa: melee attack vine: 13: miss
  Choke Creeper (vine/vine/vine/vine): 8/14/22/21: Miss/Miss/Hit/Hit
  Combat Round 2:
  Chansa break free: Saving throw (Strength): 15/12: Success
  Chansa: melee attack vine: 17: miss
  Choke Creeper (vine/vine/vine/vine): 21/18/9/10: Hit/Miss/Miss/Miss
  Combat Round 3:
  Chansa break free: Saving throw (Strength): 11/12: Failure
  Chansa: melee attack vine: 12: miss
  Choke Creeper damage: 4: 1 point of damage. Strangulation: no strangulation.
  Choke Creeper (vine/vine/vine): 22/19/17: Hit/Miss/Miss
  Combat Round 4:
  Chansa break free: Saving throw (Strength): 9/12: Failure
  Chansa: melee attack vine: 14: miss
  Choke Creeper damage: 3/4: 2 points of damage. Strangulation: no strangulation.
  Choke Creeper (vine/vine): 21/8: Hit/Miss
  Combat Round 4:
  Chansa break free: Saving throw (Strength): 17/12: Success. He breaks free.
  Chansa runs away.
  Choke Creeper (vine/vine/vine/vine): 21/19/17/12: Hit/Miss/Miss/Miss
  Combat Round 5:
  Chansa break free: Saving throw (Strength): 14/12: Success. He runs away.

  I’m not quite sure I resolved this encounter correctly. It was quite odd using a plant encounter. Afterwards I realize I should have used the fray die for each of the vines separately.
  Chansa recovers 2 hit points.

  Thick vines entangle Chansa. He tries to hit it with his javelin, but his hands aren’t free. Each second that passes the vines twist stronger and stronger, trying to reach for his throat. He manages to break off one arm and tries again and again to hit the vines, but the javelin is too unwieldly to use in such close quarters. Finally he breaks off his feet from the clench of the carnivorous plant. It lashes out another vine, but he manages to push it back, and Chansa runs away as fast as a halfling ranger can.

  Hunting roll: 16/8: Success: 1 day worth of rations. He recover his last hit point.

  His hunting didn’t go very well. Catching only small prey. By the end of the day, the small humanoid sets camp, sheltered under an ancient tree’s hollow trunk.

  Day 5

  Hex 3:
  encounter roll: no encounter
  hunting roll: 12/8: success: 3 days worth of rations.

  Chansa spends an entire day hunting. He manages to catch several little birds, gathering 3 days worth of rations. Content about his supplies, he decides that the next day he will continue on his journey.

  Day 6

  Hex 4:
  encounter roll: no encounter
  event roll: no event. event threshold increases by +1 to 4.
  feature roll: no feature. feature threshold increases by +1 to 5.

  The small physique of the halfling passes unnoticed as Chansa ascends the foothills of the Ringing Mountains. As he was walked a significant distance, he looks behind him. The humid, vivid forest that is his home is far behind him. Will he sleep again under the cool shadows of his trees? Chansa wonders as the dark sun’s scorching rays start to burn his skin. He extends his light cloak to cover this shoulders and his back, and slowly continues on his path.

  Day 7

  Hex 5:
  encounter roll: no encounter
  event roll: event. event threshold reset to 1: get lost next movement roll is random
  feature roll: feature. feature threshold resets to 1: Ruin, Town, built by modern humans, as a common dwelling, ruined due to outside conquest, scorched by fire, with signs or recent use, having wooden palisades, square towers, having hideous gargoyles, no ground windows and colored in hot red hues.
  I had to reroll a few points that didn’t fit at all with the Dark Sun setting, but other than that it worked out pretty well.

  According to Chekhov’s gun concept, there must be a reason for the feature. So I decide that this is an excellent point to initiate a small side adventure.
  Adventure tag: angry ghosts.
  That fits in perfectly.
  I have a few ideas of how this will all play out, but I’m not revealing them yet until I’m certain.

  Chansa keeps on in the winding paths of the ringing mountains. He knows where the east and west is, but the whole region is completely strange to him. The constant light from the sun rays has had him disoriented, when he comes upon a strange sight. Up on top of a hill overseeing the region is what seems to be a settlement.
  From the distance, Chansa notices the red color of the buildings, but as he slowly comes closer he can see burn marks. The wooden palisade around the settlement is burned down. The red color alternating with the black of wood turned to coal and the white of ash.
  The entrance to the town is guarded by two huge statues of hideous winged creatures, ominously overseeing the strangers coming in.
  Chansa feels his heart pounding, but his halfling curiosity overcomes him. What people lived here? what happened to them? Could there be answers to his halfling heritage?

  I decide to stop my session here before proceeding to the exploration of this feature.

  Session Summary

  Notes on Scarlet Heroes: The solo game engine framework it provides may feel like a mini-game, counting all those meta points, but it’s effective. It takes a lot of work that would be needed otherwise.
  One could disregard the traits and several rules and run pure AD&D with only the damage and fray dice modification. I was tempted to run it like that, but it will definitely increase the amount of work that needs to be done. Right now it’s fast, almost like Savage Worlds.
  I love how I am able to play Dark Sun, all those years later. Scarlet Heroes suffers from the same problem all D&D styled products have, albeit much reduced due to its simplicity. Bland combat. I need to introduce narrative additions to it to make it more interesting. I’ll consider a couple hacks for my next sessions.
  Converting the monsters to Scarlet Heroes was so and so. The Ettercap wasn’t a problem, but the Dangerous plant was quite hard to convert. As for the imbalanced Behir from the Dark Sun encounters table, that’s true old school deadliness. One could state that I had meta info and decided to avoid the encounter, but I doubt that any sane halfling would try to engage a 40′ reptile even if it doesn’t know that it can spit lightning.
  The solo adventuring mechanics seem to hit the right spot between narrative inspiration and effective gameplay. One could hack these with some work to fit different settings as well. According to ones desires they can bullet point the entire game without losing content or add narrative to the extent I did or even more. I will continue this adventure as I have only touched the surface of Scarlet Heroes, but I think that it will be a perfect way to run the Beasts and Barbarians setting I have for Savage Worlds. I must say I am a bit excited.
  Finally I would like to note once more how deeply helpful it is to have physical copies. Reading the entry of the monstrous manuals and dark sun books is so much easier than going back and forth in a tablet or pc.