Mini-Session Report: Solo Adventuring in the Tower of the Elephant

I had a session scheduled for earlier today. Four players, two of them absolutely new to RPGs. I really love getting new players. Not only are more players coming into the hobby, but I get to introduce them to a part of the culture most won't get exposed to.

Unfortunately, all but one of the players were unable to make the game. Which left me with one completely new player, and no adventure. I had been planning to run another delve into the Tomb of the Serpent Kings. Probably not the best plan for a single adventurer, even with hirelings. So instead, I tried making a solo adventure in the two hours before the session began.

In retrospect, that was unnecessary. Even putting aside TotSK, I had been looking through the new Trilemma Adventure, The Mouth of Spring, which explicitly explained that it could be used as a solo adventure. Oops.

Instead, I pulled an idea out of my pocket. And by pocket I mean ass.

Thou shalt f*cking prepare properly next time!

I had been kicking around the idea of adapting the Conan story 'The Tower of the Elephant' into a small adventure. Arrive in a strange city of thieves, hear about the great bounty to be found in the Tower of the Elephant, of the wicked sorcerer who terrifies the entire kingdom. Nighttime infiltration, burglar kings, evil charms and trans-cosmic monstrosities. Classic stuff, with the original sword-and-sorcery flavor to back it up.

Given proper preparation, it could have been solid. Given a couple hours I just sped through the audiobook a couple times and wrote down what I could. The end result was a messy improvisation that took a little under an hour. Even so, my newest victim convert lovely friend had fun and, most importantly, is up for coming to the next real session.

The Session

I kitted out our hero, Bing-Bong the Slugling Thief, with the tools necessary to take on the Tower, a grappling hook and blowpipe loaded with a single dose of White Lotus Powder. He snuck past the lions in the garden, climbing up the walls onto the roof. Seeing the prince of all thieves burst out the door and die, he ventured inside with caution. Dodging the Giant Spider's attack, he ran across the room and shut the door on the spider, rushing down a stairway into the Elephant Chamber. After revealing Yag-Kosha and more monologuing than I'm used to, Bing-Bong elected to destroy the Heart.

Not that Heart, sit back down Dagoth. 

He sundered it, releasing Yag-Kosha from Yara's control, but losing the tool that might help him defeat the sorcerer, currently rushing up the steps in a murderous rage. Hiding under Yag-Kosha's couch, Bing-Bong tried to throw a pot of oil at the sorcerer, but missed. He then ran out of the room before Yara could hit him with a magic missile. Rushing down into the sorcerer's chambers, still heavy with lotus smoke, he hid in the doorway and, just barely making his attack roll, drove his dagger into Yara's chest. Did I mention Strength was Bing-Bong's highest stat? It was. I rolled Yara's hit dice and came up snake eyes. Bye bye sorcerer.

With the guards coming up from below and the tower gradually dissolving from the top, Bing-Bong rushed upstairs, filled his sack with as many jewels and coins as he could grab, and rappelled out of a window back into the gardens. Rushing through the hedges, he tripped and fell, right in front of a trio of patrolling lions. The lotus powder saved his neck, and he escaped into the city without further incident.

Takeaways

A good lesson, one best learned early. Keep a solid one-shot and solo adventure in your back pocket, for when your best laid plans don't pan out.

Having NPCs around for the player to question and interact with is valuable. I planned to do this by placing some cowardly thieves in the garden, which could also help inside the Tower. Bing-Bong elected to ignore them. Next time, have the solo player start with hirelings off the bat.

If you're adapting text to an adventure go through it more than a couple times, and write down stretches you don't think you can remember. In this case it couldn't be helped, but in the future it certainly can be.

I experimented with using Luka Rejec's system for statblocks. In his SEACAT system, monsters are shown with a level and type of damage. Defense, health and bonuses are all derived from the level. If you were dealing with lots of monsters around the same level, this might get old, but in a session like this, that isn't happening.

Solo adventures move really fast. Like, really fast.

Dream-Walking for Dummies

Valued among wizards is the talent of dream-walking. It indicates not only a strong control of one's own mind, but is an invaluable skill for communicating across great distances. Magic users will seek the counsel of their masters in sleep, with locks of hair granted to each apprentice. The greatest masters of the dreamworld can access the dreams of others with but a name and face, and can even change the fabric of a dream to their wishes.

Methods of dreamwalking:



Dreaming Walk

The following spell, known to Malachite wizards, allows you to enter the dreams of a sleeping creature, even from a great distance.

R: see below T: sleeping creature D: concentration
Invade the dreams of another creature. They must either be in your sight, or you must have a body part of theirs. When you enter their dreams, treat as a Rapture encounter (Veins of the Earth 107). You have your current hit points, Wisdom as Armor and Intelligence as Strength. You may use an opposed Charisma roll to change the fabric of the dream to your wishes. The target is immediately aware of your presence and may make a single Save at a [dice] penalty to expel you.

Glove of Qaray's Closed Eye
A shimmering violet glove, placed on the left hand. When a target's head is grasped (if aware and resisting, they must be grappled) they are immobilized, and both wearer and target are transported into the wearer's dream realm.

Skill: Dreamwalker
A character skill. With it, one may invade the dreams of a creature with Dreaming Walk using only their face and name. Gaining this skill requires either intense experience with the dream world or the tutelage of a powerful psychic creature.

The Dreambirch
Anyone going to sleep within one mile of this tree's pale blossoms will be trapped in a somber, eerie dream world. The victim is lucid during this period, and wanders the dreamworld seeking a way out. Each night roll 1d100. If the number rolled is lower than the number asleep, one awakes. Strong-willed targets can make a Save to wake up. Has 1d12 branches.

A Dreambirch may be used to create...

Dreambirch Torches
A Dreambirch torch burns with a weak blue flame. It does not create visible light, but rather bathes a 30' radius in octarine light, the color of magic. The flame of the torch shows a flickering reflection of the holder's thoughts. Each branch of Dreambirch can produce three such torches.

Dreambirch Infused Tea
Crush a Dreambirch blossom, slice a root, powder the bark and set it to steep. Then lie down next to it, and sleep. Breathing in the aroma will render you lucid and allow your to create a dream of your choice. A horrendous nightmare, a paradise, a memory or a prophecy. The dream will be infused with the drink, and the drinker will have it the next time they sleep. It's also absolutely disgusting.

Dreambirch Incense
In the presence of Dreambirch incense, things appear not as they are but as they are perceived. The dreamworld is drawn closer to our own. Vague shadows become monsters. Dim candles become blazing torchlights. Soggy rations become kingly feasts, if you're hungry enough.

Dreambirch Dried Petals
Fragile, pale, paper-like petals from the blossom of the Dreambirch. If consumed, serve as potent hallucinogens that open the mind of the user to the dreamworld that underlies our own. Used ritually to seek wisdom and overcome one's own limitations. Used recreationally for a damn good time.

Session 1.5 Report:The Proof is in the Pudding

Grappling with our busy new schedules, I wrangled four of last session's players for another delve into the Tomb. This would prove to be a (very) short session, but still fun.

A map by Andria's player, quickly overrun with art from the session.
Honestly reminds me of the art style from the module. 

The Session

As of last time, Sir Lorius the houndling knight was out with a nasty concussion, carried out of the dungeon by Loki, Bronn and Chance. That left Andria, Gale, Oberlin and The Batman to explore the dungeon this time.

They returned to the octagonal room and began checking out some of the doors. To the northwest, an open doorway led into a burial chamber. In the torchlight, the players noticed a golden disk set into the far wall. Testing the entryway with their trusted 10' pole, they triggered a pressure plate. A lightning bolt leapt from the disc, rocketing down the hallway. Luckily, the party were all to the sides of the chamber. Unluckily, three of them were deafened by the thunder. Their attempts to communicate by yelling very loudly at one another added a great deal of entertainment, and a few dice to the Tension Pool.

To the north, a collapsed tunnel, beyond which one party member heard moaning and shuffling. While the group wanted to dig up the rubble, they turned their attention to the northeast, where a primitive wooden door blocked another chamber. The one party member capable of hearing put their ear to the door, and though at first they heard nothing, he did pick out a strange rolling sound coming from the coffin within. At that point, the party assumed they were dealing with a gelatinous cube or slime (not far off) and nixed venturing into the room.

Until Oberlin whipped up a makeshift molotov and threw it into the room, thinking to dehydrate the slime.

This, of course, woke up the Black Pudding in the coffin, one of the tougher enemies in this area of the dungeon. It lurched forward , knocking down the door and seeking out the players. The party decided to fight it by grabbing rocks from the rubble and throwing them at the pudding. However, fearing a pincer attack from whatever was in the north room, they kited it around the pool and devised a plan. After Andria waved a torch in its face to confirm it was afraid of fire, (for which she got a tendril to the face) The Batman drenched his spare sword in oil and set it alight. Facing down the pudding (vulnerable to both edged weapons and fire) with a flaming blade, he proceeded to... critically whiff his attack roll (and got a tendril in the face).

It's worth noting that Gale, our wizard, decided against 'wasting' his magic missile here, instead choosing to throw rocks.

The Batman got a solid strike against the pudding with his polearm, and the party whittled it down from there. Seeing the pudding dead, but wriggling around, they took a wise precaution and used another oil flask to burn it. This revealed several silver rings in the remains, which the players looted.

In the short rest that followed, Oberlin had Gale inscribe one of his rings with the phrase 'a beautiful goddess' in an ancient and esoteric language he learned in wizard school. Gale actually just carved the word 'douchebag' (דוּשׁבּעג).

There the session ended, with our party healed back up, lacking a few more resources, hoping for reinforcements before venturing further.

The players' interpretation of the skull shaped
entrance and the snake-man skeletons. 

Takeaways

A four-character table was a good deal more manageable. That said, the combat with the pudding was absolute chaos. Faced with a single enemy they were unfamiliar with, the party used a fair bit of strategy and experimentation, which was very fun. It's a good experience, but one that should be the minority of combats.

I'm studying modern Hebrew, and it's quite good as a mysterious magic language. Most people can recognize the block alphabet, but have no familiarity with what sounds it makes. But the cursive script is pretty much unknown to non-Hebrew speakers, and is different enough from block script to be unrecognizable unless specifically prompted. If presented with it, especially in the context of D&D, players are likely to guess it's Elvish, or a runic language or even made up on the spot before guessing it's Hebrew. As a result, I can use it as a mysterious ancient language and know exactly what it means and how to pronounce it, while my players have no idea.

Gygax's old chestnut about how the DM only uses dice for the sound they make is apt. I was rolling d10s to see if the pudding dissolved any of the party's weapons (1 in 10). The entire party jumped every time I made the roll, convinced something was going to happen to them. I can feel the killer-DM in me grow with every subsequent feeding.

Bonus

And for those of you who sat through this whole thing, a little bonus! A magic item inspired by tonight's events.

Ring of the Douchebag
An enchanted ring, the outside carved with a word in an ancient, magical tongue. Supposedly, it means 'beautiful goddess'. In reality, it means 'douchebag'. The ring allows its wearer (requires attunement) to both speak and understand the languages of all animals, as well as all alignment languages. However, any attempt by the player to speak those languages results in hideous insults and vile curses instead of what the player intends.

The Excalligator and 6 Ludicrous Magic Swords

I bring you, the Excalligator!

Source

The Excalligator
HD 5 HP 40 DEF 16 ATK 14(claw/claw 1d6, bite 1d10) MOV 3x standard MOR 10 SAV 10 

Behold the Excalligator! Scales like plate, claws like swords! Capable of outrunning a man at a full sprint, and too stupid to die even when stabbed through the brain with a magic blade!

It resides in the deepest swamps of the blighted kingdom of Flor'idah, where a previous ruler of the land once fought it and fell to its mighty jaws. With his final blow, he cleaved into the beast's head, and though it did not avail him, it now provides you an opportunity.

Defeat the Excalligator, and you will not only gain the magical weapon of past rulers, but the surest claim to the throne of Flor'idah

Loot
One of the following magic weapons is embedded in the skull of the Excalligator. Is it...

The Sword of Chang
A golden saber, held last by an ancient Flor'idahn ruler whose name only survives as a fragmentary title, 'The Warlike Red One.' Whether this was a translation of his name or a description of personality is unclear. Yet the blade is said to be much older, having been forged in the deep past by a mystic warrior, a cultural hero named Chang. Regardless, it is a potent weapon, yet all of its holders seem to meet terrible ends...

+1 magic sword, +5 to all Saves and -5 to Death and Dismemberment rolls while held.
If it is ever lost, -10 to all Saves and +10 to Death and Dismemberment rolls until you can regain it.

Rare mural depicting 'The Warlike Red One' receiving the
Sword of Chang from his supernatural patron, Jheb of the Bushes

The Pen Dragon
Ornately carved rapier, the hilt and crossguard shaped like a fire-breathing dragon. The hilt can be detached and used as a fountain pen.

+0 magic sword. Messages written with the pen are inspired, capable of inciting fiery passion or delivering sick burns.

Dirk of Crocodile Slaying
This wavy, dark-metaled dagger originated in the Veins, where it was crafted for the assassination of Fungal Ambassodiles. Somehow, it ended up on the surface, and was used in a failed attempt to slay the great beast.

+5 magic dagger vs crocodiles. Not alligators. Just crocodiles. Halts health regeneration for 1 hour.

The Blade of Friendship
A weapon of fine make and subtle magic, created to unite a band of unlikely heroes in a common purpose. Backfired spectacularly, if the fact that the unlikely heroes all died horribly is any indication.

+[number of PCs] magic sword. Maintains its power only as long as nobody fights over its possession.

Blood-Iron Blade
Forged by a vampire, using iron from the blood of 365 people, sacrificed over the course of a year. Poorly made and very brittle, but looks really cool and has a super evil aura.

+0 magic sword. If you roll max damage with it, it breaks instead.

The Sword of Flor'idah
An intelligent longsword, its crossguard carved with sun symbols. In times of crisis, gives sound strategic advice, and is capable of summoning sunlight. Any other time, suggests hare-brained schemes and engages in recreational arson.

+3 magic sword, can summon sunlight at will, damaging to vampires. Starts with Ego 1. Each day the sword's wielder does not engage in unnecessary arson, it rises by one. Make a roll against the wielder's Wisdom score every night. If they fail, the wielder is possessed and will search for the nearest tavern (or other large, flammable structure) and burn it down.

Four Summoned Sylphs

For the use of the Malachite Wizard, four sylphs (wind spirits) you can summon with the following spell:

Windward Evocation
R: 0 T: summon D: 1 day
Summon a wind spirit to your bidding, depending on the number of dice: 1(Sylphs) 2(Unseen Servant) 3(Velkeres) 4(A Great Wind)



Sylphs
HD 1 HP 6 DEF 14 ATK 10 MOV 2x flight MOR 8 SAV 8

Minuscule sprites, winged and armored as dragonflies, beetles and wasps. They are responsible for a variety of local phenomena, including dust devils. Alone, they are cowardly, but can spy and carry messages. In a swarm, they grow emboldened and will often launch skirmishes against creatures that offend them.

Unseen Servant 
HD 3 HP 20 DEF 10 (16 when invisible) ATK 12 MOV standard flight MOR 12 SAV 15

A conjured spirit of air, a sentient extension of the caster's desire. Can listen and communicate, carry aloft light items (single inventory slot) and manipulate the environment. Very difficult to hit unless it is manipulated into revealing its location (covered in dust, dye, or some other such solution).

Velkeres
HD 5 HP 30 DEF 14 ATK 14 MOV 2x (5x flight on mounts) MOR 10 SAV 12

Cloud elementals, hunters and warriors upon horse-sized hummingbirds, bearing bow and icy breath. Their feet hover over the ground and they can walk and climb on cloud and mist. Proud and energetic creatures which are loathe to carry out tasks outside their nature.

A Great Wind

One of the Thirteen Winds, each unique. A detailed post on these is upcoming.

GLOG Wizard: Malachite

Based on the short story, 'Wizard' by Joseph Robert Lewis. 

The practitioners of an underground mystical tradition, claiming an unbroken line of mentorship back to the rogue wizard Malachi Draas. This is dubious. What is certain is the Malachite's proficiency with gory, flashy and awesome magic. Subtlety is for wizards unsure of their own power. Why hide your power when everyone should be bowing to you?



Perk: The forces of hell know your kind. You can call up and converse with demons with a ten minute ritual.
Drawback: You are feared and distrusted by most. All your spells are bright, loud, and next to impossible to hide.

Cantrips
1. Ward off mild heat or cold. Too weak to defend from stroke or hypothermia, but good for comfort.
2. Dim sound. The sounds are still made, but to you they seem muffled.
3. When entering a room, you can choose to cause a display of multicolored lights and music to appear.

Mishaps

1. MD only return to your pool on a 1-2 for 24 hours.
2. Take 1d6 damage.
3. Random mutation for 1d6 rounds, then Save. Permanent if you fail.
4. Agony for 1d6 rounds.
5. Possessed for 1d6 rounds.
6. Vomit up 1d6 imps in as many rounds. They will cause havoc in the area while loudly praising your name.

Doom of the Malachite
1. A crack in the ground forms under your feet and you fall in, dragged by hellish hands. You return a day later, shaved from head to toe with your skin covered in infernal tattoos.
2. You lose control of your summoning ritual. Demons can find and appear to you at will. You can't hide.
3. Your spirit warps and you are overtaken by a desire to conquer and destroy. You become a dangerous NPC in the service of hell, and will journey to the nearest hellmouth to open it and lead a demonic army.

The last doom can be averted by finding the hellmouth and sealing it shut forever.

Spells

Unerring Seeker
R: [dice] increment T: object D: concentration
You could find a grain of sand in a dune. Know the exact location of an item in (1. 60' 2. 1 mile 3. 10 miles 4. 100 miles).

Chastising Tremor
R: [dice] increment T: area D: 1 minute
Your voice rings out from the earth. For 1 minute the ground quakes and none may escape your voice. (1. 60' 2. 1 mile 3. 10 miles 4. 50 miles)

Bloody Communion
R: [dice] increment T: known creature D: concentration
Communicate with distant peoples through effigies of blood. Construct an effigy, then spill fresh blood upon it. 1d6 damage's worth of blood will do. Hold a creature's face and name in your mind. The surface nearest to them will begin to drip with blood, and through it they can see and hear you, as you can see and hear them. (1. 10 miles 2. 100 miles 3. This plane of existence 4. Other planes of existence).

Striking Word
R: 200' T: creature D: 0
You speak a word of power, the glyph issuing forth as blue smoke from your mouth and rocketing towards its target. Target takes [sum]+[dice] damage, no save.

Thunderous Wave
R: 30' T: cone D: 0
The world explodes in light and thunder. Everything in a 30' cone takes [sum] blasting damage, tearing apart and disintegrating fragile items and material.

Dreaming Walk
R: see below T: sleeping creature D: concentration
Invade the dreams of another creature. They must either be in your sight, or you must have a body part of theirs. When you enter their dreams, treat as a Rapture encounter (Veins of the Earth 107). You have your current hit points, Wisdom as Armor and Intelligence as Strength. You may use an opposed Charisma roll to change the fabric of the dream to your wishes. The target is immediately aware of your presence and may make a single Save at a [dice] penalty to expel you.

Devil's Kiss
R: touch T: creature D: until oath is fulfilled
Command a creature to fulfill a request. They Save at a [dice] penalty when it is cast, and if they fail they are compelled to do this.

Call Storm
R: 1 mile T: summon D: [dice] hours
Call down a storm on your location. This may be a dust storm, thunderstorm, fog, or another variant. If you invest 4 or more dice, you can choose to make the effect permanent until dispelled.

Windward Evocation
R: 0 T: summon D: 1 day
Summon a wind spirit to your bidding, depending on the number of dice: 1(Sylph) 2(Wind Sage?) 3(Velkeras) 4(A Great Wind)

Seductive Word
R: 50' T: person D: [dice] hours
The person regards you as a good friend and in absolute awe of the obvious spell you just cast on them. If you invest 4 [dice] or more into this spell, the duration becomes permanent.

Emblem Spells

Nacreous Sphere
R: 0 T: [dice]x10' diameter sphere D: concentration
An opalescent sphere, stronger than adamant and thinner than air forms around the caster. It has [sum]x2 HP, and all attacks against it hit.

Shattering Exeunt
R: [dice]x20 miles T: Self and [dice]x2 willing creatures D: 1 minute casting
A thunderous blast issues forth, dealing [sum] damage in a 30' sphere. The caster and their companions travel up to [dice]x20 miles away to a known location.

Session Report: Even More Newbies Tackle Tomb of the Serpent Kings

It's college season, and that means one thing - legions of new students desperately trying to (a) hook up and (b) play D&D. Guess which column I'm in.

Turns out, there was already infrastructure here, with a Facebook page and discord set up specifically for D&D. Now all that was left was to convince people, mostly composed of 5e players and some who had never played at all, to join in on the OSR. In the end, it took little convincing, and only a bit of explaining.

Our victims cast:

Chance (Weasel-ling Thief)
Andria (Human Fighter)
Bruce Wayne, gives his name only as 'The Batman' (Bat-ling Barbarian)
Gale Velta (Magpie-ling Wizard)
Oberlin (Magpie-ling Thief)
Loki (Elven Fighter)
Sir Lorius (Hound-ling Knight)
Bronn, Loki's hireling (light infantry/archer)

Whoops, what's that image doing here?

The Session

We generated characters the day before, except for Andria, whose character I quickly drew up and supplied since she was short on time. The players spent a long time on deciding on their extra equipment, and the session started about an hour after scheduled. They spent even longer at the entrance, painstakingly deciding on march order. The group orientation started to show itself, with the wizard throwing caution to the wind, walking in and being grappled by the party. This pattern would repeat itself.

Entering the first corridor, the party examined the statue in the first room, which was already broken, and noted the corrosion on the inside. Exploring the other rooms, Gale removed the silver ring from the sorcerer statue with a cantrip, breaking it and releasing poison gas. Despite being outside he room, the party panicked. Good times. Sir Lorius decided to destroy another with the pommel of his blade... and got a faceful of acid. The party destroyed the last one with a sling, and collected the contents.

Faced with the barred door, the party experimented a bit and held down the pegs. They decided that was too boring, and hacked through the bottom of the door with an axe, leaving the bar in place.

Now in the false tomb, Gale the wizard went off towards the statue of Typhon. After determining that its was not hollow, was made of stone, and would probably not be destroyed by a 1MD magic missile, he elected to hit it with his cane. The rest of the party carefully opened the left-most sarcophagus, and found the skeleton. In a near-perfect repeat of the last time I ran this dungeon, Chance decided he wanted the skeleton's fangs. On trying to remove one, the skeleton animated and attempted to grapple him, and failed. As the party rolled initiative, the thief decided he really wanted the tooth, and critically failed on a roll to remove it.

Cue a fast-paced battle in which the party's wholesale lack of blunt weapons repeatedly messed them up. Nevertheless, Andria got a critical hit, with which she cleaved the skeleton from crown to pelvis, Oberlin smashed in the skull of one with his tool hammer, and Bronn got a solid shot through the skull of the third. It should be noted that the wizard spent the entire fight banging on the statue with his cane in the other room.

(This fight resulted in two quite funny moments. When first asking Andria's player what her Defence was, she answered 'sword'. As a result of some out of out of character chatter, Sir Lorius got into a lock with a skeleton, and though it had no real voice, he swore he heard it say 'Buenos Dias Fuckboy.')

Immediately after the fight, the bulk of the party took a short rest, while Gale and Chance headed down the secret passage under the statue. As the minutes wound down, the Tension Pool (Introduced to my players as the DANGER POOL) triggered. I had forgotten to make an occurrence list or Ladder in my earlier rush, but an unguarded comment by my players gave me inspiration. The hammer trap, long disused and now weakened triggered of its own accord. None of the players were injured, but the screams of fear were their own reward.

Cue the bulk of the party mistaking their compatriots for enemies with The Batman's echolocation, and other shenanigans.

The party was remarkably paranoid about the misaligned statue, with only the Chance and Gale deciding to enter. Not trusting the wizard, Loki sent Bronn to accompany them with orders to incapacitate the wizard for any shenanigans or if he touched anything dangerous. The statue swung closed behind them, trapping them in the secret room. In reality, this was Oberlin, played by Loki's brother, trapping them inside (though he did later unlock it). They proceeded to raid the secret room, taking time to destroy every piece of furniture (even more dice added to the DANGER POOL), plunder the icon and take the polearms. Surprisingly, none of this prompted Bronn to tackle the wizard. If not for external prompting, they may not have even attempted to try opening the door again.

The party explored the octagonal room. They examined the northern door beyond which they heard scrabbling, but decided against clearing the rubble. Instead they examined the ornate door (the carvings of snakes falling from the sky triggered a brief panic regarding the roof) and opened it, Seeing the stairs leading down, they decided instead to reunite with the others and examine the pool. One character (I believe The Batman) stepped up, examining it from a safe distance. At that point, Gale decided to throw a rock into the pool while Sir Lorius was adjacent. Bronn tackled him to the ground, the rock flew, and was subsequently blocked by the rest of the party doing bodyguard jumps.

As the party gathered around the wizard, Sir Lorius took the polearm and used it to plumb the pool before the rest of the party could react. Cue two mummy hands jumping out of the pool, with one seizing Sir Lorius by the throat, provoking a Death and Dismemberment (the REAL D&D!) roll from the previously injured knight. Cue a comedy of errors in which the hand is pried off by Loki, then strangles Loki, then is pried off by The Batman and somehow manages to dodge multiple attacks while being grappled.

Loki, fresh after being strangled, tells Bronn to let the wizard use a spell. He elects to use a cantrip to turn the hand bright pink. Oberlin was the MVP, killing both hands with max damage rolls from his dagger. One concussed knight, arrested wizard and a few demands for preemptive weregild later, the session ends.

Takeaways

A seven-person game was a whole different beast from the five-player TotSK I ran in the summer, and on another planet from the three-person game I'm used to. I showed. The table was often very chaotic, and the fact that the players were relative strangers led to a lot of talking over and argument. Some solid direction and house-keeping kept it moving along, but I can't help but think such a large party may not be the best introduction for a brand new player.

I ran it without the caution and trepidation of past sessions, let the monsters be deadly and let the dice fall where they may. Even with the much larger party, this resulted in one close call and one D&D roll. Even so, I'm scaling up the rest of the dungeon to size.

I have much more sympathy for killer-DMs after this. The cries of terror, the look of fear on the players' faces. Yes. This is what I was made for.

As always, checking in with the players after the session is important, for specific feedback and to gauge continued interest.