Dwarf OSE+ Dark Citadel Session #1 (3MAY2023)

 

  Decided to run a second OSE+ Game on #Roll20 Bi-Weekly. Maximizes my focus weekly from one game to another and i got some old friends I had not gamed with back into a campaign. Win-Win for me and them too I guess. Went with a Dwarf Only game with an emphasis on some House Rules I am gonna work on for future campaigns. These guys all like Dwarf PCs so this is gonna be fun.

   Gathering in the Elder's Halls in Dur-Annis the Party formed and heard tales from the Clan's Elders on why they were chosen to explore and reclaim lost treasures from the Dark Citadel. A fallen fortress and ruin now with hidden secrets below. Its a trope but its easy to work with but there will be twists. Allowing party to have a Dwarf Merchant Contact who will pay more than the local merchants and plus it's a Dwarf so reclaiming cultural stuff and making sure it stays in the hands of Dwarfdom. 75% Value which is astronomical in my games as most NPC merchants start at 30-35% & hope you did not dump stat your Charisma. (They always Do ...) We hand wave some stuff about he travel as its a settled area but the ruins are nearby so rather than dig for Rumors and Info they head straight out.

  Dungeon Crawl it is ...

  A few hints about banditry on the road are given by the guards as the party heads towards the Ruins and the rumors they heard in tavern were nothing new compared to the starting information they were already privy too from the exposition... I prolly should include that so,

What is known about Dark Citadel

For more than a thousand years the Dark Citadel of the Dwarves protected the mountain pass between the land of Orcs and the lands of men. For all of those years the Orcs and Goblins of the northern lands were prevented from raiding into the south. The fortress was constantly under attack. There were many siege attempts that failed. Now the citadel lies in ruins.

 A new tribe of Orcs began to dominate the northern lands. The Death Fist tribe was led by a fearless Orc warrior by the name of Ogrul the Slayer. Ogrul was known to wield a gigantic spear said to be given to him by his god. These Orcs worshiped “One Eye” whose followers lived for war. It is also said that Ogrul wore a grotesque amulet. The amulet was a bloody eye ripped from the face of some enemy in combat. Ogrul united the various humanoid tribes of the lands to the north and lay siege once again to the Dark Citadel. This time turned out differently. The Death Fist Orcs breached the walls with their savagery and quickly overwhelmed the defenders.

As quickly as the tribes united, the tribes, fell into old habits. Instead of pressing on into the southern lands they instead stopped to loot and pillage. They began squabbling over the spoils. Soon the entire coalition fell apart. Many of the tribes returned home to their lands and have not gathered again. Occasionally small bands of humanoids do make raids from the north but these are few and far between.

 Whatever became of Ogrul is unknown. He was not heard of again after the sacking of the Dark Citadel. His Death Fist Clan has not been heard of for some time now. The Dark Citadel still stands in ruins. The Dwarves that lived in the citadel were wiped out entirely. The Orcs left no survivors and took no prisoners. No one has attempted to rebuild the fortress and few venture there any more. The ruins stand upon a hill overlooking the mountain pass. There are tales of great riches of the Dwarves who lived in the citadel. It is known that these Dwarves provided fabulous gems which were sold all over the lands of men. A few adventurers have attempted to explore the ruins but few have returned alive
   

Now that was the info for the MegaDungeon I chose to run and it gives hints and nothing solid so lots to learn for the players. They are experienced table toppers but not been in a game in awhile so they are itching to get to the action. I dig it, less talk more Choppity Chop CHop
 

   Some 50 years ago it was determined a group of adventurous Dwarves would be sent to the Ruins of the Dark Citadel overlooking the Human City of DragonSpire Hold, through luck and hard work your group of Four has been selected to go and attempt to reclaim the ruins. The folk of the Dark Citadel all perished in the sacking of the Citadel and its mines below but distant kin. There were Dwarf away at the time but whether they still remain in DragonSpire or have traveled abroad is unknown.

  While Dur-Annis is known for its plentiful Copper Mines and its work with Bronze the Dwarves of the Dark Citadel had be known Gold Mines and an abundance of Blue Quartz & Azurite which they decorated great works of art. So riches galore await in the ruins unless it was all looted by the conquering Orcs & Goblins or plundered by adventurers over the many years it has sat desolate. The usurper who rules DragonSpire requires all coin to be converted into his minted coin but we will sending our own merchants to visit DragonSpire to reclaim what we can from your excursions and possible aid from other young Dwarves wanting to test the depths of Dark Citadel alongside you !

  Ergal Bronzefist; the merchant you accompany to your destination, will visit DragonSpire every Two Months and has promised to pay 75% of value for any relics and art reclaimed from the Depths of The Dark Citadel. The amount of coinage carried will vary but he plans to open up more trade to DragonSpire from Dur-Annis but dislikes the conversion of Dwarven Anvil Coin into DragonSpire Crowns. As DragonSpire Hold sits upon he shore of the Sea it has trade to other lands that comes to its shores on occasion and that would be opportunity for trade. Negotiations for membership into the Cities Guilds is taking more time but should not interfere with your exploration into the Depths.

  Adventure Glory & Honor Await !

  Okay, about calling the Dwarf Clan Hold Dur-Annis. I find it funny and let's be honest we become middle school goofballs the second we start chucking dice 75% of the time. I roll with it... by the way, the mines there are called the Glittering Hole ;) Dome of my exposition seesm little off but I was tired when I wrote it so who knows.

   Heading to the ruins they discover how small it was in comparison to stories over the years told by older Dwarves but there are but a few ruined buildings still standing. They investigate the pond after hearing a splash and seeing "something large". I rolled indifferent on the Monster Reaction Roll, Giant Beaver not concerned with them at all but they chose to investigate a glitter in the water. Possible Treasure ? Dwarven Greed takes over and they approach the pond. I reroll the reaction Roll since they are encroaching the critter's territory, a 3 on 2d6. Time to roll for Surprise ...

   Getting surprised by a Giant Beaver in a Pond whom we now called Wynonna was a rough way to start but it consistently missed by 1. Enough to cause stress but they do not really know how dangerous it is until I roll a solid hit and enough damage to kill a PC in a single Blow, all in the Open btw. Gillius the Dwarf Fighter wisely choses to use his "All Shields Shall Be Splintered" Option as a Fighter. I describe how he shoves it into the Beavers mouth as it closes in for the Kill and it explodes into shards which may have wounded party members if not for their heavy mail or Solid Plate. They dispatch it quickly in the following round, its lite on the HP side but has a devastating 4d4 Bite. These guys are 1st level and the adventure I chose did things I normally do in Dungeon Design, I put a TPK option right up front. They could have easily avoided this fight, they chose it. It'll be an above average XP hit for a Monster but the real XP is in Treasure and Bonus XP.

   There is that glint of something in the water still and the Fighter ditches armor and goes for a swim to only recover a normal suit of human sized chainmail. They realize they have been dallying a bit too long in the open and seek cover to redon armor and low and behold, wandering monster check for Bandits. Roll the d4 for Bandits and get 4, equal number so they are emboldened offering to leave the party alone if they cough up their coin purses which they do and as they come to collect the party jumps to the attack losing initiative. This became a trend with the party losing Initiative allot. A quick battle ends with 3 bandits dead and 1 running of to warn the other bandits. Strangely the Party hangs out and dons armor there for another turn. The Bandit encounter in the Ruins comes to them ...

   Now the Bandits try to sneak up on the party but are spotted, they note that the giant beaver is dead and that these Dwarf killed it. Impressive as they avoided that giant monster. They attempt to parley and wish to trade info about what's in the other large building but the group does not budge and refuse to trade coin for info. The bandits unsure if they can take the party who bested the Big Beaver and the party warry of the Bandits Numbers, an uneasy truce. They know that the Bandits may attempt to ambush them when they are weakened leaving the dungeon, they risk it anyway.

   Minor exploration of the Upper ruins discovers an old armory and chapel, some discarded weapons' and signs of Goblins. This excites a few of my players as they really enjoy killing goblins. One player could literally be the inspiration for Goblin Slayer lol. A stinky room with goblin feces in a corner and stairs down as well as an epic shoving battle of a door with a singe goblin who heard them approach his slack room, should have been on watch in the other room but sleeping in this other room more but eventually they pushed the door open he was trying to keep closed and murder hobo tings happened.

   Finally exploring the lower level I stressed how steep the stairs were and how tall the ceiling was in the halls leading downwards. I think it was noted but some foreshadowing on how clean the hall was compared to the upper levels was ignored. Foreshadowing is always fun. A stair battle with goblin guards is easily won by the party but the Main Fighter is getting nicked to deaths slowly, 10 Hit points at 1st makes allot of OSR Players Cocky especially paired with an AC of 1. They find some loot and I introduce something the players may have been surprised by in allowing them to gauge the value of items looted. Because their Clan wa known for lots of Copper Mines and Bronze work I allowed Copper Candlesticks to be appraised by them in the Dungeon, 2 in 6 Add INT bonus if you got it. There will be allot of drop a d6 in my games.

   I am priming them to be more descriptive in their actions with loot and stuff, we will see if it sticks. We are tight on time and not much has been gained so they push a bit faster. 

   An old Dwarf Guard room is next and it has been obviously searched by the goblins. They decide to search anyway. With luck they discover a loose tile and below it a Dagger in sheath wrapped in red silk.. A fine broad bladed Dwarven Dagger overlooked by the looters of the Dark Citadel. Wandering Monster turns up a Giant Bat which I rolled Reaction for and determined it just flew past the party in the hall while they were searching the room. This reminded the party they had not set a guard to watch the hall. 

   They push on and are surprised in the next checkpoint by a pair of goblins who call for help. The party was about to start inspecting a toppled statue in an alcove further deeper past the dwarven guardroom they just searched. The Fighter is now at 3 Hit Points and they quickly dispatch the foolish pair of goblins only to be assaulted by a wave of 5 goblins from down the hall. They are finally winning Initiative and dispatching Goblins quickly but its about time to call it for the night.

   This is when it usually happens. The one more room syndrome. Just one more room before we call it for the night guys .... 

   They know the reinforcements came from down the hall. No goblin has had any treasure in their coin purses yet, a sack in a room but in their pockets they've had mouldy bread, cheese bits and dried bugs. They risk it and find the gambling coins and a gem but just beyond that room is larger chamber. Plus that side passage with a door they passed. They are getting into a hurry wanting to gather morel loot before heading back to DragonSpire Hold.

   Reason Prevails and a few Wandering monster checks are made as they fall back quickly. The bandits are waiting but I fail their morale check as they see the Dwarfs do not seem too badly wounded. I decide to inform the party about the lore ability I am allowing Magic-users, Clerics and their sub-classes to have. I hate bards and view their class as a role any other class could assume but I do like the lore ability so I gave it to other classes.

   2 in 6 plus Your WIS Bonus if you are a Cleric and INT Bonus if you are a Magic-User. The dagger is identified as a +1 Dagger/+3 Dagger Versus Minotaurs. allot of speculation that there must be Minotaurs if there is a Dagger versus Minotaurs. They discuss on how magic item division will be handled and we call it a night. Still have not figured up XP but been up since 4am. Dungeon restocking before next session and musing what the goblins reactions to the foray will be as well as the Bandits.

  Well everyone enjoyed it so there will be more sessions and more recaps, Game Well, Game Often.

#OSR #OSE #DarkCitadelCampaign